What kind of bedding is best for chickens?

[bburn]

I think I like the idea of the tarp on the floor of the coop....my DH would not put a floor in mine and it is just sandy dirt....I don't have any problems with it and I did worry about when it rained. We had two weeks of heavy rain last month and it stayed really dry.

But I am going to put some thought into the tarp because I would feel like I really got it clean....plus that would be much easier to get it to the compost pile! I have started using DE on the dirt right after I rake it out really well and then put my pine shavings on top. I rake it out really well about every two weeks.....just keeps it smelling fresher!

I don't have rosemary anymore. But I do have basil and thyme. Are there any of these types of herbs that would be bad for them? I like the thought of using herbs......

 

[grandmas Nest]

Has anyone tried using wood pellets for wood stoves mixed with the pine shavings or is this not a good idea?

 

[ChickenFarmerIStillLoveU]

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it probably will work fine, but can be pretty costly.

 

[chickendude]

I like a nice bed of wild rice for my chicken.

 

[Morgan7782]

I use pine shavings, but was wondering if straw would be warmer in winter then shavings. But I am pretty happy with the shavings and I do the deep litter method as well.

 

[@~rosecityfarmgirl~@]

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[WildflowerJLH]

Quote:
it probably will work fine, but can be pretty costly.

Actually, stove pellets cost less than equine pine type products. 40# bag of equine pine is $6-8, but the same size bag of stove pellets was $4.50 @ Home Depot. I just was not sure if they are equivalent.

And now that people mention the dust, the equine pine stuff makes a pretty fine dust, once you wet it.

 

[GoldenCometLover]

Hi - I'm fairly new to chickens, only have a couple weeks under my wing 9pun intended!)

and have a silly question I am sure - I am putting straw in the nesting boxes and pine shavings everywhere else - the girls seem very interested in "pulling" half the straw from the nesting boxes and pooping on that instead of the shavings...am I doing something wrong?