03/10/2025 12:00 AM
Best Bedding for Chickens
Keeping hens, ducks, and other poultry healthy begins with a clean and comfortable living space.
One of the most important elements of coop care is choosing the right bedding. The best bedding for chickens does more than provide comfort. It absorbs moisture, reduces odours, and helps protect against parasites and disease. Quality wood shavings are often considered the best bedding for chickens and ducks.
Why Bedding Matters in a Chicken Coop
Bedding is not just a floor covering. It plays a vital role in poultry health. Good bedding:
- Provides a soft, warm surface for chickens to walk and rest on
- Absorbs droppings and water spills
- Helps control ammonia build-up
- Reduces respiratory problems, bacterial growth, and parasites
- Makes cleaning and composting easier
Choosing the right material can mean the difference between a clean, odour-free coop and one that quickly becomes damp, strong smelling, and unhealthy.
The Best Bedding Options for Chickens
There are many different materials you can use, but not all perform equally well. Here’s a breakdown of the most common bedding options, starting with the one that consistently stands out.
Wood Shavings – The Top Choice
Wood shavings strike the perfect balance of comfort, absorbency, and cost effectiveness. They are up to three times more absorbent than straw, helping to keep the coop dry and odour-free. A thick layer (around 10cm) provides a soft, warm floor and can last months with regular turning. Chickens naturally scratch and mix the shavings themselves, which helps keep the surface fresh. Shavings made from pine and other softwoods are also easy to compost after use, turning waste into a valuable fertiliser for your garden. They are widely available, comfortable for poultry to walk on, and suitable for both indoor coops and covered chicken runs. Cedar shavings should be avoided altogether as the oils they contain are toxic to poultry.
Ducks are naturally messier than chickens and bring more moisture into a coop. This makes shavings particularly valuable as they soak up dampness effectively and help keep the environment cleaner. In outdoor runs, shavings work well in covered areas, while sand or coarse chip can help drainage in exposed spots. Together, this creates a comfortable and hygienic setting for both chickens and ducks.
Wood Chips
Wood chips may seem similar to shavings but they behave very differently. They are not very absorbent, offer little odour control, and can be sharp underfoot. Some chips contain tannins or treatments that can be harmful to poultry. They also do not compost down well, making them less practical overall.
Straw and Hay
Straw and hay are traditional choices but bring many drawbacks. They cake easily, provide poor absorbency, and allow droppings to run to the bottom of the bedding where bacteria can thrive. Hay, in particular, is prone to mould in damp conditions and both straw and hay can harbour mites. They also require more frequent cleaning, which increases time and cost.
Sawdust
Sawdust can work if used correctly, but it is often too dusty for chickens’ sensitive respiratory systems. Always choose untreated, natural sawdust and avoid varieties from hardwoods or treated timber. It must be used in deep layers (at least 10cm) and kept dry, otherwise it cakes quickly and loses its absorbency.
Sand
Sand is not typically used as a primary bedding. While it drains well, it does not absorb droppings and has no composting benefit. Sand can also be uncomfortable, becoming cold in winter and hot in summer. If used, it requires very frequent cleaning to prevent waste from building up.
Gravel
Gravel offers no real benefits as a bedding material. It is rough, sharp, and cold underfoot, while providing no absorbency or composting value. It is best avoided altogether.
Composting Benefits
Organic bedding materials like wood shavings bring another hidden advantage: composting. Mixed with poultry droppings, shavings gradually break down into nutrient rich compost that improves garden soil. This turns waste into a sustainable cycle where your flock provides both eggs and fertiliser.
Why Shavings Win
After weighing up all the options, the best bedding for chickens, hens, and ducks is clear. Wood shavings, not chippings, are absorbent, comfortable, compostable, and easier to manage compared with straw, hay, or sand. If you want a happy, healthy flock and a fresh, easy-to-maintain coop, shavings are the superior choice. Our large flake pine shavings are especially effective because they:
Contain minimal dust thanks to advanced cutting techniques
Have natural antibacterial properties from fresh kiln dried pine
Provide a deep, aerated bed that helps reduce ammonia build up
Compost naturally once soiled, giving you a free supply of garden fertiliser and easy disposal
They are made from fresh pine, cut in a way that reduces dust, and carefully kiln dried to remove excess moisture. The result is a hygienic, premium quality bedding that improves coop conditions, supports poultry health, and makes cleaning and composting much easier.
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Related content:
We explore more of the benefits of using wood shavings as animal bedding.