Straw Question

[country chic]

At the minute am using straw as a bedding in the nest box and put it down in the rest of the house too, just wondering what everyone else does or uses in their hen houses ?

[fishpond]

I use Hemcore

[elizajay]

Straw isn't very absorbant, Hemcore or Easibed is better. My supplier has just ditched Hemcore in favour of chopped hemp which is darker is colour, so not as easy to poo pick, but feels smooth. I understand red mites can hide inside straw too.

The new stuff isn't hemp it's rape stalks

[julesapple]

Ours have a good sprinkling of diatom powder, with a thick Hemcore or Aubios layer, and whilst it's cold a layer of hay/straw mix on top.

The stray is howked out every other day and changed for clean stuff just in case the hay bits moulder. Any poo sits on the stray layer nicely and is picked up easily.

Jules

[Nicos]

When I bred pedigree bunnies, I started off using a good quality straw I used to use for bedding for my horse(. He used to eat it so it needed to be very decent stuff)

BUT- my bunnies regularly got mites from the straw which was no good...so I quickly moved onto dust free shavings. Consequently I automatically chose shavings for my chooks- and find it very easy to pick out the droppings in the morning.

[chris]

Shavings (dust extracted) in the house, straw in the nestboxes for me..

[Polly Fouracre]

I use wood shavings on the floors and soft hay in the nest boxes.

[Flummery]

Hemp bedding - nice and pale in colour so you can see the poo - which becomes abosorbed into nice dry, dark lumps. It also composts down a treat.

[chris]

Hemp bedding - nice and pale in colour so you can see the poo - which becomes abosorbed into nice dry, dark lumps. It also composts down a treat.

Just reading about this - Hemp Technology Ltd: Products - Hemcore Animal Bedding - do you water it down, or is that only for such large animals like horses?

[Hilary B]

When we had chooks, I never used anything on the floor of the house apart from either sheets of newspaper or enough sawdust to make cleaning out a bit easier, and when the house floor was easy to clean anyway, I didn't bother. They don't need 'bedding' because they aren't meant to sleep on the floor.
In the nestbox, straw or shavings but shavings were not always available. Hemcore etc were not well known (if available at all) that long ago.....

[Flummery]

Just reading about this - Hemp Technology Ltd: Products - Hemcore Animal Bedding - do you water it down, or is that only for such large animals like horses?

I don't wet it, no. Mine isn't actually hemcore - it's an unmarked brand!

[polo]

I use lots of newspaper underneath the perches and shredded paper in the nestboxes (i get it free from the school)
Newspaper is really easy to clear put- just gather up.

[snakeshack]

I use hemcore and no I don't water it

[RichmondHens]

Thin layer of shavings under the perches (just enough to absorb any wet from the poo) and either shavings or straw in nestboxes depending on hens preference - I have some that will scratch out straw but tolerate shavings.

[Snadger]

Straw or shredded paper in nestboxes........nothing on wooden floor!