Straw for chicken coop bedding: Pros, cons, and how to do it right
Straw is one of the most common types of bedding used for chicken coops in the United States. This is mainly due to tradition and availability.
Nowadays, however, we tend to care more about our chickens’ health and happiness than previous generations have. Is straw still the right choice for chickens today?
Straw is a fairly good bedding material for chicken coops as it may be low in dust, insulates well, and chickens enjoy scratching in it. However, straw doesn’t release moisture well, does not stay clean for long, harbors pathogens, and, therefore, will need to be replaced frequently.
In this article, you’ll learn everything you need to know about using straw for chicken coop bedding, including:
If you would like to read a more scholarly resource, check out my article The best chicken coop bedding: Sand vs. straw vs. pine shavings. I literally pored over dozens upon dozens of academic studies to write this article. If science is your thing, you’ll definitely want to check it out!
This post contains Amazon affiliate links for my favorite products. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
What is Straw?
Straw is simply dried stalks of grain. Straw is not hay, which is grass that has been cut and dried for use as animal feed. Hay typically does not make good bedding as the moisture content is too high.
High moisture content can cause mold and pathogens to grow and multiply in your coop, possibly leading to serious health problems for your chickens. For more information on hay, check out my article, A comparison of 21+ chicken coop bedding materials.
You’ll want to use chopped straw in your chicken coop. Non-chopped straw can cause crop impaction. Chopped straw is the safer choice. (See more on this topic in the crop impaction section below.)
There are several different types of straw you can buy.
“Wheat straw is best, followed by rye, oat, and buckwheat, in that order.”
The pros: Why straw is a good bedding for chicken coops
Pro #1: Straw bedding is highly absorbant
One study found that out of 9 bedding types tested, straw was the second most absorbent, second only to peat moss. The study found that straw is able to hold ~7x its weight in water! For more on this study, see my article, The best chicken coop bedding: Sand vs. straw vs pine shavings.
Absorption is important because you don’t want moisture pooling on your bedding and you don’t want your bedding getting soaking wet.
Unfortunately, although straw holds moisture well, it is absolutely horrible at releasing moisture (more on this in the moisture release section below). High moisture retention means increased pathogen growth.
Pro #2: Straw Bedding May Be Low in Cost
In many parts of the country, straw is plentiful and cheap. For more on cost, see the straw bedding cost section below.
Pro #3: Straw bedding may be low in dust
As chickens have very sensitive respiratory systems, a coop bedding that isn’t dusty is highly desirable. Some straw bedding has been found to be low in dust, but unfortunately, other sources may be very high in dust. See my article, The best chicken coop bedding: Sand vs. straw vs. pine shavings, for more information.
Non-chopped straw is typically low in dust, but again, you don’t want to use this for bedding. Non-chopped straw has a higher risk for crop impaction and has a tendency for caking, which leads to pathogen growth.
Pro #4: Chickens like to scratch in straw bedding
Many people like to throw a handful of grain into their straw and let their chickens excitedly scratch around the straw looking for it. Chickens love this, and so do their keepers!
For me, personally, this isn’t much of a pro. I don’t ever throw grain in bedding because it’s not sanitary. Chickens inevitably eat poop and bedding in their search for the grain, and they get poop all over their feet.
As organic bedding may harbor loads of dangerous pathogens, you don’t want to encourage your chickens to do anything that will increase pathogen consumption. Best to throw their grain in clean grass outside and let them have fun scratching around for it there.
Pro #5: Straw bedding is excellent for the deep litter method
The deep litter method has become extremely popular in recent years among homesteaders. In this method, you rarely change the bedding out. When it starts to get stinky or too gross, you add more fresh bedding to the old bedding, thereby making the bedding deeper and deeper.
The bedding slowly composts over time, and then in 6 months to a year, you finally take it out and you can use it as compost. An added bonus is that as bacteria break down the bedding in your coop, heat is released, making your coop a few degrees warmer in the winter (supposedly).
I tried the deep litter method and hated it for a number of reasons, but you’ll find others who love it, and wouldn’t do it any other way. Many who use the deep litter method have chosen straw as their preferred bedding type.
Pro #6: Straw bedding composts quickly in the compost pile
Many chicken keepers who don’t use the deep litter method still like to use their bedding later for compost. When they remove old bedding from the coop, they add it to their compost pile. Many say their straw composts very quickly.
Pro #7: Straw bedding compost can be used on gardens
And with compost comes garden fuel! Those of you who have a garden will love putting your old bedding and chicken waste to a productive use!
Pro #8: Straw bedding insulates
Straw bedding has some insulating features, and may lead to a slightly warmer coop in the winter. However, many have complained that straw also leads to a warmer coop in the summer.
Pro #9: Straw bedding is widely available
In most areas, straw is readily available. For advice on where to find straw, see the section below, Finding and buying straw bedding for your chicken coop.
Pro #10: Straw bedding is lightweight
Straw bedding is super lightweight when compared to sand. You will have a much easier time maneuvering it in and out of your coop.
The Cons of Using Straw for Chicken Coop Bedding
Con #1: Straw is not a great litter
The fact that blew my mind: Chickens need litter, not bedding
I’ve talked about this on this blog before, but here I go again. Long ago, I read a post by the Chicken Chick that contained this little nugget of knowledge:
“Straw is livestock bedding, but chickens require litter.”
Mind blown. We always talk about chicken bedding, but chickens don’t need bedding. Chickens don’t “bed”—they roost. We don’t need a material for them to lay on. What we need is a material that serves as litter for their droppings.
Litter has these qualities:
Good moisture absorption/release
Keeps odors down
Dries out droppings
Doesn’t decompose
Straw does none of these things! Okay, okay, it has excellent absorption, but straw is so bad at releasing the moisture it absorbs, it hardly matters.
In one study, out of 9 bedding types tested, straw was the very worst at releasing moisture—learn more about this study and others in my article, The best chicken coop bedding: Sand vs. straw vs. pine shavings. Because straw is terrible at releasing moisture, you’ll need to replace it frequently.
In fact, the only chicken coop bedding that has all the qualities of good litter is sand. For more on why sand is the king of the coop when it comes to bedding (or shall I say, litter?), check out my article, Using sand for chicken coop bedding.
Regardless, many people hate using sand in their coops, and adore straw. As I always say, different methods work for different keepers (and different chickens, for that matter).
Con #2: Straw bedding does not release moisture and has increased pathogen levels
Straw doesn’t release moisture well, and this may be its worst quality as a chicken coop bedding. Straw retains water more than most (perhaps, all) other bedding types, which creates a rich environment for pathogen growth.
Straw is more likely to grow mold than many other bedding types. In fact, some people using straw for the deep litter method have reported this was a major problem for them.
Some molds may be a mere inconvenience for chickens, but some molds can kill, fairly suddenly and silently. Unfortunately, you can’t always see dangerous molds with the naked eye either, so when you start losing chickens, you won’t know what’s causing it.
I have read numerous scientific studies detailing increased pathogen growth in straw. Several studies have found straw as a culprit for harboring pathogens that cause respiratory diseases in farm animals. Check out my article, The best chicken coop bedding: Sand vs. straw vs. pine shavings, to learn more about these studies and exactly what they found.
One thing you can do to help prevent these problems is to periodically sprinkle zeolite crystals into your straw bedding. Zeolite is a mineral that absorbs moisture really well. A lot of chicken keepers using straw in their coops swear by it. See zeolite here on Amazon.
Con #3: Straw bedding does not stay clean
Because straw doesn’t absorb moisture very well, the bedding doesn’t stay clean. This can be particularly unpleasant for a few different reasons:
Chickens dust bathe in bedding—they may have much better dust bath material just outside the coop, but many chickens will still dust bathe in the bedding from time to time. When you have moist, poopy bedding, your chickens are literally covering themselves in it, head to toe.
Chickens eat bedding and poop—it’s inevitable. This may not be a staple of their diet, but I always catch chickens eating bedding or poop as they’re scratching around in it (studies have found this too, you can find out more in my article here). This has been true whether I use straw, pine shavings, or sand. (But don’t ever use pine shavings - see why in my article, here). Out of these three beddings, straw is definitely the filthiest and most pathogen-laden since it doesn’t release moisture as well. All studies on bedding cleanliness have rated straw low - for more on studies about straw cleanliness, see my article, The best chicken coop bedding: Sand vs. straw vs. pine shavings.
Chickens get poop on their feet—while this is gross on its own, and can’t be comfortable for the chickens, they also bring those poopy feet into the nesting boxes, soiling the nesting material and smearing feces on the eggs.
Con #4: Straw may contain pesticides
Many farmers use pesticides on their crops, and, therefore, the leftover straw may be laden with it. Pesticides may cause serious harm to your chickens. You definitely don’t want these toxins in your coop.
You’ll just need to ask the person or store you want to buy from if they used pesticides on their straw. You’ll obviously also need to feel confident that you trust their integrity before buying. There is plenty of straw out there that is pesticide-free, so just keep looking. I’ve used this bagged straw on Amazon, designed specifically for chicken coop bedding.
Con #5: Straw can cause impacted crops
Straw can cause impacted crops, but that is true of any bedding if chickens eat too much of it.
The biggest problem is if you are buying straw that has not been chopped. These long pieces of straw get clumped up in the crop and can block the digestive route, leading to impaction.
Impaction is a serious issue that may be cured if caught in time, but otherwise will kill your chicken. She’ll starve to death and the impaction itself can be very uncomfortable, especially as the crop gets very large as she tries to eat more and more food.
If you buy chopped straw, your chickens’ risk of crop impaction decreases dramatically.
Many chicken keepers have used non-chopped straw and never had a problem with impaction, but other’s have sob stories to tell. It’s of course up to you if you want to take a chance on it or not. If you are going to use non-chopped straw, think twice about throwing scratch or treats in it. Your chickens may accidentally eat the straw while looking for treats.
Con #6: Cheap straw may only come in large quantities
Although straw is very low cost in some areas of the country, you may have to buy it in bulk. You may need to buy one or more bales (and these are, more often than not, non-chopped straw). If you have a small coop, that means you’ll have to store your straw in a very dry, well ventilated place where it’s safe both from moisture and from animals who want to eat it.
You could buy bagged straw instead from some local feed stores or you can even find chopped bagged straw here on Amazon. This is what I used before I changed my bedding to sand.
Con #7: Coops with straw bedding may be harder to clean out
This con is relative. Straw bedding, initially lightweight, can get very heavy and clumped up with droppings once it’s been used in the coop, so removing it from your coop is a lot harder than removing pine shavings, which stay lightweight. However, straw still isn’t as hard to remove as sand, which is significantly heavier.
Also, just an FYI here—pine shavings are toxic to chickens, so don’t use them. For the latest research, see my article, Pine shavings in the coop: The secret chicken killer?
Con #8: Rodents and insects like straw bedding
Rodents love to nest and hide in organic bedding, like straw. You can pretty much prevent rodents in your coop, though, if you have a wood or concrete floor that they can’t tunnel into. Elevating your coop off the ground can also help. I’ve never had a rodent in any of my coops, regardless of the bedding type used.
Insects (including those pesky flies) also like decaying organic bedding like straw, which decomposes with the added chicken poop and moisture. The only bedding types with significantly fewer insects are sand and gravel—you can learn more about the research on this in my article here.
Straw vs. other types of bedding
Check out my thoroughly researched article, A comparison of 21+ chicken coop bedding materials. You’ll see that out of all possible bedding materials, straw ranks #2, second only to sand.
Finding and buying straw bedding for your chicken coop
When you buy straw, make sure you’re buying chopped straw. Straw that’s not chopped mats easily, and when it mixes with manure, it creates giant, moisture-rich clumps. This is exactly what you don’t want in your coop.
Additionally, if your chickens eat the non-chopped straw (which, inevitably, some of them will), they have a high chance for crop impaction because the straw is so long and stringy.
Where do you find straw bedding for chicken coops?
You can find straw at most local farm supply stores, like Tractor Supply and D&B. You can also ask around—straw is quite easy to find if you know anyone who lives in a rural area (although chopped straw is harder to find than non-chopped straw).
Craigslist is another place you can find people selling straw. But be careful—make sure the straw is dry, free of mold, free of pesticides, and chopped before you buy it.
Some farm stores may have bagged chopped straw, specifically for chicken coop use. These are more expensive to buy than bales, but they do have their benefits. Bagged chicken coop straw is pesticide-free, chopped to a small size, dry, and free of dangerous molds.
Bagged straw will also need to be stored in a dry place, such as up on a shelf in your garage (you just want to make sure it stays completely dry and that rodents can’t get to it). You can even find bagged straw on Amazon, and have it delivered straight to your door! That’s what I used to do.
You can also buy straw and straw mixes that contain the mineral zeolite already mixed in. This type of bedding goes a long way in keeping your coop clean and dry (compliments of the zeolite). See this straw-alfalfa-zeolite bedding mix from Amazon.
How Much Does Straw Bedding for Your Chicken Coop Cost?
Straw bedding will vary in cost based on where you live and what time of year it is. When I bought straw from my local D&B in the summer, I paid $8/bale here in Southwest Idaho. I, however, prefer to buy bagged straw on Amazon as it’s easier to store.
Here are two other examples I found online:
Lisa Steele from Fresh Eggs Daily – “Straw costs around nine dollars a bale here in Maine where we are, and I usually use one to two bales at a time in the coop (depending on the time of year), so that adds up quickly.”
Lisa Murano from Murano Chicken Farm (I couldn’t find where she is located) – “Around here I can get straw bales for between $2-4 each, all year round. Even with all 5 coops going, I can refill them all for under $10. That's definitely a price I can live with!”
You can also order bedding online like I used to do, see here for how much straw is going for on Amazon. Check here to see the current price for a straw-alfalfa-zeolite mix bedding.
How to use straw bedding in your coop
Straw bedding supplies
Here is a list of the supplies that I use with Amazon links for each:
How I use these supplies is explained in detail below.
How to move straw bedding into your chicken coop
If you have a bale of straw, use a heavy duty shovel to shovel the straw into the coop. I’ve also used a heavy duty snow shovel to move straw around in particularly large coops.
If you have a bag of straw, you can just open it up and empty it into your coop, or use your hands to pick it up and spread it around.
Fluff the straw up and make sure there aren’t clumps. Clumps are more likely to retain moisture down the road.
What depth should straw bedding be in your chicken coop?
Your bedding should be at least 3-4 inches in depth, but your chickens will appreciate you if you give them closer to 6 inches.
How to keep straw bedding clean in your chicken coop
The only way to keep your straw bedding clean in your coop is to reduce the amount of chicken poop in it. The best way to do this is to put droppings trays or droppings boards underneath your chickens’ roosting bars.
Your chickens poop a lot when they roost at night, and if you have trays or boards under their roosts, you can keep this large amount of poop out of your bedding.
Each day, simply scrape the trays using a taping knife. I scrape the trays into a plastic tote and then empty the tote in a designated area outside.
This simple trick will greatly extend the life of your bedding, no matter what material you use!
How often do you need to replace straw bedding in your coop?
How often you replace straw bedding in the coop really depends on the size of your coop, how many chickens you have in the coop, and how clean you want it to be for your chickens.
Because straw doesn’t release moisture well, you’re going to need to replace straw bedding more often than some other bedding materials. Remember, if moisture builds up, your chickens will be exposed to high levels of bacteria and possibly mold, which could kill them.
If you’re like me, you’ll want to replace your straw fairly frequently, every week or so, certainly no longer than two weeks. Chickens absolutely love fresh bedding, so as far as they’re concerned, the more you change it, the better. I really feel horrible having my chickens walk around with poop stuck on their feet from the bedding, so I prefer not to let the bedding sit in the coop too long.
If you have a lot of chickens packed into your coop (which I don’t recommend, but many people seem to do), you may need to change the bedding every day or 2-3 times a week. This is especially true if your chickens only have a small run. The smaller their run is, the more time they spend (and poop) in their coop.
On the other hand, some people with large coops, low chicken density, and free-range chickens (who spend less time in the coop) may go a month or longer without changing their bedding.
If you notice your straw is getting moist, you smell ammonia, or the coop just smells bad, it’s time to replace the straw.
If you want to use the deep litter method, you may go 6 months to a year without changing your bedding (6 months is better for your chickens). I don’t like the deep litter method for a number of reasons—I tried it my first year raising chickens, and vowed, never again, but this is a really popular method right now. Many people love it.
You are taking a risk using this method, however, simply because of straw’s moisture retention and increased pathogen growth.
If you use the deep litter method, be sure your chicken coop is very well ventilated because you will have more ammonia and bad smells in your coop. Also be sure to keep a very close eye on the bedding, making sure it doesn’t get too moist, and if you smell even a tinge of ammonia, add more bedding immediately and mix it in.
One more thing, if you’re using straw, especially if you’re using the deep litter method, consider investing in a bag of zeolite crystals to spread in your straw. Zeolite will help to absorb a lot of the moisture and prevent ammonia from building up. This will provide a healthier environment for your chickens, and will really help with odors and flies.
You can even find some packages of straw bedding with zeolite mixed in already. You can find these mixes at your local farm supply store, and you can even find them on Amazon, like this straw-alfalfa-zeolite bedding mix.
How to extend the life of your straw bedding
I mentioned one way above to extend the life of your straw bedding—use poop trays or droppings boards under the roosts to prevent the straw from getting soiled overnight.
Another idea comes from Lisa Steele, from the amazing blog, Fresh Eggs Daily. She wrote a post on a method she uses.
When her straw bedding is in need of a change, she’ll put it outside in the open run or yard on a very hot and sunny day. She says that the UV rays of the sun will help to kill the bacteria, mold, and other pathogens in the bedding.
She piles the bedding up a bit to appeal to the chickens, and she lets her chickens scratch around in the bedding all day. She recommends throwing a handful of meal worms or seeds into the bedding if you need to do so.
The chickens will spread the bedding out over the day, and the sun will dry up all the moisture.
At the end of the day, Lisa puts the dry bedding back into the coop. She says that the straw looks brand new. She notes that she separates the really dirty bedding and adds it to the compost pile.
Lisa says she can do this 2-3 times before she needs to discard the bedding (and to her, discarding the bedding means adding it to the compost pile, and then using it on the garden).
Lisa says that this is one way to really save money on your chicken bedding.
I’ve included this anecdote from her blog post in case it’s useful to you. I, personally, wouldn’t use this method. I would still worry that the bedding is dirtier than it appears (some molds and bacteria are very hardy), and I would rather give my chickens fresh and clean bedding, but different methods work for different keepers! And Lisa has had great success with this technique, so maybe you will too.
Can straw bedding be used in the brooder?
Chopped straw bedding may be used in the brooder. Make sure it is pesticide-free and very, very dry.
Here’s something every first-time chicken keeper needs to know about brooder bedding: Start by covering it up! That’s right, cover the bedding with paper towels, rubber shelf lining, or some other material that is non-toxic that the chicks can’t eat.
Chicks don’t automatically know what to eat—they have to learn what to eat. You don’t want your chicks eating anything but chick feed. If you don’t cover up the bedding, they will very likely eat the bedding. They may get crop impaction from this and can die, or they may just decide that bedding is food, and then they won’t be getting the nutrition they need for survival.
You’ll only need to cover the bedding for a few days, typically just long enough that they learn they should be eating chicken feed. I, however, like to err on the side of caution. I cover bedding for 5-7 days to be safe.
Can straw bedding be used in the run?
The short answer: Straw bedding can be used in the run, but some people have problems with this approach. Yep, you guessed it—it’s the moisture retention and pathogens rearing their ugly heads again.
I have never used straw in my run, so to find the answer to this question, I read every article I could find on the topic (and there are no academic articles), and I perused what felt like a million forums. It appears that most people have had bad experiences with straw in their runs, but there are some situations where using straw in the run can be an excellent choice.
The consensus of most people is that putting straw down can be great at first. It’s initially much nicer for chickens than a hard, dirt run (which is how the ground gets after chickens have been in the run a month or so, no matter how nice it started out). But then the straw gets wet, stinky, and gross, particularly if you have any rain.
Most people who have tried using straw in the run are recommending against it (or at least the people posting in forums are recommending against it, which of course are biased).
On the other hand, there are some people who tote the benefits of straw in the run. These people tend to fall into three camps.
The first camp is people who live in sandy areas—water drains well in these areas and straw seems to stay drier and doesn’t stink.
The second camp is people who use straw on top of snow—because everything is frozen, this straw tends to do okay, and the chickens love it.
The third camp is people who don’t use straw to cover the entire run, but just rake a pile of straw out into the run. With this last method, chickens enjoy scratching through the straw and it decomposes fairly quickly into compost (as long as conditions aren’t too wet).
I don’t think using straw in the run is worth the risk. Sand is usually a better option—see my article, Using sand for chicken coop bedding, for more information.
