What should I use as bedding?

[pennyJo1960]

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"

just ask them for white shavings here they are like 7.50 a bale they come compressed I use a little garden rake to break them up to use them

 

[Nicholas Dean]

just ask them for white shavings here they are like 7.50 a bale they come compressed I use a little garden rake to break them up to use them

Alright thanks! One more thing, have you ever bought chicks from Tractor Supply? How did it go? And if you can remember what breeds they sold.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Alright thanks! One more thing, have you ever bought chicks from Tractor Supply? How did it go? And if you can remember what breeds they sold.

I am not a fan of them anymore we had a feed store old co-op Del's Farm and Feed TSC bought them out then turned around and closed our feed store it was 10 miles it is closer to 35 miles to a tractor supply .. they like any other dealer gets hatchery birds they are bred to lay more throughout spring and summer they will have many breeds when you go ask for a list of when and what is being shipped

 

[Nicholas Dean]

I am not a fan of them anymore we had a feed store old co-op Del's Farm and Feed TSC bought them out then turned around and closed our feed store it was 10 miles it is closer to 35 miles to a tractor supply .. they like any other dealer gets hatchery birds they are bred to lay more throughout spring and summer they will have many breeds when you go ask for a list of when and what is being shipped

Thanks for you help!

 

[pennyJo1960]

Thanks for you help!

glad I was able to

 

[ChickNanny13]

Ooops, guess I thought I was using pine shavings (DLM) but it's actually "white wood shavings" from Dels. When I was raising chicks for a friend, I used pine shavings but changed to unscented doggie potty pads.

 

[gadus]

I switched last month to straw from pine shavings because I found the shavings fairly quickly got pulverized and then ceased to be a nice cushion (for walking around and as a "landing pad" for when they fly off the roost). This created two issues however: one, they soon preferred to do their laying in the straw versus the nest boxes; two, the elevated pile gets in the way of the main and chicken doors. Neither one is a big deal, as I planned to elevate my doors at some point anyway-and who cares where they lay as long as they lay? My major concern now that I think about it is that the straw seems a place where moisture could be trapped and not be immediately apparent and as everyone knows, moisture is THE enemy in a coop but so far, so good; I plan to stick with straw but to change the bedding as often as I had been changing the shavings (once a month-ish).

 

[Bobby Basham]

I switched last month to straw from pine shavings because I found the shavings fairly quickly got pulverized and then ceased to be a nice cushion (for walking around and as a "landing pad" for when they fly off the roost). This created two issues however: one, they soon preferred to do their laying in the straw versus the nest boxes; two, the elevated pile gets in the way of the main and chicken doors. Neither one is a big deal, as I planned to elevate my doors at some point anyway-and who cares where they lay as long as they lay? My major concern now that I think about it is that the straw seems a place where moisture could be trapped and not be immediately apparent and as everyone knows, moisture is THE enemy in a coop but so far, so good; I plan to stick with straw but to change the bedding as often as I had been changing the shavings (once a month-ish).

Straw is hollow and can harbor mites. A lot of folks use hay instead. Sometimes the terms are used interchangeably, but there is a difference. --BB

 

[Nicholas Dean]

Straw is hollow and can harbor mites. A lot of folks use hay instead. Sometimes the terms are used interchangeably, but there is a difference. --BB

okay, but would it be fine if I cover half of the coop in hay and left the other half dirt?