what kind of bedding do you use in a nesting box?

[mommy3]

I am trying to find out what to put in our nesting boxes. I have them closed off right now because my girls are only 10 wks old. We are using the deep litter method in the coop but am wondering what to use here. Do I use hay? Straw? What is the difference? Saw some alfalfa hay at the Tractor Store- is that what I want? Clueless here so please be specific about what you use- thanks! Only have 4 nesting boxes, and 3 girls right now- getting 4 more chicks this spring. Love some advice. Thanks everyone!

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Don't use alfalfa, it's too expensive, plus that's critter food; it's mainly used to feed horses and goats.

Straw is cheaper (it's yellow) and works well; straw is made to be used as a bedding material.

I use Bermuda hay when it's on sale (even though it's meant to be food) because it's cheap and I love the way it looks and it's easy to rake up and clean.

Edited to add: That's what you see in my avatar.

 

[trailchick]

I am using wheat straw right now, but i do have some alfalfa bales i could use.
I do give my birds flakes of alfalfa to eat, since grass around here is not growing, or green.
I dont know if people use wood shavings (not the real fine stuff).

 

[OldChurchEggery1]

Pine tags. They're free! For whatever reason, the hens don't kick them out of the boxes and root around in them so much. As a test, I filled some of my nest boxes with old hay and one with pine tags. All of the eggs were in the pine tag box even though there were three other freshly-filled hay nests available. You can also use it on the floor of your brooder and/or coop. When it's been sufficiently manured, you can put it around azaleas, blueberries, or other acid loving plants as a mulch.

 

[RonB]

most of the people I know ,including myself use pine shavings. works great

 

[Yard full o' rocks]

I'm with RonB....just plain old pine shavings (I perfer the large flakes)

 

[HollyBird24]

I use straw, we bale it ourselves so I have several thousand bales to choose from

Shavings are too expensive around here.

 

[BlazeJester]

Try several things and see which one they DON'T evict from the nest box. My girls have ALWAYS had a blast throwing straw everywhere. I'll try pine shavings this time around and see if that works better.

 

[SadieSue]

I've been using straw but just recently ordered the excelsior pads from EggCartons.com. I'm loving them so far since they stay clean and tidy in the nest box and isn't kicked out easily like the straw was. A breeder that I got a few of my hens from used them and recommended them to me. She says they last a good long time before they need to be changed out.

 

[PetRock]

I use pine shavings.