[happy chick]

Forgive me for slightly duplicating a question already asked on another topic but desperate to know the answer/ get views on this query.
When looking at a well known poultry retailer's site I noticed that this retailer strongly advised not using straw for bedding beacause it allegedly contains red mites and in doing so you will be inadvertently putting red mites into your house.   Aaargh :shock: . I'm planning to use straw for bedding and have two bales sitting in the car waiting to go.  New chicken house arrives tomorrow for new chooks on sat (cutting it fine, I know!!); Someone, please advise and rubbish this theory about red mites and straw.  Please, if anyone knows......

[karlooben]

i was using  shavings an the girls liked it  but my friend is giving  me free  bales of straw an now i am using  that an my girls love it to death .

i trust him as hes an farmer an is more then used to this kind of thing hes ahd chickens all his life . but every person is different an everyone will offer different advice , reckon u should see what your girls perfer  

[happy chick]

thank you,
The chickens will be ex-batts so I should think that compared to what they had previously (poor things!) the straw and free shredded office paper will be luxury for them!!!  (Only two days to go now!-yippee )  As long as it doesn't harbour red mites......

[karlooben]

good luck with your girls  please send pics when u can .     .

everything seems ok with my straw { so far ]    should not speak to soon but as i was told the straw will keep them so much warmer and i have noticed that instead of just laying in one dark corner of the house the girls are now laying all over the place so we have to dig around for eggs now  

[happy chick]

cant wait to send pics - cameras loaded and ready
the thought of rooting around for eggs ;aaaahhhh that's what I call bliss    

[poultrygeist]

Hi happy chick.

Never heard of any reason why straw should encourage red mites any more than nay other litter.

We use shavings on the coop floor and straw in the nest box but if you have lots of straw, feel free to use it and change it as needed. It can get quite soggy apparently so you may need to keep an eye on it, especially when the weather is wet.

Red mites hide in dark crevices during the day and head for the hens when it's dark. They certainly don't live in straw  :?

Rob

ps. looking forward to the pics

[Bodger]

I imagine that the ' well known poultry retailer' was trying to sell you an ever so slightly more expensive alternative. :roll:

What I would say, however, is that if you are using straw, it can't stand being wet. It will smell and start to cultivate one or two nasties very quickly.

In large dry sheds I use straw, whilst in smaller ones I use shavings. This is for reasons of expense. Hens love scratching in straw and its one of the ways that you can keep your birds really fit.

Shavings are easier to clean out, but it doesn't break down as easily as straw in the compost bin or on the muck heap.

[happy chick]

Thank you so much Bodger and Rob    
Much sighs of relief here!! Will use a mixture of straw and shredded paper and make sure that clean out regularly, to make sure that any wet stuff is regularly replaced.  And yes the retailer is recommending the more expensive easibed which I'm sure makes lovely clean bedding but it's just a little bit on the expensive side for us.  Have also got a big tub of diatom, sprays and powders at the ready if and when the red mites decide to hit us.  Have learnt loads from this forum and the 'experienced ones' on here about poultry health etc that would have been taken me months to find out otherwise(like diatom, purple spray, stockholm tar etc).  Thank you all so much for sharing your wisdom and helping us newbies with our worries. You're stars      
Adella

[Piglit's Pullets]

Hiya, just to give you a heads up. I have two 'old dears' and having fled a life of mass production they went straight for the straw   .  Trouble is that they like to sleep in the nest boxes and yes, I let them do it :roll:  :roll:  because I like to know that they are comfy cozy after what life started like for them.  However, they do poop it out rather a lot so I have to change it first thing every morning to keep the eggs clean.  I understand that this is a trait with ex bat ladies and who could blame them...   I like my feather duvet too!!!    

Have fun with them, they deserve to have a good time now.  You'll be amazed with all the lovely eggs they will present you with.  It still makes me smile.