what do all u cold climate chicken owners use for bedding in your coop

[chixrus]

i have a concrete floor and use the deep liter method with straw and clean it out every spring. i also use vasoline to keep their combs and wattles from getting frost bite.

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

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what is stall dry?... I went into the TSC and asked for it, the look I got from the guy... you would have thought I had 2 heads... I told him its to keep horse stalls dry he told me to just use shavings or straw.... this was also the guy who told me there was only one kind of DE too... and it was poison... would not listen to me when i told him there was a food grade one...

stall dry is like ground up kitty litter but it absorbs more, I know there other names for it, plus its on the TSC web site because I get it at TSC or Fleet Farm

 

[KattyKillFish]

i use pine shavings or sawdust. not a fan of the straw in the winter because it likes to stay wet.

 

[blueseal]

so straw isnt good in the coop. i bought a bale today should i put it in the run instead. its a run with a metal roof gives them a place to go when the rest of there run is covered in snow.

 

[Zahboo]

It's just not the BEST. I've used it multiple times because it's cheap. Just add some shavings in with it and if you have any available DE. Everyone has their own opinions on bedding. I've used shavings and don't like the dust. I like to mix the shavings with either straw or hay so it's easy to clean and doesn't pack so easy.

 

[thaokou21]

Hey Blueseal. I also bought a bale of straw(the long grass one) to put all over my coop. So far its paying off because its protection their feet from getting too cold when their on the ground. And whats more suprise to me was that my water in the coop didnt even freeze. But I think this is because my 18 chicken gave off too much heat. But the straw does help.

 

[TipsyDog]

I use hay on my wood/vinyl floor and I haven't had a problem. I do have poop boards which catch 99% every night and I add more hay once a week. I do pick out any poop on the floor every day and the coop stays pretty clean. We do have high quality hay in this area and I usually get it for almost nothing from my neighbors, most of which are dairy farmers.

 

[blueseal]

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thats good to hear. i figured it wouldnt hurt to try it. i have 4-6 inches of pine shaveings on the coop floor then put the straw down on top i just figured it would keep the coop warm when there inside on snowy days.

 

[blueseal]

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i have poop boards too. it saves alot of waste of shaveings.

 

[gsim]

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i have poop boards too. it saves alot of waste of shaveings.

I too have poop boards, linoleum over OSB. I will only have to change litter once a year because of them. I use grass clippings and love them. Free, available on site, and smell good. I throw a bushel in the run every day too and the chooks dive into it and root thru and eat it too.

I read somewhere not to put alfalfa hay with chickens as it is not supposed to be good for them. Chickens eat hay. Other kinds of hay like fescue is fine.