Cold weather - straw in house

[Sue]

I expect this has been covered before, but as usual I am worrying about my hens again!!!!!

I know they have their own insulation etc. etc. but I was wondering whether I could help them out by adding soft straw to the house floor and nest boxes during this cold weather on top of the shavings. They are still sneezing a bit and I'm trying to do all I can to prevent any further problems. I know straw isn't recommended as a general rule for the house because it gives red mite places to hide, but this would only be during the very cold weather and would then be removed. It wouldn't get wet as I clean out droppings daily.

As always your comments would be welcome.

 

[Marigold]

I can't really see how adding straw to the shavings on the floor is actually going to keep them any warmer, assuming they are up on the perches at night and not in contact with it? Also as they don't spend much time in the nestboxes, how would it help them to have more than a comfortable minimum of clean shavings in there? If they did spend a long time snuggling into deep straw in the nestboxes to warm up, wouldn't they feel the temperature difference more when they emerged into the open air?
It seems to me that this temperature difference between the inside of a possibly over-insulated coop and the outside world is an important factor to consider. Yes we get used to expecting a heated house and then put on coats and wrap up warm to compensate for the cold outside. Hens can't do this, so maybe it's best to just provide the right sort of shelter to let them get on with what they've evolved to cope with, ie cold, dry conditions, which suit them better than damp, warm, underventilated environments and then exposure to cold when they venture out.

 

[Philcott]

I agree Marigold - brilliant post and puts things into perspective.

The other thing to remember Sue is that straw holds damp, so you would be compounding your problems by introducing something that is going to raise the humidity in the house. Most colds and sniffles (yes it's been said a thousand times before) are as a result of not enough ventilation in the coops. I'm talking about hot moist air being taken out of the coop at roof height without a draught. There is a huge difference between ventilation and draughts.

 

[Sue]

My house has enough ventilation at roof level. The straw would not be damp, but dry.

 

[Philcott]

What I meant Sue was that the straw picks up moisture from the hens breath and droppings and then becomes damp - sorry if I did not explain that well.
I know you said you poo pick each morning, but overnight is when it will happen.

 

[Marigold]

I just put a good thick layer (several sheets thick) of newspaper down on the floor of the coop, and this not only catches the droppings but I can see how much dampness soaks into them overnight. Usually this penetrates 4 or 5 layers of newspaper, which I then remove. This is not related to condensation, as with the ventilators open and also the pophole open halfway, i just don't get any on the walls or roof of the coop. I don't think you would realise quite how much damp does come out of droppings overnight if you used a looser type of bedding on the floor, and extra straw would only camouflage this further, I expect.

 

[bantiekeeper]

I do the same as Marigold. The soiled paper is removed every morning, burnt and later on added to the compost heap. Re your hens snuffles Sue, would a course of Respite help? My girls normally lay in the morning so when I let them out in the afternoon I prop the coop roof and nestbox lid open to give them a good airing.

 

[Sue]

Interesting that the newspaper is so damp in the morning. I use dust extracted wood shavings and where the droppings are it forms clumps and soaks up any wet in the immediate area but nowhere else, as the rest of the shavings even inches away are as dry as a bone. I suppose it depends how many hens you have in a house, I have five hens in this house and so they don't produce lots of droppings overnight.

I have used Respite before bantiekeeper, but at the moment they are having something in the water that the vet recommended to boost their energy levels and immune systems.

 

[chrismahon]

I've had to throw out the hay in one nest box where poor old Lucy Legbar was allowed to sleep. Although the poo was removed every day with the soiled hay I discovered that the base had gone black and started to rot, presumably with the humidity given off from Lucy. I left it empty. Surprisingly she got onto the perch with all the others without me saying anything -sometimes I'm too soft with them!

 

[Marigold]

Interesting that the newspaper is so damp in the morning. I use dust extracted wood shavings and where the droppings are it forms clumps and soaks up any wet in the immediate area but nowhere else, as the rest of the shavings even inches away are as dry as a bone. I suppose it depends how many hens you have in a house, I have five hens in this house and so they don't produce lots of droppings overnight.

I.

Evidently the woodshavings base works well, is absorbent, and you can see where and how much needs removing in the morning, Sue. The newspaper also shows damp in 'puddles' with nearby areas dry, so is the equivalent of shavings for absorbency. Any given number of hens will produce the same amount, whatever lies below them, won't they, and I think what Chris and I are saying is that what you are doing ATM is just fine, and that adding straw may not be helpful or necessary in the long run.

 

[Chuck]

Hay and straw are the worst forms of bedding for hens.

 

[karminski]

i tried using paper once as i can get massive sheets from work to cover the whole floor but my girls nearly died of a heartattack when they saw it :lol: think i will stick with deep shavings although the paper is easier as you can jut roll it up .

 

[BabyBantam]

Sue,
I have an ark - long thin upstairs rather than tall or wide floor area. When I know the temp is going to fall below -1 and baring in mind my 3 bantams are the size of 1 hen once cuddled up for the night, I fill half the upstairs at one end with straw from floor to ceiling (in effect halving the size of the sleeping area but not closing off any of the ventilation around the perch, or access to the nest box or entrance). Also, because it's not on the floor under them, don't have a poo issue. I then clear out the straw in the morning or as soon as the weather warms up. I've had no problems with condensation or damp as far as I can tell, but that may be because unlike last year, it's only ever been in there for up to 48hrs? The hens seems to see it as a wall and dont trample it, nor do they mind it being there. My thoughts are that the smaller the area the birds need to 'heat' around them, the easier it is to keep warm and I couldn't think of another way to make a wall that wouldn't be permenant nor block ventilation.

 

[charliefox]

hi a hens body temp is 5 degrees hotter than ours plus an over coat of feathers they puff these up and trap air next to their bodys to keep warm as well as getting closer to gether it all helps so dont worry they will survive all the best uncle fox