Bedding in a hen house does two quite different jobs, and it helps to keep them separate in your mind. On the floor it soaks up droppings, keeps birds off cold or damp surfaces, and gives them something to scratch and turn over. In the nest box it does something else entirely: it cushions the egg, lets a hen shape a comfortable hollow, and keeps the shell clean as it lands.
Whatever you choose, the principles are the same. It must be dry, absorbent, low in dust, and easy to remove. Hens have delicate respiratory systems, and a dusty coop in a British winter — windows shut, ventilation limited — is a recipe for coughing birds and vet bills. Aim for roughly 5–8cm on the floor and a generous handful in each nest box, topped up as needed.
Straw is what most people picture when they think of a hen house, and for nest boxes it has real merits. It is warm, springy, and hens love to rearrange it into a bowl. Barley straw tends to be softer than wheat, and both are cheap from farm suppliers and pet shops.
The catch is on the floor. Straw is not especially absorbent, so droppings sit on top rather than soaking away, and the litter turns sour quickly. Hollow stems are also a favourite hiding place for red mite, and good straw is dusty. Use it in the nest box, where it excels, and change it little and often.
Kiln-dried wood shavings are the workhorse of British hen keeping, and for good reason. They are absorbent, inexpensive, and easy to handle with a scoop or gloved hands.
They are less good in nest boxes on their own, as hens kick them out and the hollow collapses. Many keepers run shavings on the floor and something softer in the boxes.
Chopped hemp bedding has become popular with keepers who want low dust and high absorbency. The fibres soak up several times their own weight in moisture, dry out quickly on the surface, and are heavy enough to stay where you put them.
It is the best all-rounder for nest boxes: soft, clean-smelling, and it holds a hollow well. It also composts quickly, which matters if you are building a muck heap for the garden. The downside is cost — expect to pay noticeably more per bale than for shavings — and availability can be patchy outside larger suppliers. Mixing it half and half with shavings stretches it further.
Shredded paper is free if you have a shredder, and it is perfectly safe provided you avoid glossy magazines, coated wrapping paper, and anything with plastic windows. Plain newspaper, envelopes with the plastic removed, and office paper all work.
It is absorbent enough, but it mats down when damp, blows about in a breeze, and looks messy within a day. Use it as a base layer under shavings, or as a temporary measure in a hospital pen for a poorly hen, and change it more often than other bedding.
One material to avoid entirely is hay. It looks the part, but it goes mouldy fast in damp British weather, and the dust and spores are a genuine risk to respiratory health.
Few experienced keepers use just one material. A common and effective arrangement is:
Spot-clean every morning — lift out the droppings under the perch and any soiled bedding — then top up. Do a full change every week or two in summer, and more often in winter when the birds spend longer inside. Scrub nest boxes monthly and check the corners for red mite, which hides in cracks and in any bedding left too long.
If an egg arrives dirty, wipe it with a dry cloth rather than washing it; washing strips the protective bloom and shortens how long it keeps. And if you keep finding broken eggs, add more bedding. A hen needs enough depth to burrow a proper hollow, and a soft landing is the simplest way to stop shells cracking.
Perch & Roost shares practical, down-to-earth guidance on back garden poultry keeping and british garden birds for readers across the UK.
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