Cedar Shavings

Oklahomachick

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I have 5 by chicks abo 7 wks old. In the botton of their crate I have cedar shavings. When I clean their crate I have been putting the shavings in a plastic bag. I was wondering if I could put the cedar shavings that I get from the bottom of their crate into the chicken yard with my older chickens?
 
What if I mixed dirt in with the shavings? I am wanting my chicken yard to be the compost pile. I am really new at this so.... Maybe mixing it in with my flower beds and/or garden?
 
Quote: Hi Denise

Go to my blog and read about Coop Management. It's packed with really helpful and practical information. Pine shavings will need to spend time in a compost pile to break down before they can be beneficial. In my opinion, the problem with pine shavings is that they are very messy and also costly. They are labor intensive when trying to keep sanitary coop conditions and they also are a breeding ground for mites and parasites. They make coop interiors moist which is not good for chicken health and they stick to your shoes. Sand on the other hand, which is what I use, is an absolute dream for both the chickens AND the chicken owners! What you are wanting for your garden is the poop anyway, and that must be composted as well before you put it into a garden. So with my method, you can get all the poop for the compost pile and none of the mess and high labor of pine shavings, or straw!

Kelly
 
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I would switch the cedar shavings to the pine or to sand, cedar is incredibly bad for the respiratory systems of birds. It's passable out in open air, like the run, but in a closed off space like a brooder it can become a problem for them.

Play sand though, reduces the waste a lot. All that comes out is the poo, in a manageable amount. With shavings of any kind, they take awhile to break down and really build up the pile fast. I use sand only for brooding now, it's so much easier. I still use shavings out in the run since the birds are real good about keeping it stirred up. In the coop is sand, cleaning takes all of 5 minutes with a cat litter scoop once a day. You have to use a reptile scoop for babies, their poops are too little for the cat scoop.

I have a compost pile for the poop from the coops/brooders and kitchen waste, leaves, grass clippings, etc. I don't clean the run, I let it compost right there. Adding more poo to that though, I could see the break down not being as effective and it could build up with too much added. You need the heat that a pile produces to break things down faster. Spread out in a run, it won't generate that heat unless you also mix in a good amount of green stuff.
 

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