What bedding do I use for nesting boxes?

[chixcoop]

I was wondering if I should use straw, hay or the pine shavings that I am using now in their coop, for their nesting box bedding. I was about to go and get hay, but I am not sure if that is the best because you can get mites in their hay. I was considering straw, but where do I get it? And is it alright to use the "Premium Pine shavings" from tractor supply?

Also, I free range my chickens, so it is impossible to always get eggs in the nesting boxes 100% of the time? I just found 2 in a nest of pine needles in the middle of a patch of poison ivy! (And I'm not too crazy about going there!) I want to put golf balls in their egg boxes, but the egg boxes are kind of up high so they may not see them and get the hint that that is where they are supposed to be laying.

Ideas?

P.S. How much does a bale of hay run about, and where do you store it once you are done using it?

 

[aart]

I like straw...everyone has their preferences...and use DE in the nests to deter pests that might reside in straw.

How high are your nests?
They should be lower than the roosts so they don't roost(sleep) in the nests and poop them up.

Is there a perch 8" or so out in front of the nests so the birds can jump up and check them out before entering?
Nests need to be easily accessed or they'll lay somewhere else.
High fronts on nests(4-6") will help keep bedding and fake egg/golf balls and real eggs in the nests.


Free range birds sometimes need to be 'trained'(or re-trained) to lay in the coop nests, especially new layers. Leaving them locked in the coop for 2-3 days can help 'home' them to lay in the coop nests. They can be confined to coop 24/7 for a few days to a week, or confine them at least until mid to late afternoon. You help them create a new habit and they will usually stick with it.

 

[MySweetChickens]

Like aart said its preference I use sawdust/pine shavings because the hens kick it out of the box so since its the bedding to the floor I don't have two beddings to sort through i just grab a handful and throw it back in the box whatever you prefer

also hows the rooster doing with the maggots

 

[chixcoop]

Like aart said its preference I use sawdust/pine shavings because the hens kick it out of the box so since its the bedding to the floor I don't have two beddings to sort through i just grab a handful and throw it back in the box whatever you prefer

also hows the rooster doing with the maggots

Thank you for asking. We were keeping up with the maggots, but because he could not stand up on his hurt he never would have been able to get the maggots off of him. We got them off of his vent, but they soon spread to different areas, and he was starting to bleed, which we had not seen before. If he had been able to walk it would have been a different story, but because he was confined to one spot it did not seem like he was going to make it, and the flies kept landing on him. Though we tried very hard to save him, we had to put him out of his misery.

 

[diana507]

I use pine shavings from TSC the same I use on the floor. I have had no problems with it. It was easier for me to get then hay and we don't have straw around here.

 

[MySweetChickens]

• chixcoop Im sorry at least you did the right thing and he is happier now
  
  

 

[applebutter14]

i use straw in my nest box and my chickens dont seem to mind.

 

[ChickenMammX4]

We use timothy hay in the nesting boxes. I buy the bags sold for guinea pigs and rabbits at Meijer. It comes bagged in small bales. The hay is already cut in shorter pieces so it fits nicely in the boxes. With the lip on the boxes, it doesn't get kicked out so it lasts a long time. I sprinkle a little DE in the also.

 

[chixcoop]

When I went out to take a pic of the egg box, there was a hen in the box laying an egg! Anyways, here is a pic of the boxes. You kind of can see how high the egg box is in relation to the box of shavings. If they layed here
once, will they most likely do it again?





Also, we have a latch so we can get the eggs from the outside, however when I opened it, there was a chicken in there. Will she lay there again, or will she not like that spot because I interrupted her.

 

[chixcoop]

There is a little lip on their egg box.