What type of bedding or litter should I use for my chickens?
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Bedding is an important part of keeping your chickens happy and healthy. On the coop floor the bedding will provide a soft surface for your chickens to walk on and will absorb droppings and odor. You want your coop sanitary and sweet-smelling, don't you? In the nest, bedding will give freshly-laid eggs a soft landing so they don't crack. (A cracked egg is a spoiled egg.)
Wood shavings
Sand is also recommended by many, but it has some drawbacks. First, it can be costly upfront. It is also heavy--very heavy--so it can be sort of a pain in the neck to lug into your coop. Sand isn't a very good medium for bacterial growth, so that's good news. And droppings can simply be sifted out of sand, meaning it lasts longer than shavings, since shavings break down. However, the fact that shavings degrade along with the droppings means you can use all of it, shavings, droppings and all, in your compost pile. With sand as bedding, though, you can only compost the droppings, and you have to spend time scooping out the chicken coop like it's a gigantic cat litter box. You also have to use the right sand. Mortar sand is recommended (it is less dusty). Other types of sand may have "fines," or very fine dust, that can be irritating to your chickens' lungs.
In your brooder, remember that even baby chicks are big poopers, so make sure you have plenty of bedding, and change it often. Resist the urge to use newspaper! It's not nearly as absorbent, and worse, the slippery surface can lead to a permanent deformity called "splayed leg" which can ultimate result in the other chickens picking on the affected bird to death. Many people also swear by paper towels in the brooder, changed often, but that is fairly expensive and more time consuming than pine shavings. Plus, paper products are more likely to mold than shavings--you don't want mold in the brooder! That can lead to many illnesses.
Recommended bedding:
- Pine shavings
- Aspen shavings
- Hardwood shavings
Wood shavings
Recommended with reservations:
- Straw
- Mortar sand
NOT recommended:
- Cedar shavings
- Paper products
- Other sands
- Wood chips
- Cat litter
- Hay
Sand is also recommended by many, but it has some drawbacks. First, it can be costly upfront. It is also heavy--very heavy--so it can be sort of a pain in the neck to lug into your coop. Sand isn't a very good medium for bacterial growth, so that's good news. And droppings can simply be sifted out of sand, meaning it lasts longer than shavings, since shavings break down. However, the fact that shavings degrade along with the droppings means you can use all of it, shavings, droppings and all, in your compost pile. With sand as bedding, though, you can only compost the droppings, and you have to spend time scooping out the chicken coop like it's a gigantic cat litter box. You also have to use the right sand. Mortar sand is recommended (it is less dusty). Other types of sand may have "fines," or very fine dust, that can be irritating to your chickens' lungs.
In your brooder, remember that even baby chicks are big poopers, so make sure you have plenty of bedding, and change it often. Resist the urge to use newspaper! It's not nearly as absorbent, and worse, the slippery surface can lead to a permanent deformity called "splayed leg" which can ultimate result in the other chickens picking on the affected bird to death. Many people also swear by paper towels in the brooder, changed often, but that is fairly expensive and more time consuming than pine shavings. Plus, paper products are more likely to mold than shavings--you don't want mold in the brooder! That can lead to many illnesses.
