Keeping Chickens Newsletter

with a dog bowl heater. Also, what do you feel is the best nesting material for winter? I'm using pine shavings at the moment...but every time I go out they've scratched it down to the bottom of the nest kicking it all onto the floor! I was going to try hay, but my father (the one from the horror stories) told me they would eat it and get crop bound. Thanks for any input!!

My Reply : I don't think it would hurt to offer them a little grit in a separate bowl just in case - if they didn't want it they would just ignore it. Every type of bedding probably has its pros and cons so there is not really a 'best' kind, often it comes down to personal choice and using what you have readily available. Pine shavings are quite absorbent and so it can be a bit easier to keep the eggs clean and clean out the coop - I don't know how you could stop them kicking it out of the nesting boxes though, unless something like raising the entrance would help keep the shavings in. Many people do use straw without any problems. It is cheaper, and quicker to compost down but a little more prone to mould and not as absorbent as pine shavings are. Some chickens will eat a little straw (and even shavings) others just leave it alone. They probably all would eat a hay bedding if they tend to be in the coop a lot and when chickens do become crop bound it is often a big mass of hay or long grass that is stuck in there (sometimes feathers) but it does not automatically follow that those with hay bedding would definitely get crop bound.

John Knesek : Thanks, again for another great newsletter. You mentioned that cedar shavings are toxic to chickens. I have cedar shavings on the floor of my chicken house and in the nest boxes. I thought it was a good idea because of the fresh smell. I have tried using hay in the nest boxes, but seems like it is easier to clean the 'poop' out of the nest boxes each morning with the cedar shavings, rather than hay. If cedar shavings are in fact toxic, then I had better get it out of their house. I assume that pine shavings are o.k.?? I should have built a bigger house, to have room for a roost instead of letting them sleep in their nest boxes. Thanks again for your newsletter, seems like I learn something every time.

My Reply : It is of a more immediate concern to chicks because they are small and so can very quickly become overpowered by the fumes. Full-grown chickens can feel the effects aswell though - especially if the smell is quite strong when you open the coop up in the mornings. In a large coop with loads of ventilation and old (not so aromatic) cedar it may not be such an issue, but for many it is easier/safer just to stay clear of cedar altogether. Pine shavings should be fine though and are widely used in coops.