coop bedding

[Anonymous]

Hi all.

My pekin babies are now nearly 5 weeks old and we have built them a lovely new home in the garden. What is the best bedding to use for the floor inside the coop and for the run we have built to go with it. Also what do I put in the nesting boxes.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

 

[Anonymous]

In the hen house & nest boxes I use a mix of chopped straw & wood shavings. Don't usually put anything on the run floor as mine free-range virtually all the time, but when they are confined to their run (if we're away for the day or on holiday) I put a good thick layer of straw/bracken/leaves (either 1, some or all) mainly for them to scrap & fossick about in.

The chopped staw & woodshaving bedding is cheap (think it's around £7 for a large bale that lasts us 5-6 weeks) & the bracken/leaves are free from the woods where we live & hubby occasionally brings the odd bale of straw home from work.

 

[karminski]

hi woodshavings for inside the house an nest boxes will be ideal its very easy to keep clean and also it doesnt harbour the nasty bugs that chickens dont need most horsey shops will sell the large bags for around £7-8 and this would last you more then a long time so its well worth paying out for .is your run in the dry ?? or is it prone to getting very wet and muddy .

 

[Anonymous]

Hi

They have a large indoor house, but they have also got a large run outside when they want to go out. Will ordinary sawdust be ok or do I need pine sawdust. The outside run will also have a roof but the sides will have netting so they can have some air. So should not get to wet.

Four of then have started to grow red combs, does this mean they are the boys.

Thanks for you help. I just want to do everything right for them.

 

[karminski]

shavings is better then sawdust as its larger peices and tends to be less dusty but if your placing outside in the run and its not covered then the rain will make it go all yukky an smelly over time so its best left to use in the house only .

 

[Anonymous]

If they have grown red combs at five weeks then I am afraid they are most probably boys. I had a Pekin which I could tell was a boy at 3 weeks old.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi

I thought they must be boys as the combs are quite red. Do the hens grow red combs later or do they stop quite pale. The other 7 chicks either have pale combs or none at all. I am new at this so I dont know what to expect and how to sex them.

I,m grateful for any help you can give me.

 

[foxy]

Girls tend to have small pale combs until they come into lay, then you will notice their faces and combs get nice and rosy 17

 

[ncotb]

Sound like boys to me. I use dust extracted shavings for bedding.

 

[get yolked]

Pine shavings work great, but not for the first two weeks. I have lost several nice chicks to choking on pine shavings. I recommend using shredded newspaper the first two weeks, then using pine shavings once the chicks have developed enough to know not to swallow the shavings or can dislodge the shavings from their mouths.

 

[clairebear5]

We use hemcore horse bedding in our houses as it smells gorgeous and absorbs the yukky bits...we dont use straw as it harbours and attracts red mite which we found out last year.

 

[Chuck]

Five weeks is a bit young to be outside all the time as nights can be cold as can days and the worst thing is for them to get chilled.
If they are going to live outside now, I'd put them a box of hay to sleep in as this was the traditional way of keeping chicks warm. It was used in the transport boxes for day olds on the train years ago. After another month, they should be feathered up enough to do away with the hay and use wood shavings.