What's inside your Nesting box?

[blackdog043]

I use a combination of straw and wood shavings.

 

[alexa009]

Different things work for everybody, for example I was using pine shavings but it didn't last long with my chickens. They always seemed to kick it around and you would have to keep changing it. When our grass over grows it ends up getting cut by the lawnmower turning it into hay. Pine shavings are really the only thing I can think of though except for hay and straw.

 

[Peppercorngal]

Here in sunny (drought ridden) California, I use rice straw. It's very soft and doesn't stick to the eggs like the wood shavings do. My hens never poop in their nesting boxes, never. My eggs are clean and beautiful just out of the nesting box. Rice straw is very cheap too!

 

[katieuppi]

I use pine shavings. I prefer straw, but my girls don't They kick it all out.

 

[nminusyplusm]

I use plastic nesting pads to keep eggs from breaking and on top of that whatever bedding is currently available (straw, hay, pine shavings, etc.).

 

[Meg-in-MT]

I use pine shavings. I tried straw once and about an hour after I put it in it was all on the ground.

 

[nminusyplusm]

I use pine shavings. I tried straw once and about an hour after I put it in it was all on the ground.

With a 3" piece of wood in the front as a barrier, mine haven't been able to kick it all out at least so far. But they do try!

 

[Apis mellifera]

I cut a piece of cardboard for the bottom of the nest box and cover with pine shavings. Everything else I tried they kicked out. Out of 15 hens one likes to pull a few feathers out before she lays an egg.

 

[Meg-in-MT]

With a 3" piece of wood in the front as a barrier, mine haven't been able to kick it all out at least so far. But they do try!

Nice! Yes, my kickboard is far too short. The shavings last longer than the straw, but they still work it out Little buggers.

 

[aart]

Nice tight flake of straw(hay might work fine too),
shoved in tight(my nests are 14x14) and 'bowled' out a bit.

Worked great for a good long time, then got different straw with not as tight a flake peelable(is that a word?) and lots of seed left that they dug for tearing it all up.

What ever you use, make sure the front of nest has a nice high front(4-6") so the inevitable pullet scratchings don't empty the nests.