Brooder Bedding?

[BrackenFarms]

i have an endless supply of free fresh pine needles. would these be ok to use in my brood box? i have a 4x8x24 custom built box with lid. so buying the shavings to keep this box full of fresh bedding would cost a pretty penny. Thanks in advance for responses

 

[AngelzFyre]

I personally wouldn't use the pine needles with the young chicks because they can ingest them and they would get choked on the long needles and/or impacted from not being able to digest them. Some also contain a lot of sap in the ends where they attach to the tree and this will definitely stick to feathers and beaks.
Most use pine shavings in brooder boxes with paper towels over them for the first few days until the chicks know where the food and water are and are not eating the shavings mistakenly.
After the initial addition of shavings they aren't too hard to keep clean by adding some more over and picking out any wet or soiled areas...like a horse stall

.
It'll cost way less in the long run to use shavings or shredded paper, than to lose the chicks if they get sick from the needles.
Hope this helps!

 

[BrackenFarms]

yeah thank you just needed someone to tell me not to use them )