Straw vs. Pine Shavings?

[luvmygirlsinAK]

I don't have a dirt floor, so I am not in the same predicament, but when I used straw, I hated it. It became a huge matted mess, in short order, and is said to be the perfect place for little unwanted pests to reside in. The straw would poke at the chickens and myself when I would walk across the floor. I started using pine shavings, and what a change for the better! The chickens are cozy and comfy, and burrow themselves in just to feel good like they would in their dust bath. They love it. When it was _50 F. out, (even though we have an insulated floor, the floor still gets chilly given those nasty temperatures) so I put in 6 inches of pine shavings, and they were toasty warm.

 

[Blue_Myst]

Yes, it is my coop that gets a few puddles. It's not like the whole coop is underwater, or anything, just a puddle or two in the holes they dig. I make sure to clean these out, soak up the water, and fill them in, but it's a never-ending battle, and makes me regret not having a wood floor

The first year I had this coop, the drainage was perfect, but, the chickens dug so much away that it's becoming a problem. I would put a wood floor in, but I've heard that putting a floor on top of dirt which the chickens have used is just asking for trouble. So, I have to make do.

So straw is more likely to harbor mites than wood shavings? I always thought it was the opposite since wood shavings are...well...wood. Guess I was wrong.

Thanks for all the replies!

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
What you wanna do is, this summer (not now), kick the chickens out first thing in the morning, then rake the floor level (add more clayey soil if necessary to bring it all up to being definitely above grade) and then rake in a bag of cement mix. When it is thoroughly mixed into the top 3" or so of dirt, spray it with a hose and stir with a rake to dampen the part that has the cement mixed in, then tamp it down reasonably well. Leave til nightfall to set. This will provide a much more dig-resistant floor than plain dirt. It may crack and crumble over time, especially if you live in a freezing-winter climate, but it will still be way better than getting puddles in the coop.

Can I suggest that for now you fill in the puddly holes with gravel or dirt or something like that, and then cover them over with a piece of plywood or hard rubber matting or anything like that. Then you can bed (deeply) over top, with the result that you will no longer have damp spots in the coop. Which are really not at all a good thing.

So straw is more likely to harbor mites than wood shavings?

It is generally said to be so, on account of mites can get into the hollow interior of the straw pieces. I don't know from personal experience one way or the other.

Good luck,

Pat​

 

[PQ]

We have not had a problem with mites, but we do use ivermec (pour on) on the chickens every 2 months. So this could be why we have no problem using straw or wood shavings. We also dust the hen house out once a month, after cleaning out pine shavings, before putting more in. The hen house is wood.
This might help with the concern over mites.
A clean house is a happy house

 

[Mastiffmom6]

i'm torn between shavings and straw. Straw you can recycle into your compost pile and use later in your garden which works wonderful. Plus straw is a lot easier to clean out when you're doing your "spring henhouse cleaning" for the year. I think the shavings would be a lot more time consuming to clean out the entire house. However, I do like using shavings in the summer in the nesting boxes as its not as hot. The chickens like it too. Don't believe I can use the shavings in compost pile, but I'm going to check it out.