What bedding do you use?

[Harmony Fowl]

Dead leaves and pine needles mostly, some wood shavings mixed in sometimes. Aside from the pine shavings, the rest is free and abundant on our property. That was what got me using them, but it does a nice job of keeping things dry and not smelly and giving the chickens something to dig around in.

 

[BantyChooks]

Pine shavings. I agree with @BantyChooks they are low maintenance, easy to clean and easy to use. I use them in the nest boxes, the coop and the brooders. When i clean the coop out i just rake them into the run and the chickens keep them scrached up so its kinda like they are composting them for me lol ​

Same here. I dump them in the woods by the coop and rake them into the run after a year or so. Breaks down nicely.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Are we talking hay when we mean straw I get the bales at tractor supply for bedding?

Idk what TSC sells.
When I say straw I mean straw. When I say hay I mean hay.
Not sure about others. I'd imagine some don't know the difference.

 

[BantyChooks]

When I say straw I mean straw. When I say hay I mean hay.

Yep. I used hay (before I switched) because it was cheapest and easiest to find around here.

 

[AlleysChicks]

I use a mix of pine shavings and straw. I used to just use the shavings but my birds kick them all out and it’s so messy.

 

[Hope Hughes]

I use a mix of pine shavings and straw. I used to just use the shavings but my birds kick them all out and it’s so messy.

When making the coop we made a barrier to keep the shavings in. Same with the nest boxes. I usually make more of the mess with them but i just sweep/rake them up and throw them back into the coop or boxes. But yes they can be messy.
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[robinwhiskers]

Straw in the run and pine shavings in the coop.

 

[PouleChick]

I've only got my little coop at the moment for my babies and we are using pine shavings. Plan is to do as others have said and clean from coop to run with shavings. I will possibly look at leaves etc after next autumn too as free is good but by the sound of it using the DLM I will only b buying a bag or so a couple of times a year so not a big expense!

 

[lazy gardener]

Dried leaves, with grass clippings, some garden debris, hay (mold never an issue). Deep litter. As a last resort, I'll use shavings when I run out of natural materials. Anything removed from the coop gets shoved out the clean out door into the run. DL there as well. As needed I harvest nice, dark, spongy, worm laden, fragrant compost from the run for the garden and orchard.

 

[RodNTN]

I use pine shavings and hay, great mix! I know that most members on here complain that it got matted, or moldy. But as long as you manage your bedding correctly and remove all damp spots, this mix does wonders! Just my preference