I have been using straw. And when I clean their coop it is pretty easy to remove and clean up after. But when I put it in my compost it has seeds so then they sprout. I have been looking into shavings but it is so much more expensive. Also plan to redo my coop and yard this year. I was wondering about which would be better for the floor. Either a solid wood floor or screen? Thank you
You may be getting straw really cheap. Around here, a bale of straw and a large block of pine chips run about the same ($5). I use both around the farm but much more prefer pine chips for the coop and run. The spent pine chip bedding is ideal for the composter! My coop flooring is wood planks with pine chip bedding on top and it works very well.
i use the fine cut pine shavings in my brooder for chicks but will b moving them to coop next week should i go with bigger shavings for floor bedding the ground is the actual floor ?
A welded wire floor works good because then a lot of the poo falls through into a drawer catch in the bottom...as far as bedding, I use straw in the duck house and just add layers. It stays dry enough here that there aren't any mold problems. In the hen house drawer (and actually in the brooder when they were little) I used horse stall pellet bedding. It. Is. Awesome. It's way more absorbent than shavings or straw and smells nicer for longer I think. It composts well because as the poo gets on it and it gets wet, it breaks down so by the time I compost it, it is basically saw dust.
