Nesting box bedding

[the4deans]

I have had pellets in my nesting boxes and changed them to the fake grass squares that Tractor Supply sells. My girls don’t seem to like them and started laying on their roosting bars now. Any tips to help them use this new bedding or should I switch back? The pellets are so messy for us.

 

[Yardfulla poopers]

I have tried straw, wood chips, the artificial turf mats and woven nest box mats, etc. After much trial and error, I have found my girls prefer pine straw/pine needles harvested from the pine trees in our yard. They won't nest in anything else.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Do you have fake eggs in the boxes?

Maybe try also putting a layer of their previous nesting material over the fake grass to transition them over?

 

[ChaosMom]

Hemp? It's pricey, but if you're only using it for nesting boxes...

 

[Debbie292d]

I have had pellets in my nesting boxes

What kind of pellets? We've used horse bedding pellets for years. I use a stick to stir them maybe once a week. Eggs are almost always spotless.

 

[MountainWoman73]

I like hay. But I have a million pine needles to rake up, so I should try that.

 

[tgress]

I use hemp for the main area but as chicks I put the grass pads in the boxes and my little cameras show they sleep on the fake grass at night as their preference in the boxes now at roughly 12 weeks old so maybe raising them on the fake grass works when started as chicks. Not sure. That being said, I threw some laying herbs in the boxes when I added them last month to encourage the use of them.

 

[ChookaPete]

I have straw in my nests, but the chooks shape out a well so they are sitting on bare wood!?