What do you put in the nest boxes?

[woodmort]

Oat straw--used wood shavings once when I couldn't get straw and found they matted and didn't cushion the eggs. I load a big mass of it into the nest and the chicken hollow out a nice egg site. A bale last a year or more. Every once in a while when I'm digging in the dirt or walking along a steam fishing I'll find an nice egg-shaped rock, bring it home and toss it in the nest.

 

[Chris09]

I like to use a mixture of Sand and Soil my hens love it. At one time I was getting Tobacco stems from a Pigeon suppler online and mixed a few Tobacco stems in each nest box (helps keep the lice and mites of the hens..
I know a breeder that uses pieces of grape vines that he cuts off his arbor.

Chris

 

[flgardengirl]

Pine litter and those plastic easter eggs that snap together. It doesn't seem to matter what color. They have always gotten the hint.

 

[ADozenGirlz]

I use hay only, but I love the idea of using aromatics like lavender! I have never had a broken egg. I've heard people say that shavings are messy and the hens often kick it out, exposing the eggs to breakage on the bottom of the nest boxes. My boxes are made of wood and I would be reluctant to use any kind of carpeting that could easily harbor mites, lice, etc. There's really no way to clean them effectively.
My chickens don't eat the hay, but yes, it can cause impacted crop if chickens eat hay/straw.

 

[swordgeek]

I've used only pine shavings in mine since the girls started laying, and they like it just fine. They were VERY displeased when Agway was once out of the fluffy bedding they were used to and I had to resort to a chunkier type of bedding. They laid in other places for awhile. Once the shipment arrived, I swapped it out and never tried anything else. Picky hens!

My birds never poop in their nests, so I rarely have to empty them. I just add more bedding when they've kicked enough out. Though it does get squashed down after they've been sitting in there for awhile, I reach in and fluff it up with my hand again, and plop a plastic egg in the middle of one or two of the nests. (I wouldn't bother with my older girls, but I have a silkie who is about laying age, and a crevecoeur who recently got moved back into the coop, and they need all the encouragement they can get to lay in the right place!)

I've thought about adding some herbs to the nest, since I have so many growing out back and they don't want to eat them. I'd try woodier herbs like lavender and sage, maybe a little rosemary, but I was worried that they won't like the scent in there. I'm going to try that tomorrow, though! Knowing my girls, if they don't like it, they'll refuse to lay there. I don't think I would use basil, because that's so much more fragile and prone to rotting.

 

[Rennie]

I use both hay and shavings .. My nest box is lined with laminate floor underlay (soft and waterproof) Covered with a thin layer of shavings and then I shape a few nest shapes out of the hay and pop the dummy eggs in the middle off them like others, I find that no matter how much i make the nests though they make there own in a different place


Hecate - Do they eat the herbs or have you put them out of reach ?.. I might try this though .. I have allsorts of nice smelling things in my garden that ive never thought of using ..

Wouldnt lavender in the nests make the eggs taste like soap if they eat it ? (I dont know ..thats why i ask

)

 

[Jeeper1540]

Pine shavings, and a golf ball

 

[dragonlair]

I use milk crates as nest boxes. I put shavings in the bottom and hay on top of that.

 

[DurangoCal]

My hens are about 19 weeks old. I started putting shavings in their nesting boxes along with a golf ball about 3 days ago. Within hours they have removed all the bedding. So I tried using hay and grass. They did the same. Should I continue lining the boxes?

 

[ADozenGirlz]

Quote:
I would keep putting the hay back in there. I think they're just exploring. They'll stomp around in it until they make a nest shape out of it eventually.
If you don't line the nest boxes, the eggs will break and the chickens may go find a more comfortable location to lay their eggs.