What do you all use to line the nesting box?

[d.k]

* Miss Chook hardly uses hers, dagnabit!! But, I've learned she prefers crisp dried ficus leaves.

 

[herdofnoni]

yup anything free is great.. what about shredded paper. you know all the private stuff you shredd so no one can see it! i dare anyone to piece it back together after it has been in the coop!

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

I've used both pine shavings & hay (grass hay, not straw). The birds seem to like & lay better in the hay than the shavings....

 

[Whistling Badger]

Grass clipping! Great idea. We would easily store up enough over the summer to last all winter...

T

 

[d.k]

*

Would LOVE to use the contents of the paper shredder!!!

 

[dacjohns]

Paper sounds good but my experience from using it with rabbits is that is compacts a lot and gets wet and slimy.

Also all that ink and other stuff.

 

[herdofnoni]

awww dang.. i have so much of the shredder paper.. wonder is you mix it with teh leaves or hay.. just to make it go farther>> or may be put the paper first thent eh hay or what ever ,, jus to be more absorbent??? worth a try

 

[amyquilt]

Quote:
I asked the same question when I started and was redirected to Dawn419's member page. She has a GREAT explanation about Diatomaceous Earth (DE). I also know of a member on BYC that sells this if your interested.

Would love to know the member that sells it!

 

[taratrip]

hey everybody!
i too just got biten by the chicken bug! i am looking into getting 2 silkie hens. i have been researching the coop and am still undecided on what type to get. we could really use a shed so i was just going to split it in half for the coop. we are not "suppossed" to have chickens in town either but i am going to keep them as pets. my questions are 1. can i gather and keep pine needles and grass clippings and just use those instead of straw or hay? and 2. my yard is fenced in with a 6' privacy fence but there are gaps at the bottom...will the chickens go under and roam around or do they stay near the coop? i only want them to have supervised free range. thanks for any input! this is my new favorite website!!! once i found this site i was totally sold on the whole chicken as a pet idea!!
tara

 

[rooster-red]

I've tried using straw, the hens scratch it out onto the floor.

They seem to love pine shavings in the nest, and I use it on the floor too.