Nope..the only other type of mat I've seen was an almost flat foam sheet with SLIGHTLY raised ridges so the eggs stay in place but they are terrible! Even the "vine rewiew of free product" reviews were bad.😂 Reviews stated they tear easily and that the chickens DO NOT like the mats at all.👎❤🐓
Interesting. We used straw and it did well. We used the aspen nesting pads but they didn’t last as long as we would have liked. The gray plastic we have now and I love that the girls aren’t comfortable. Less poop and broken eggs in the boxes. Also haven’t found girls hanging out in the boxes. Love the ability to sanitize them also. Love the turf pads. Great video!
Maybe it is good to have them uncomfortable. I didn't want the pads so hard to walk on that they got Bumblefoot. I haven't used the aspen pads but I hate buying things that I need to keep buying. I guess I'll stick with the grass! Thanks for watching Lisa!
Now that's pretty slick!! I was wondering if they scratched around on it and would knock stuff out of the box! Sounds like your girls have a preference for sure!! Thank you for the info and bringing us along!! Cheers my friend , hope things are going well!! 😁😁👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸
Hi, just found your RUclips channel. We're in southern Minnesota. I found your channel when I searched for "Minnesota chickens" as I got tired of looking at gardening/homesteading videos from warmer climates with advice that doesn't apply to the Mnnesota climate. We've only had chickens for 1 year. Last year we used pine bedding and did deep bed in the run and in the nest areas. It worked well except that I have been trying to compost that bedding all year and it still isn't ready. I found out that pine takes forever to break down. This year I'm going to try natural giant miscanthus bedding which is similar to straw as it is supposed to compost much quicker than wood shavings. We'll see how it goes. We're hoping to build a garage yet this fall and add a lean-to chicken run that we can put our 2 Omlet chicken tractors in for the winter - it will be much like your outdoor chicken run with hardware cloth on it. We plan to attach greenhouse tarps around it for winter. Do you cover your run in the winter? Also, do you attempt to extend your garden season? I'm wondering if it's worth building a cold frame here. I look forward to watching more of your videos!
Thanks for finding us Cathy! It's great to have "neighbors" joining us! The outdoor coop stays as it is all year around. If you cover the coop, or wrap it in plastic, etc., you risk trapping all that moisture inside. Moisture is your enemy in the winter, not the cold. We do not have a greenhouse or cold frame. We've thought about it, but I need to design something that will last in the weather. With the damage from the last storm, a cold frame is at least a year out. Thanks again for stopping by! Have a great weekend!
Of all the products we've used, the hens love these (by far) the most AND they are the easiest to clean. Check out the link to Amazon and (I think) there is a coupon out there. Glad this helped Jamie! Cheers!
Sounds like a winner. I was looking for something where I could buy it and not buy again. I really like this product. I like the wood material they ship chicks with but don't want to buy, buy, buy. Is the sugar cane mulch a good bargain?
@@TheOldSwedesFarm ah yeah fair enough, yeah i use sugar cane mulch all the time as a cover mulch to help stop the barrels from drying out too fast. and as the mulch breaks down it turns into a nice plant and worm food.
THANKS SO MUCH FOR MAKING THIS VIDEO!🥳👏❤ I was trying to figure out which type of laying mat would be best..Im in the process of getting everything in the coop ready for my chickens arrival. ❤️🐓
The grass mats are the best. My hens love them, they stay together and are easy to clean. Let us know how your hens like them when they are older. Good luck with the new chickens!
I've been wondering this as well. We just got our chicks a week ago. I bought the exact same plastic mat that yo showed so maybe I'll rethink that. It doesn't seem very comfortable to me. I've got a benchtop wood planer--maybe I'll try to plane some pine construction lumber and use the shavings. Thanks for the valuable review!
@@TheOldSwedesFarm Yes, they will have to be replaced periodically. I did just order the grass from your link so maybe we'll do like you did and experiment with all three to see which they prefer. I built seven nesting boxes for seven chicks so we'll have the room to do it. A side note I'd love to see a follow-up on how your garden ends up doing from your storm damage. Cheers to you as well.
@@CilverLining Let us know how they work side-by-side. With seven boxes, you know they will all lay in one box! We will have garden videos coming up. Have a great weekend!
I've tried just about everything, but I haven't tried that. My girls are scratchers and just scratch anything not glued down out and try to sort through it for pebbles to eat. This might work! Might be able to find some end pieces at lowes on clearance this time of year.
If you can't find anything at Lowes, check out the link to Amazon. These are heavy enough that the hens won't scratch through them. Keep us posted. Cheers!
We use the plastic pads. The girls are the same…meh. But we love using aspen nest pads. My girls love them so much, especially in the winter. They last about 6 months, unless an egg gets stepped on.
It seemed like the "natural" pads were getting dirty quicker. Our hens really love the grass. It's almost 100% usage on them versus the grey mats. Thanks for stopping by Glenda!
Let us know if we missed a really good nesting box material. Thanks for watching!
Nope..the only other type of mat I've seen was an almost flat foam sheet with SLIGHTLY raised ridges so the eggs stay in place but they are terrible! Even the "vine rewiew of free product" reviews were bad.😂 Reviews stated they tear easily and that the chickens DO NOT like the mats at all.👎❤🐓
@@christynm.8933 These really perform (in cold and warm weather here)! Thanks for watching and commenting! Cheers!
Thanks! I'm going to try these! We have had terrible luck finding something that works
These work great and come highly recommended by our hens!!
Great video Rich. Hope yall are well. Hugs from Kentucky ❤
Hi Rhonda. Thanks for stopping by! We appreciate your support!
Interesting. We used straw and it did well. We used the aspen nesting pads but they didn’t last as long as we would have liked. The gray plastic we have now and I love that the girls aren’t comfortable. Less poop and broken eggs in the boxes. Also haven’t found girls hanging out in the boxes. Love the ability to sanitize them also. Love the turf pads. Great video!
Maybe it is good to have them uncomfortable. I didn't want the pads so hard to walk on that they got Bumblefoot. I haven't used the aspen pads but I hate buying things that I need to keep buying. I guess I'll stick with the grass! Thanks for watching Lisa!
Now that's pretty slick!! I was wondering if they scratched around on it and would knock stuff out of the box! Sounds like your girls have a preference for sure!! Thank you for the info and bringing us along!! Cheers my friend , hope things are going well!! 😁😁👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸
Occasionally they will scratch. They would scratch some of the straw out of the box. They love this pad and use it daily! Have a great weekend Nelson!
Hi, just found your RUclips channel. We're in southern Minnesota. I found your channel when I searched for "Minnesota chickens" as I got tired of looking at gardening/homesteading videos from warmer climates with advice that doesn't apply to the Mnnesota climate. We've only had chickens for 1 year. Last year we used pine bedding and did deep bed in the run and in the nest areas. It worked well except that I have been trying to compost that bedding all year and it still isn't ready. I found out that pine takes forever to break down. This year I'm going to try natural giant miscanthus bedding which is similar to straw as it is supposed to compost much quicker than wood shavings. We'll see how it goes. We're hoping to build a garage yet this fall and add a lean-to chicken run that we can put our 2 Omlet chicken tractors in for the winter - it will be much like your outdoor chicken run with hardware cloth on it. We plan to attach greenhouse tarps around it for winter. Do you cover your run in the winter? Also, do you attempt to extend your garden season? I'm wondering if it's worth building a cold frame here. I look forward to watching more of your videos!
Thanks for finding us Cathy! It's great to have "neighbors" joining us! The outdoor coop stays as it is all year around. If you cover the coop, or wrap it in plastic, etc., you risk trapping all that moisture inside. Moisture is your enemy in the winter, not the cold. We do not have a greenhouse or cold frame. We've thought about it, but I need to design something that will last in the weather. With the damage from the last storm, a cold frame is at least a year out. Thanks again for stopping by! Have a great weekend!
Thank you. I've been thinking about the grass mat. Thank you for confirming it.
Of all the products we've used, the hens love these (by far) the most AND they are the easiest to clean. Check out the link to Amazon and (I think) there is a coupon out there. Glad this helped Jamie! Cheers!
I may have to try the green turf! Thanks for sharing!
They are inexpensive and work great! Check out the link in the description. I just ordered nine more to fill all our boxes! Cheers Kathleen!
Hey Rich, I use sugar cane mulch for my nesting material. every couple of months I put the old mulch into the compost bin and put new mulch in.
Sounds like a winner. I was looking for something where I could buy it and not buy again. I really like this product. I like the wood material they ship chicks with but don't want to buy, buy, buy. Is the sugar cane mulch a good bargain?
@@TheOldSwedesFarm ah yeah fair enough, yeah i use sugar cane mulch all the time as a cover mulch to help stop the barrels from drying out too fast. and as the mulch breaks down it turns into a nice plant and worm food.
THANKS SO MUCH FOR MAKING THIS VIDEO!🥳👏❤ I was trying to figure out which type of laying mat would be best..Im in the process of getting everything in the coop ready for my chickens arrival. ❤️🐓
The grass mats are the best. My hens love them, they stay together and are easy to clean. Let us know how your hens like them when they are older. Good luck with the new chickens!
Great video Rich.
Thank you Chuck! Have a great weekend!
I've been wondering this as well. We just got our chicks a week ago. I bought the exact same plastic mat that yo showed so maybe I'll rethink that. It doesn't seem very comfortable to me. I've got a benchtop wood planer--maybe I'll try to plane some pine construction lumber and use the shavings. Thanks for the valuable review!
You could use the shavings but they will get dirty. The grass is cleanable and reusable. Let us know how it all works out for you. Cheers!
@@TheOldSwedesFarm Yes, they will have to be replaced periodically. I did just order the grass from your link so maybe we'll do like you did and experiment with all three to see which they prefer. I built seven nesting boxes for seven chicks so we'll have the room to do it. A side note I'd love to see a follow-up on how your garden ends up doing from your storm damage. Cheers to you as well.
@@CilverLining Let us know how they work side-by-side. With seven boxes, you know they will all lay in one box! We will have garden videos coming up. Have a great weekend!
@@TheOldSwedesFarm I will let you know. Ha, yes they will naturally all prefer the same box. Enjoy your weekend as well!
I've tried just about everything, but I haven't tried that. My girls are scratchers and just scratch anything not glued down out and try to sort through it for pebbles to eat. This might work! Might be able to find some end pieces at lowes on clearance this time of year.
If you can't find anything at Lowes, check out the link to Amazon. These are heavy enough that the hens won't scratch through them. Keep us posted. Cheers!
I have too many. Kinda pricey for me.
We use the plastic pads. The girls are the same…meh. But we love using aspen nest pads. My girls love them so much, especially in the winter. They last about 6 months, unless an egg gets stepped on.
It seemed like the "natural" pads were getting dirty quicker. Our hens really love the grass. It's almost 100% usage on them versus the grey mats. Thanks for stopping by Glenda!
Wow @graceandfire we used the aspen ones and they didn’t last as long as we would have liked. Glad you’re having good luck with them!