Best Bedding Material for Chicken Coops
We tried so many things, switching it up every year or so, until we got our hands on some Hemp Bedding back in 2023. Game Changed! But first, a review of what we tried.
Sand for Chicken Coop Floor:
The sand was heavy to install and heavy to remove. Once wet — we live in a wet area with a high water table — it became very STINKY! And taking it out was a real chore, as was sorting out where to put it, as clearly it would not compost. It was just a big wet heavy stinky burden. This was our least favorite option.
Pine Shavings for Chicken Coop Floor:
These came in tidy little bags from the feedstore and were easy to install. But we did have to add A LOT each week and even though the bags were cheap, the cost added up. Once wet though — we live in a wet area with a high water table — they were heavy and smelly. Composted poorly.
Wood Pellets for Chicken Coop Floor:
These also came in tidy little bags from the feedstore and were easy to install. Once they got wet though they formed an impervious layer of slime that captured poo and rain, creating both a slipping hazard and a horrific smell. We could at least compost the stuff we removed, so slightly better, but not a good outcome overall.
Hemp Bedding for Chicken Coop Floor:
We finally got our hands on some 44 lb bales of Aubiose Hemp Bedding and our search for the Best Bedding for Chicken Coops was over. Hemp Bedding is light-weight — so easy to install into the coop — and absorbs oder well, Even our most damp coop stays dry, as the groundwater that is coming up from below gets captured by the hemp at the bottom and stays there. The top layers stay nice and dry, dry enough even that the ladies take their dust baths in it during the rainy season.
We use the deep litter method, where we just scoop out the visible poos once a week, and add a little more hemp. We just last week emptied out the grow-out pen coop, which we had filled in June of 2024 — 17 months! During all that time it stayed dry and smelled fine.
Oddly enough, we find the AubiChick Hemp product best for use in the adult coops, and use the Aubiose (Horse) Hemp product for the chick brooders. The AubiChick Hemp is smaller hurds, so easier to sift the poo out of during the weekly coop cleanings. The Aubiose (Horse) Hemp has larger hurds, so the chicks don’t get confused between the hemp and the baby chick food.
Best Bedding Material for Chicken Coop: Hemp
And the stuff we did haul out? Straight into the compost where it will breakdown in a couple of months and contribute to the garden beds.
We are so firmly on Team Hemp that I contacted the parent company and arranged to be a distributor for the product. Twice a year a shipping container of hemp bedding arrives at our place which we then ship it out to the PNW or fill local orders with it.
If you are in the PNW and order Aubiose or AubiChick off of Amazon, it ships from Flower Feather Farm. Depending on where you are, Ordering your Hemp Bedding off Amazon may be your most cost-effective, or you may save money ordering it directly from us or from the parent company. Check them all out to get the best value.
