What should I use as bedding?

[Nicholas Dean]

So I'm getting some chickens soon and was wondering if I need to get bedding. The ground is all dirt. I have hay to use for the nesting boxes but I want to know if it is even worth putting hay down in the coop itself.

 

[TexasSam]

Depending on where you live and your preference on cleaning. If you are up north and you want to use the deep litter concept to help keep your coop warm then use cider shaving. If you want to use cider on the floor to make cleaning poo up easier. If neither applies then it’s not necessary. I like cider because it helps with pest control.

 

[pasuit]

So I'm getting some chickens soon and was wondering if I need to get bedding. The ground is all dirt. I have hay to use for the nesting boxes but I want to know if it is even worth putting hay down in the coop itself.

 

[pasuit]

One of my coop has a dirt floor and I use a few pine shavings. I't makes the coop smell better if nothing else. It's mostly personal preference.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Depending on where you live and your preference on cleaning. If you are up north and you want to use the deep litter concept to help keep your coop warm then use cider shaving. If you want to use cider on the floor to make cleaning poo up easier. If neither applies then it’s not necessary. I like cider because it helps with pest control.

Cedar is not recommended for chickens, they have a sensitive respiratory system...I've read. I would LOVE to use cedar as I love the aroma but use pine shavings (DLM) on my dirt floor and it works great. Sprinkle some PDZ & just keep shavings as needed ... To make it really work, some add grass clippings, leaves, wood chips, etc. There's a thread on DLM & it's working.

Glad you joined us, others will be peeping in with their personal experiencees. Members are GREAT full of knowledge from their experiences, very informative & helpful.

 

[TexasSam]

Cedar is not recommended for chickens, they have a sensitive respiratory system...I've read. I would LOVE to use cedar as I love the aroma but use pine shavings (DLM) on my dirt floor and it works great. Sprinkle some PDZ & just keep shavings as needed ... To make it really work, some add grass clippings, leaves, wood chips, etc. There's a thread on DLM & it's working.

Glad you joined us, others will be peeping in with their personal experiencees. Members are GREAT full of knowledge from their experiences, very informative & helpful.

Some my say that but they also say pine is just a bad any softwood aromatics are not recommended. I personally haven’t had any problems with either. My coop is well ventilated. In the end just do a little homework and decide.
https://www.google.com/search?q=ced...j0j9&hl=en-US&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

 

[ChickNanny13]

Hmmm, maybe it's not so much the smell but the oils in cedar? I do smell an aroma with my pine shavings but it's not as strong as the cedar. Like the texture of the pine vs cedar but so love the smell of cedar

 

[rosemarythyme]

Bedding is a good idea to give the chickens a softer landing off the roost bar, to help absorb poop/moisture, and to protect the health of the soil, since you mentioned your coop floor is just soil.

My current coop bedding is mostly aged wood chips with a little dried leaf litter. It's been a very wet winter so far but the chips give me great drainage and it's easy to poop scoop off of it.

 

[pennyJo1960]

So I'm getting some chickens soon and was wondering if I need to get bedding. The ground is all dirt. I have hay to use for the nesting boxes but I want to know if it is even worth putting hay down in the coop itself.

Welcome you would not want cedar just ask for white shavings deep litter is how I work my coops I have three of them

 

[Nicholas Dean]

Welcome you would not want cedar just ask for white shavings deep litter is how I work my coops I have three of them

I'm in the deep south area of USA (so it's super hot) I have some tractor supply stores close by, is that where I could ask for "white shavings deep litter"