What is the best bedding for chickens??????

[BantamFan4Life]

Hay or shavings is probably the best.

 

[BantyChooks]

Oh, beediamond, something not uper imortant but something to keep in mind, is straw can be an ideal mite livng placel You won' t get mites from straw, but if you ever are trying to get rid of an infestation, straw could be hindering progress. Just another thing to keep in mind.

 

[trailrider330]

Welcome to the BYC flock! We are glad you joined us!

As a former horse owner I am partial to shavings. Way easier to clean and gives a nicer look in my opinion.

 

[BEEDiAMOND88777]

its build out of bords.. like a barn but smaller.. it has a wooden floor.. and one hole cut in the side for a window but there is no glass on it..

 

[BEEDiAMOND88777]

Oh, beediamond, something not uper imortant but something to keep in mind, is straw can be an ideal mite livng placel You won' t get mites from straw, but if you ever are trying to get rid of an infestation, straw could be hindering progress. Just another thing to keep in mind.

and i am trying to get rid of lice on my chickens at the moment.. so what do i do? what tryp of bedding now? i dont really like shavings cuz of when it rains SOME water drips tho the tiny cracks in the top and will get the shavings all wet and the same with snow.. we could fix the cracks just need some time on our hands..

 

[BantyChooks]

Oh, beediamond, something not uper imortant but something to keep in mind, is straw can be an ideal mite livng placel You won' t get mites from straw, but if you ever are trying to get rid of an infestation, straw could be hindering progress. Just another thing to keep in mind.

and i am trying to get rid of lice on my chickens at the moment.. so what do i do? what tryp of bedding now? i dont really like shavings cuz of when it rains SOME water drips tho the tiny cracks in the top and will get the shavings all wet and the same with snow.. we could fix the cracks just need some time on our hands..

Oh really??? Hmm, that complicates things a bit.... Just a minuet, I'll get on my PC so I can type better...

 

[BantyChooks]

Ok, so first of all, do you have poultry lice or red mites, or norther fowol mite or even sonething else?? wwhat measures are you taking to get rid of the mites\lice?
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/08/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification.html
This is an exellent article on identifying your pest and treatment, the only thing is her advice in using sevin is BAD, it has been withdrawn from use with poultry and you cannot eat the eggs of any bird treated forever. That's right, if you treat them once you are not supposed to ever eat those eggs ever again!! I had a bad infestation of poultry lice, and I used permetherin with great sucsess.

your coop is not ideal for any bedding, really, unless covered with a tarp or something first. I used to have a really bad problem with leaks, when it rained there would be such big puddles on the floor my ducks could drink from them, and I was using shavings!! I corrected this by stapling a tarp to the roof, problem solved.

But, if you cannot fix that, than I don't really know any other way, you can also use sand as bedding, but that must be sifted of poo. Rather tedious, In my opinion!

Pics of your coop, if possible would help me a ton...

 

[BEEDiAMOND88777]

i cant get pics.. cuz of my phone has an error and wont let me take pics.. like it just says you need to deleat pics before you take more but i cant deleat them cuz it wont let me.. anyway...
the lice my chickens got are pinkish and vary small.. i was trying to dust bath my chickens but it never worked.. i will try to find i pic that likes a bit like it..

 

[cypressdrake]

I use straw and hay in winter months. My barns stay fairly dry so moisture is not an issue.