Poultry Talk Ontario (pto.ca)

It's not compressed, I have half a bag in the barn, will check. Off hand I'd say it's more than twice the price of the McFeeter's quick pick wood shavings on an equal volume basis.

I guess folks have to decide in each case whether it does twice the job for their use . Never seen it so have no idea . Luck

In my experience flax bedding goes much further than wood shavings. I use both - McFeeter's yellow bag for the nest boxes and flax bedding for the coop floor. I find it's easy to pick out droppings from the flax and it doesn't cake like shavings do after a while. I guess for me it's worth paying a bit more for flax bedding especially in the winter months because it does stay good for much longer.

When Flax bedding first came on the scene.. I tried it.. not for me or for my birds.... The mold factor alone was unbelievable. I liked how it was ( for the first few days) dry and clean.. but if there was a smiggen of moisture.. there was mold.Around waterers it was brutal .... It got to the point after about a month that I just gave up using it and the last I gave to a friend with cattle who found the same issues... not a good health situation for birds in my opinion..Respitory issues would be a issue with long term use in my opinon.. I have gone to a equine shaving ( Champion Bedding) that is kiln dried sifted shavings... you to not get the gag factor when spreading it..and that is always a concern for me.I like to clean my birds at least every 2 weeks.. this keeps things fresh ... its been a struggle this year with the lack of cold weather , which increases the humidity level in the barn... with the amount of birds I keep... just means for more freaquent cleanouts...They are only about $1.00 more a bag than regular shavings....Just my 2 cents .

I've never had a mold issue using flax bedding. I have my waterer raised up which seems to keep spills to a minimum. I scoop out obvious manure daily, do a more thorough clean once a week and add fresh. It's my bedding of choice. If there were a healthi-straw distributor in my area, I would give that a try, as a backup bedding material. My second choice of bedding is McFeeters gold bag fine wood shavings.
Perhaps your mold problem was due to improper storage where you bought the bags, since the bags are paper, and would allow moisture to penetrate.

I have never had a mould issue. Flax is all I've used. I even used it for ducks for a while. eventually I mixed wood chips and flax together for ducks because in 5 mins they have a clean coop into a swamp land. Oh ducks!

Flax is impressive stuff. It should break down easily in a compost pile (remember I'm fairly new to chickens, compost pile is new) it's easily maintained and when a gets on it, it's really simple to scoop and chuck without a lot of product wastage. Before I was using a tarp I found that the coop never really smelt like crap. Mind you my coop has herbs in litter and boxes,but is . Even in the midst of the summer it was good. Perhaps a great odour absorber too.

I'm a flax lifer!! I am going to try the stuff Robbie mentioned from the feed supply in Hagersville. Ducks. Mandatory this year.

I should mention I do need feed or water in the coops.

I got rid of all my upside down waterers. IMO they are nothing but a pain, no matter how hard I tried the stupid things would always spill water in the coop. They are just plain dreadful and I don't know why the design persists. I just use a small Fortex rubber horse pail, works great. I would not use flax or healthi straw if mould was an issue, I'd stick to the shavings. I don't think I would use either straw or flax for ducks. If they did not eat the wood bedding pellets that's probably what I'd use.