[tamnwill]

  I've been reading a thread and it states that straw is not a good bedding for my girls??! Could this have trapped infection (upper respiritory) when my girls got poorly once? What is hemcore please? Sooooooooooooooooooooo much to learn 

[joyfull]

straw is often used as bedding (make sure though that it is dust extracted as the dust can lead to problems), however I prefer not to use it as some of mine will not perch and sleep in the nest boxes pooing all night on the straw. Whilst I pooh pick the boxes everyday I do find straw seems to retain moisture. I use hemcore which isn't the cheapest but it is very absorbant and the one I buy is citronella scented which helps in summer with flies. Hemcore is made from the soft pulp of the hemp plant stems (it is also dust extracted).

[compostqueen]

I buy mine straw bales to play on and to act as a shelter over the winter but not for bedding as it's not absorbent. They do like it in their nest box though but I only use it if I've run out of Hemcore or Aubiose.  You get it from equine places as it's actually meant for stables. 

[tamnwill]

Thank you both for your experience, I shall seek some alternative suggested today from Mole Valley Farmers shop, and pop a piece of wood at the front of their nest boxes to stop the straw being distributed elsewhere. Thank you  x

[Flowerpower136]

I was using stray in nest boxes and wood shavings in coop, but now use Hemcore in both.  It's much more absorbent, so makes poo picking easier, and relatively cheap too.

[TeaPots]

Even if they only have a teensy bit of straw for their nestboxes, the girlies like to pull the straw about and put it onto their backs,    sort of making a nest when they are laying, and the boys like to pass the ladies a present of a nice piece of straw. I really dont pretend to know the psychology of it, but they have uses for straw that is not fulfilled by shavings/hemcore. I use hemcore or shavings, but I always have some straw in nestboxes, for them to play with.