We live with so much misinformation. Have used Cedar shavings (commercially, well dried) in my poultry houses for nearly 30 years. I raise bantams and the houses are divided into nice sized pens for trios, plenty of room, roosts, window. Pens are always dry, shavings last for months without cleaning, if always kept DRY. Chicks are raised on paper until they start scratching them up, then on Pine shavings--and fed chick grit, as they do eat shavings! They go into pens with Cedar shavings, when pullets are about 4 months old and about ready to lay. My outside pens are grass, mowed short and kept green. NEVER out on rainy days, or until the dew is dried in summer. NEVER in mud. They scratch dusting holes along their outside pen fences. Grass is watered in summer to keep it green, mowed to keep it SHORT. Pens are shaded, but have open area for sunshine. Dirty outside pens--or birds out in rain or on mud, track it back in their inside pens, dirty eggs, wet bedding, asking for respiratory problems and loose poo, that makes dirty rears. Winter with frozen ground, birds can be out a few hours in sunshine, not in snow or frost. Windows in the houses are LOW, so winter sunshine fills their pens and can be opened. Hardware cloth over windows.keeps out mice and other varmints. Windows closed on winter zero temp days, but with sunshine, heats the houses comfortably for the birds, and they dust in the shavings, enjoying their space Their nest boxes are on.a shelf above the window of each pen. Above that is a roost shelf, with an old wooden grape box lined with plastic and a sprinkle of shavings, and roost board across, for the trio of bantams. (none get in the night roost poo, and the box can be dumped about once a month,) Warmest, up near the ceiling, during winter and with windows open in summer, gives ventilation during warmer nights. Check those bales of Cedar Shavings. They must be DRY, not dusty--and the poultry house never smells bad. The very nice aroma of freshly cleaned pens soon evaporates, but still hides the 'dirty chickenhouse smell that folks hate. Smell of wet straw and weekly cleaning is just not necessary, if you have a source of Cedar Shavings. A house with 30-50 breeders and chicks and youngsters doesn't have an unpleasant smell, even if they do not get outside for weeks in winter or a rainy week in Spring or summer! Large fowl? Deeper bedding and do not crowd them--floor or night roosts. Not a suitable management for all keepers of chickens, but might be useful for small flock breeders. .
I keep my best breeding hens for as long as they live--have hens laying at 8-10 years and keep oldies, to 12-13 years.
