WARNING: Do NOT Use this Coop Bedding in Winter! (use this instead)
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- Опубліковано 21 лис 2024
- Henlo! I am The President of Chickenlandia and I want to welcome you to Chickenlandia, a magical place where my pet chickens (and a few ducks) live an awesome life. Thank you for watching this video about the best bedding for backyard chickens in winter. I hope you love it! #chickenlandia #welcometochickenlandia #backyardchickens
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We need market competition to bring down the price of hemp, across the board.
I use pine shavings in the coop and straw in the nest boxes
Love that you always bring it back around to the most important aspect of raising chickens and that is not having them in a factory. ❤
Dalia!!! Im a new chicken mama and I have watched I think every single one of your videos. My husband now makes fun of me saying ‘what does Dalia think?’ To everything because all I do is talk about you haha! ´Dalia said this Dalia said that’ 😂 Much love from the north of England 🏴 🩷🐓🐤
haha YAY!!
@@FeebsTarantulas She is awesome . I just love watching her videos.
I have a couple of poultry heat mats in my coop. They basically like those heated dog mats. The girls can choose to sit on them if they feel cold. They only cost about $50, take very little electricity, and are very safe. You can lay them of a flat surface to put then on the wall. They do not heat the whole area, just where the mat is located. The girls love them and I have never had an issue with frostbite since getting them. People argue that hens can live without heat, yeah, well so can humans, but life is a lot more pleasant when you are comfortable and not have to use all of your energy to survive rather then using it to recuperate after pushing out 10-20x more eggs then your body was made to during laying season. Give them a comfy rest over those couple of cold months.
@@Nightshade-333 Thanks. Thats a great idea.
I get large moving boxes and cut two chicken door holes in both ends and put it over the heat mat..this keeps the heat in, especially when you line it with insulation..keeping some ventilation of course too. I use this for Seramas. They really seem to like it. A few rather not use it, but many often go in there when they feel the cold come on. I like that they know that’s the place to go when the chill comes on.
I’m with you- they definitely can live without heat, (speaking of regular chickens..seramas are a bit different) but why deprive them of at least a choice? I think my chickens live longer and are healthier when I supply them with creature comforts like a source of heat in the winter. I have two 14 year olds! I bring the older chickens inside the house during cold snaps though. Old chickens don’t do well in freezing weather.
@@sonofhibbs4425I agreed on the supplemental heat. We have 4-girls now that just turned 6. You can tell the cold get to them a little more than when they were younger. Started using cozy coop panels when the temps are back which helps allot 😊
I have been using a combination of chopped straw and pellet horse bedding (pine pellets) it helps with the moisture. It’s been great. If I’m getting high moisture the pellets clump up so it’s a great visual indicator that I need to clean out and start again and address the moisture problem.
This method works awesome, but I’ve noticed a lot more dust with the pine pellets.
The absolute best bedding I've ever used is dried leaves in the fall. Of course, unless you have lots and lots of trees and some way to package and store these dried leaves, I never can accumulate enough to last me all through the year until autumn when the leaves fall again. But for a short period in the fall and part of winter, my chickens have dried leaves in their coop. Being naturally lazy, I collect these by using a mower with a bag attached. 🙃
I do this too. It takes a lot of space to store bags of leaves but it also takes space to store other bedding if you try to store a years worth. The thing i love most about leaves is they are free. I know people who will go through smaller towns and villages and ask people for the leaves they have on the curb for pick up. they make the best compost.
Interesting! I have so many leaves right now on my 100acre property
I use corn cob bedding...by Beck's. I used pine and ran into issues and wanted something more organic...can't afford hemp so corn cob it is and we love it. Very absorbent, no odor, lower dust than pine and organic - not to mention, these girls love it when I open a new bag. The hubs told me this was his families method of bedding growing up. It has been a game changer and very affordable...I'll never go back. This is not a criticism to those who use pine...but for my flock, it was a no go. Thanks for sharing! Love your videos.
Would you mind sharing what specific issues you ran into with pine? I am newer to chickens, and we have been using pine so far, but I am gathering all the info I can, so I can make a more informed decision. Thanks!
@@natalieromito3928 for me…pine seemed to allow more bugs in… lots of dust, which can irritate the hens. It doesn’t breakdown enough for me to compost easy… I wanted something more organic and easy to compost and corn cob has been a game changer. I’ve been using corn cob for almost six months and very happy. Their coop doesn’t smell and easy to clean up the poop. I also use a sand tray under the roosting bars so the poop is easy to clean and love it. Kind of like a kitty litter box with sand and I use a scoop to clean up. Hope this helps.
I use sand as a base. Then I add kiln dried shavings on top of it. I also pick out my coop every day. I add First Saturday Lime on top of the sand prior to the shavings. I ran a horse barn for years. Cleaning the poop out daily eliminates, keeps out worms and parasites.
I had a dumb question about using white ashes... but it turns to lye-ashes if it gets wet... so I answered my own question. Bad idea.
But... what are some other alternatives?
I'm soooooo glad you're talking about this cuz so many people use hay. Hay also is hollow it's good breeding grounds for mites
I love how you speak in conversation in your videos. I feel like your in the room with me! You have a fun, joyful personality, thank you for sharing with the world.
I use 3 ft of cedar shavinge. Ive been raising chickens for 75 years with no ill effects and after 7 years my chicken coop has never smelled of poop. It smells like nothing.and it keeps all lice and leg mites away. Ive never had a sick chicken but my chickens run free on 10 acres. I also have about 100 chigkens.
I was told the oils in cedar are harmful to chickens. Old time farmer told me
HEMP is my favorite too!! Way cheaper than the wood shavings. Deep litter!! Love this!!
I don't know where you buy but hemp has been the most expensive over everything else.
I use sand lol! But I use river/river bank sand that dries very quickly and when it gets yucky I clean it all out and put fresh in, just like I would with straw or shavings. The "construction" sand or all-purpose sand does not dry out well and stays pretty wet. Just have to do your sand research. And from what I've read, sand actually keeps things cool in summer and warm in winter, in the coop.
Just thought I'd offer a different perspective on it, not shaming or anything. First year owner here, so I may learn differently, but so far, so good.
I live in a Very Northern State Where temps drop below zero overnight often. I used Sand Once, It was very cold in the Winter. I used Straw Bales from a Farmer Once (Never Again) it caused a Northern Fowl Mite Invasion. I do buy chopped Straw in packages from T.S.~ But My go to Bedding is Pine Shavings, I buy five bags of fine cut for the Base and five bags of the flake shavings for the top layer. It keeps it nice and comfortable. (The fine cut is a lot more dense when compacted) 🐔🐔
As a 23 year chicken keeper, I can say been there, done that with all these beddings. Personally I love the hemp.
Great video as always. A video on winter bedding was a great idea. Those of us in Canada get hammered hard most every winter. I'm in northern Alberta. We are in the middle of a heavy snow storm right now. Temperatures around -12c and will be colder tonight. I've always used Pine shavings. One of the easiest to clean up I find and excellent insulation on the floor. I have a thermometer near the floor in the coop to keep track of temperatures at the chickens level.
Thank you for this video!! I have used and continue to use pine shavings. Honestly haven’t used anything else. I love it and it is vey dusty but it works great and my girls haven’t had any issues. I have had my girls since they’re were about a week old and are now going on 2 ❤🐥🐥🐥🐥🐥🐥🐥🐥🐓
Your coop is the size of a hoouse holy crap. Also I was so nervous clicking this video because pine shavings are about all I can afford. So I was bracing myself to learn if I was messing up somehow. I wish I could afford to get higher quality stuff but it is what it is. Maybe when I can afford to get the big coop finished I can do the deep litter thing too.
if you have local newpapers, I have found it really great to mix in shredded paper with my wood chips. and it's easy to o deep litter - you just leave it, turn it sometimes, and I clean mine out in spring and just before the winter - and both those times of year pile it all on the garden.
@@KatBurnsKASHKA I'm not sure where our nearest paper is. Maybe in the next town over? I'll have to look it up. As for deep litter; I don't have the appropriate coop for that right now. I have a small one inside a chicken run that I got off of amazon, and my front porch. The porch holds the bedding in alright now that I've put a tarp down to keep it from falling through the slats between the boards but it still doesn't stay. The chickens kick it off and the wind takes it away so I have to replace the bedding pretty often. Right now everything is basically waiting on my larger hen house to be finished, which like most things requires money to pay someone.
The chicken run birds seem to stay warm enough crowding into the small coop at night but y'know; it's not ideal.
I use sand in the summer and I only have seven chickens and a small coop so I scoop poop every morning…but in the winter when they have scratched out most of the sand I add chopped straw. They love it! I add when needed and I put in their run too. Always have a tire filled with sand for dust bathing and I wrap half of the pen with plastic to keep out wind and snow. Has worked pretty well. I also do diatomaceous earth once a month.
I use pine shavings usually and wood shavings from a friend who is a carpenter. Sometimes I add dried leaves. Every morning when I feed them , I use a hoe to scrape off the roosts and stir up the bedding. It covers up the poop and helps to dry out the bedding a little bit. Thanks for another great video! I'll have to see if I can find hemp.
I used rice hulls when I could find them and afford them. They clumped around the wet blobs and once in the raised garden beds they held up for months without rotting away. Kept the soil nice and loose. I hope to have chickens again soon. Miss them very much.😊
I used straw, not hay, to make a wall outside my coop to block wind. Also used it around the base of coop, but left area for air to still get in to a reduced amount. Or tried leaves, but chickens moved it too much. I did bag leaves to put around my houses foundation, chickens would play on them when they free ranged
I've never heard of or seen hemp bedding. Sounds great. I use the least dusty large wood shavings I can get. I clean out in spring and fall. We use a garden rake to mix in fresh shavings as needed. It works really well.
Great information! My first winter having chickens....I have sand with a layer of aspen over it. I've noticed the sand underneath getting wet. My coop is not a normal coop, it's a massive chicken tractor that is big enough for 12 chickens to nest comfortably. However, it has a low ceiling and it's not completely water proof. I wish I would've just went the normal route and paid for a coop instead of having someone build me this tractor. I let the chickens free range all day, so they just bed down in it at night. I've been cleaning and fluffing the bedding to try to air it out to dry but every time its wet around the entire edge of the inside. Anyways, I like your methods. I plan to try to waterproof this thing, or maybe not enough ventilation, or both!, and change up the bedding. I love your videos, you're so sweet and you give us your superior knowledge in a sensible manor that everyone can do. ✊Save the chickens! Bok Bok🐓💓
We have a sawmill and a poop deck in the coop so I use the sawdust under the poop deck. It works really well. I’ll use the purchased wood shavings and/or straw for the main floor in the coop
Love that you read actual studies!!!! It can be boring but the info may be life or death. Blessings to you 🙏
I had a mouse infestation in the straw bales around the run I used as a windbreak. This year we put panels up around most of the run. They are 24 inches high. We have lots of wind.
We run a tarp around the bottom third of the run in the winter just as a wind break. The straw was just a pain.
I just love what you said in the end of this video!!! ❤ it really touched my heart! ❤❤❤
I just subscribed. I need to watch all your videos because I am starting Chickens in the spring, I was scared to start them now because of winter. Thank you for the information.,
You got this!
I love your glasses! They’re so cute!
I use pine shavings in coop and under there cap out side I put flakes of straw they tare down the flakes and they can stay warm all day out under truck cap on bad days in winter Ontario Canada 🙌
Straw is also recommended for feral or community cats to line the houses for the winter. It's less likely to freeze and keeps the cats warmer.❤
Hemp bedding isn't available here. What we did (our coop had cement floors) was put down a thin sprinkle of DE, then topped that with sand. That got topped with pressed equine bedding pellets, which absorb the moisture and dry it out. Then we topped that with shavings, then we topped that with straw. It wasn't chopped straw, just baled straw. It was nice and thick, and the chooks loved raking through it. We'd do a semi deep bedding, and when we went to clean it out of the coop, we shoveled the dirty stuff form the coop into the chicken run. The stuff that had been in the run got shoveled into the compost or garden. Then we'd lay down the fresh stuff.
I always buy a couple compressed bales of hay in the winter and give my chickens a little bit of it a little bit at a time. It’s their greens for the winter. I don’t throw out a whole bale at a time though. It’s usually just a couple flakes at a time.
Hemp stalks are also good for composting toilets. It's got a good particle size that you can mix with fine sawdust.
Me personally, I prefer deep litter. I will try to see about the hemp.
All i can say is that ALL LITTER MUST BE DRY as much as possible. It doesn't matter what animal you are using it for either, so long as it is dry.
I use pine flakes in the coupe. straw and pine flakes in the Run wrapped 4 ft high with clear 4 mil. plastic🐓
I love that you say that the best bedding for winter is what you can afford. A way to save for bedding costs is to pay yourself $2-3 per dozen eggs you don't have to buy from the grocery store. Egg prices have been crazy the last few years, up to $5 a dozen on occasion. I know they are even more expensive elsewhere, but I am used to $1 a dozen eggs and it kills me to pay so much. I would love a small coop but my town says you need 3 acres to have chickens. I hope they change that someday. A neighbor has an illegal coop with 3-4 chickens. Don't know how they get away with it. I am too law abiding. BTW, We heat mostly with wood and we always say the best wood to heat with is free wood. Whatever we can scrounge from someone cutting down a tree is what we heat with.
As I've gotten older, I'm thinking that it's better to ask for forgiveness than for permission. 😉
Thank you! I also use hemp. We love it.
I bought about 10-15 of the $5-7 plastic covered bales of pine shavings before last winter. Most of them were placed as walls along the outside northern sections of the small coops as windbreaks, while a few were emptied into the coops... In the spring and summer, I generally use fresh grass cuttings, both as bedding and as feed supplements.
I used hemp in my coop but found that it didn't prevent insect infestations. Some of the bags I purchased were moldy and it was quite expensive. The slight resin smell in pine seems to be more preventative. Aspen doesn't have the same strong smell and it doesn't change the body chemistry in rabbits. I will use a mix of aspen when I can find it and pine which has a nice balance. They like the straw in the nest boxes and in the winter I spread it on the snow to make a warmish path or area for free ranging.
I also buy straw in the winter to throw on top of the snow because God forbid my little Chicky babies get their feet in the snow😜 I swear, they act like it’s hot lava or something.
@@nogames8982 haha, good mama!
we’re right in the path of the current atmospheric river (NW Cal) - everything’s wet! I’ve set up a tent, covered with tarps clamped on, on my deck, until our county has a chance to drain. I have a small tent with roosts in the house at night. Pine shavings in both tents for the moment!
I use shredded paper in the laying boxes and that side of the coop and pine shavings in a deep litter method under the roosts
Great information and thank you Dalia.
I use pine chips and buy from a farm store that is super conscious of healthy products.
I like hemp and am going to get some soon. It's a little more expensive but I definitely like it
and my girls do too.
Thanks so much for all of the useful info on bedding today. Just love all that you share with us.
Hemp is where it's at ❤
I would love to use hemp, but I can’t get it anywhere in my town and having it shipped is ridiculously expensive. If they ever come up with a cost-effective way to get it, I would be all over it.
I like large pine shavings. I'm in TX and you can't find straw around here. But the pine smells nice and it's very warm. I also use a heat lamp with plenty of ventilation. And I have a extra wire attached to make sure it doesn't fall ever.
I use chop straw, I was happy to see it was on your list. Take care!
You're so right about everything in this! Especially the last point - the best is the "best" one that you can afford! Too east to get caught up and feeling like "less than best" is just as bad as "the worst" when you love your feather-puppies so much.
I use medium pine shaving in coop with comb heaters over perch and use straw in runs with plastic tarps surrounding runs leaving a foot gap at top in the middle and use heated waterers 😊 been working just fine in Indiana
Also have vents with fans in top of coop to keep fumes and moisture out 😊
I find in the extreme cold, pine shavings controls moisture better than straw. It's currently -22c here and we can get down to -45c. We do use straw occasionally, and in the run, but I prefer pine. I wish we could get hemp here but I haven't found a source for it.
Here (the Netherlands)the opposite to your list is used and works.
Do you use mostly hay in your coops?
I have to agree with you on the hemp. This year I made the investment in it just to see. It is has worked great so far. I still have ten bags of pine so as we progress through the winter I will be adding the pine. I love your number one reason! 🤗 for that. We love our flocks and just to have them is a joy to my life.
I'll never use straw again. Horse folks say every time they use hay in winter ( goes for straw too) they get lice or mites. The alfalfa field beside me has mites. Trying to treat chickens for bugs in winter is no fun for anyone. I love the pellets/ sawdust personally.
Poplar shavings work for our flocks. I drive to the next county and load up as much as I can in a large van. Reminds me, this weekend, we need to do the deep method and we have plenty of shavings still on hand from a run I did in the summer... we have not had a frost in north-eastern Alabama on our mountain YET, but oh, we know that it is coming! I like the Poplar better than aspen shavings (and certainly better than pine). I haven't seen the hemp shavings, but our hen nests are hemp. I think I will order some to sprinkle on top, as you have. Thank you again for a great episode.
Never heard of poplar shavings before. Will have to check it out.
Dahlia, I learned so much from you. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us 😊
for folks on a budget - shredded newspaper/office paper/thin cardboard is a great alternative and pretty much free, other than the time to shred it. it makes great compost in a deep litter system too.
Great idea ty ! I will try it this winter in western New York !
Mine started eating it immediately so I had to turn around and take it out. Plus if it gets wet it’s an awful mess.
I've read some people use used coffee grounds. Easy to poop scoop. Thoughts? I personally use the pine shavings.
Probably not for winter but I heard coffee grounds are great bedding material.
I Use Hemp bedding deep litter method in a small coop. I just bought the chopped straw to try
I live in northern Utah and I use sand in my run and a straw/alfalfa mix bedding for the coop.
I may have to start using pine shavings instead of straw.
Great video Dalia!! 😊 The #1 bedding had me blushing! You're so sweet!!
I always appreciate your take and your experiences...thanks for another great video!
Is there a specific humidity/moisture level that is considered "danger zone?" I have a humidity gage inside the coop, but I'm not sure what levels are acceptable and what is not. Do you?
I use hemp in the coop and the coarse straw in the covered part of the run here in zone 7a/b. Thank you for sharing!!
I used alfalfa hay for years. I only got rid of it because I had mites that refused to go away. I could not have the deep litter method using hay. Funny I used to use sand too. Now I use pine shavings.
I hope I didn't sounds judgey in the video! That's never my intention. I know so many folks who love sand. No matter what, I think everyone should ultimately do what works best for them!
I live in a Very Northern State Where temps drop below zero overnight often. I used Sand Once, It was very cold in the Winter. I used Straw Bales from a Farmer Once (Never Again) it caused a Northern Fowl Mite Invasion. I do buy chopped Straw in packages from T.S.~ But My go to Bedding is Pine Shavings, I buy five bags of fine cut for the Base and five bags of the flakes for the top layer. It keeps it nice and comfortable. (The fine cut is a lot more dense when compacted) 🐔🐔
@@WelcometoChickenlandia You did not and you never do sound that way. I just thought it was funny that I did the wrong things at the top of wrong things to do list.
@@DeeJayMarie I will use straw for a path in the snow. They love it because it has seeds in it. It gives them something to do in the winter besides hide in the coop.
Side note- straw is usually some type of wheat- anyone sensitive to gluten (wheat, barley, rye) may have a problem with it- I have celiac disease, and cannot tolerate ANY gluten in any form- I tried planting potatoes in bales of straw & ended up in the ER twice before I figured that out.. hoping my mistakes save others any problems
We lost a cherished Buffy to impacted crop ( terrible) from eating pine shavings. Also don't use chopped straw.😮😮
Secret to clean coop 3 ft. 7 years later still spotless
Great video!!❤ thank you🎉
WOW Navaro is a beautiful chicken!!!!!🥰
Lat winter I used dried ferns in the chicken coop, it was a succes!
Do you mean bracken fern after it has turned brown?
I kove your advice in every video and I love your laugh!
QUESTION: How humid is too humid? At what temperature do I need to take steps to protect the comb on my rooster? I live in Central CO at 8400’ in a high desert where we usually have low humidity, but when the temperatures drop the humidity goes up. We don’t use supplemental heat.
I have a small programmable exhaust fan near top opposite side of door to control odors etc. Im in Texas, so don't need too much warmth
I wish I heard this advice 2 weeks ago! I layered pine shavings and straw on top! Yikes!! It is already smelly and I've added zeolite clay. Maybe I'll be adding more wood shavings on top to do deep litter method? Would that work?
Pine shavings and straw will be fine! Try adding clay and then turning it to get rid of the ammonia. And yes, you can add shavings over top.
Another serious prob with hay or straw is if you have set feeders in the coop as they eat they knock so.much out it is lost down under the bedding which feeds mice too good.😮
Hemp all year around, great for the garden when changing out
I love sand. No moisture problem here. I actually put a moisture absorber in my coop last winter, just to see, and it had 0 liquid in it by the end of winter.
No, I do not recommend it in an outdoor, exposed run, any time of year. Maintenance is too difficult.
I have sand in the coop, where my hens only go thru there to perch or go to the nesting box. They don’t hang out in there, so whether it is cold or not, is not a bother. They are just passing thru. Their food/water is in the run.
Tip: cover your run for the winter. Less moisture. Keeps them warm.
I love sand in my coop. I can clean it out every morning. Mine are either in the big run or the small covered run when it's cold and snowy. I have a very hard time dealing with leaving poop in my coop at all. To me it's gross.
@@Ilovejim7 totally agree. I spend less than 5 min cleaning poop in the morning, but my flock is small.
I use sand, but I don't want my chickens to be cold. Can you mix hemp and straw with sand?
Appreciate you ❤
I was literally just about to go out and get some straw. But I'm thinking that I will use the bales to help break the wind more than anything.
Just keep a good watch on the straw- mice will burrow into straw bales (or straw piles) and happily live and reproduce there. Also if a straw bale gets wet, it can quickly become a big mold factory. If the winter stays cold, the mold growth will be slower. But wet straw can also start composting/decomposing internally and can get hot under the right circumstances… Just fyi :)
Chickens do love to kick straw around looking for seed heads, though!
I have only 3 aging hens. They do not use the roost bars anymore but sleep on the floor of the coop. I live in Arkansas with tolerable winters but I want the girls warm and safe.
Do you have any recommendations for their bedding or how to accommodate their limitations?
Our coop is relatively small. I thought about how to lift them off the floor but haven't got a clue. Two of them seem to have some vision problems.
We only have a small flock so we have a poop deck that my husband built where we put horse stall dry in under the roosting bars so I can scoop it like litter and I have hemp betting on the floor of the coop.
I have used most of the above. I prefer the hemp bedding but there are times I don't have the money for it and I have mixed in micro cut cardboard until I could get other bedding . What is your opinion on that for bedding ?
I think if it's working for you then it's great!
@@WelcometoChickenlandia thank you
My avian vet said not pine or cedar its not good for their respiratory system.
Wonderful video Dalia!
QUESTION FOR YOU: I just put up a 24'x48' green house, in MN ,double layer top with air flow between the layers for added insulation and I put my flock of 55 layers in there. I grew in the greenhouse this year and the chickens have done an amazing job of scratching it all up, fertilizing it and with all the grass clippings I used for weed suppression it seems like for the amount of vast space they have and the garden trash they keep moving around like I barely see a poop anywhere. I move the nesting bars almost everyday and it seems like I won't even need to add bedding. But I am sure eventually the ground in there will freeze. So would the places is bare ground b too cold?
Do u have any knowledge, ideas, tips for me heading into winter of keeping chickens in a greenhouse over winter?
I am concerned about predators so we have installed an electric fence around the greenhouse but that will only work as long as the snow load isn't too much. Time will tell.
So maybe u could do a video on this?
Thanks! I love your channel 🤗
Is your chicken at the begining and Andalusian? She looks and sounds just like my Nightshade who is a bantam Andalusian. PS I live in Alaska and we get cold. I have some great heat methods.
Must be so had having them cooped up 😅 we have flock down on the uk where they are not aloud out in the world which is nice hard of them, for months and months in the winter
I have close neighbors so cleaning my coops pretty much everyday and started using a mix if leaves with hay have had cold and alot of rain and it's working well for me but in runs use bedding pellets like tgexway it brakes down if it gets wet and my chickens love dust barging it in
dahlia, how much fat do i give my chickens in the winter? I never had any before but I started freezing it this year to save for the winter. Im making them up mini food blocks daily with herbs and fat but concerned in giving them too much fat. I also give them coconut oil at times
Could you please tell me where you got the black brackets for your roost bars?
hmm i usually swear by aspen. My idea of the safest. However i was offered straw for free yesterday and thats currently my top layer. My birds have a radiator heater as well for the nights around 35 or below. Wish i could have them back inside again this winter! Perhaps that will happen in the single digits.
I get straw bales from feed stores for my goat bedding......is there a difference between this and the chopped straw?
I use pine shavings in the coop and pine horse bedding pellets that I water down (so it puffs up) and dry it for the nesting boxes. Sometimes when it’s wet season I also toss some whole pine pellets in the coop itself. I’ve tried the deep bedding method and have never gotten it to work beyond the first year. I am finding overall the coop is not holding the bedding as well (meaning I could go a few weeks last year and now I can only go a week without/o totally cleaning it). It just really stinks a lot. 😢. I’m kind of at a loss.
I also do a flat panel chicken heater in the winter when it gets cold and we run a cord to water heaters.
I get a dump truck of sawdust use it for everything chickens, pigs, and goats.
I use mulch as bedding
I use hemp bedding its the best
I do like hemp! Finances dictate something less expensive for no