What Do You Fill Your Nestboxes With??

[9ByDesign]

I am currently using pine needles, as they seem to be easy to clean out. I am looking for ease of clean suggestions. My hens lay fine in them. Do you have a better method, and how often do you toss/ clean your nest boxes?

TIA

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

Hay works well, and so does pine shavings. You can also use raked up leaves.

 

[tobin123]

pine shavings keep smell and flies down

 

[my3jsons]

Pine shavings work well for us. Just stay away from cedar. Replace shavings as needed, I change mine every 6 to 8 weeks.

 

[annie3001]

i only use hay/straw

 

[Louieandthecrew]

I use hay

When I didn't have any, I tried wood chips: DOESN'T WORK!! They just kicked it out of the boxes all over the place

 

[9ByDesign]

For those of you who use hay...why do you like it?

For those of you who use pine shavings (we use this in their coop already) do you just turn it on a regular basis to keep eggs clean or?

I use pine needles raked from my yard- FREE. It seems (I am a new chicken owner this year) that when and if they poop on them in the nests...the poop only sticks to a few of the pine needles, and I can just pick them out and toss them, leaving the rest in. (Do those of you using hay find the same scenario for clean-up?)

I am just worried about (as I said earlier) ease-of-clean AND more importantly, egg cleanliness.

 

[Louieandthecrew]

Quote:
Well, mine don't usually "go" in the nesting boxes because they are usually on their roosts which is just a ramp of chicken wire with wooden strips on it where they sit, then when they "go" it falls through underneath the coop where we scoop it out and put it in the garden

 

[Bard's Rock!]

Pet grade ground corn cob. Find it at Walmart or TSC.
One 10 litre bag per box with a cup of DE mixed in, for mites and lice, etc.

 

[sgtmom52]

I use pine shavings in the nest boxes and on the floor. When the nest boxes look a little worn or dusty I just scrape the shavings out onto the floor and replace the shavings in the nest boxes with fresh.