Bedding Material For Chickens – What Should You Use?

Bedding is usually spread on the floor of the chicken coop, where it can absorb moisture, droppings and smells. This layer of bedding also acts as a soft surface for the hens’ feet and as insulation in the winter. Bedding should also be placed in the nesting boxes to protect the eggs and to provide more comfort for the hens.

Good quality bedding should dry quickly too, as wet bedding is a haven for parasites, mould and bacteria, none of which will do your chickens any good. Wood shavings, chopped straw and shredded paper can all be used as chicken bedding.

Wood shavings are popular as it’s cheap and helps to reduce the ammonia smell. It provides a soft surface and insulates the hen house well. However make sure if you decide to use wood shavings as your choice of bedding that it is ‘dust free’ or ‘dust extracted’ otherwise it can cause respiratory problems for your hens.

Straw is what I always pictured in nesting boxes but now in my opinion is not as effective as wood shavings. It’s not as absorbent as shavings and needs changing more often.

Shredded paper is the cheapest option if you own a shredder and have access to plenty of paper. But it does get soiled very quickly and you will need to change it more frequently.

The bedding I use and recommend hands down is that made from Hemp which has been cut up and dried.  It is super absorbent and makes poo picking very easy as it sticks to it and you can simply scoop it up. It’s 100% natural material, and composts readily.

It’s more expensive than most (it comes in a 20kg bale which will set you back between £12 and £20 depending where you get it.)

However I find that it lasts an age – and probably saves me hours over the course of a month because its super absorbent and it’s very easy to work with. Two brands to look out for are Aubiose and Hempcore.