What do you like to use for bedding?
The possibilities are endless and we all tend to use what is readily available.
Shavings happen to be the most common bedding for chickens, however if you use shavings make sure they’re pine shavings.
There is controversy over cedar shavings and the fumes they can emit especially when they’re used under light and heat. With so many options available cedar shavings will never make my list. Using shavings under heat and lights is an entirely different subject and topic, but to share what I like best for my chicks is absorbent pellets. The kind that is sold for horse stalls. You will end up with less of a fire hazard and less dust.
Now for my adults. Shavings are spectacularly absorbent during months of heavy rain and the other plus is that they are very easy to stack and store. If you use shavings and clean your coops daily, you can use a narrow toothed pitch fork to separate droppings from bedding, making your deep clean last much longer.
I however prefer to use something that is more natural to the bird and something that can boost their health while also giving them something to stay busy with. Chickens are talon dragging, dirt beak digging critters who love to nibble on tiny tidbits and productively work throughout their days.
It is especially important to me to give my birds something to make a mess of during the winter. During our deep freeze months of winter, my chickens don’t have a natural source of activity and that can lead to bullying, feather picking and just down right depression for the bird.
The ground and bugs are frozen and there simply is no playground. No bars to hop and swing on, no merry-go-round to fluff their feathers and no wood chips to toss at their buddies. Which I why I chose to use baled alfalfa, grass and or oat hay.
I personally love the “deep litter” method. Which is adding organic material to their coops when it’s impossible to clean their coops. When the high temperature won’t even break a sweat on a Popsicle I have a problem. Which means I need to add more goodies to the coop!
Did you know that when you open a bale of hay there is bugs that have be baled too and all kinds of sneaky plants that have gone to seed.
To give your birds something natural to them to dig in and nibble on does improve their overall health and happiness.
Alfalfa has a protein content of roughly 16% which is primarily found in the leaves and that is exactly what your birds will eat! Even if you chose to use a grass or an oat hay there will be seeds and nutrition galore for your birds to discover!
If your going to put something under their feet make sure it’s a treat they can dive head first into and you can be confident in it being healthy for them.
I most definitely know that what I have bedded my birds with is good for them, especially when it doesn’t last longer than a day!
-Many blessings and much love
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