teriyakigran
Chirping
We live in upper NE New Mexico and are preparing to start raising a few chickens. Our daughter and son in law in OK make it look like so much fun (of course they do take advantage of readily available kid-labor...) But that's ok. I've been observing friends as well, for a few years but have just one burning question right now (more to come, I'm sure) We are looking at where to build the coop and yard, and we simply do not have many trees - mostly what I'd consider scrubby cedar wanna-be trees... but I figure that's some added shade, and especially the few low branches for daytime roosting. I have read a bit on cedar shavings (big NO-NO) and I think I understand the difference in the concept of more surface area/ more aromatic/ etc of the shavings... I've noticed several people have said cedar trees were FINE in or around the pen, but most seemed to refer to DEAD cedar trees. Just wanting to check before we make a big mistake! I'd really prefer to utilize these 3 small cedar trees in and around the pen if that's OK. Looking for advice....
Here is a link to a thread that might be helpful for you. 
The trees will offer much needed shade. It's the eastern cedar bedding you want to avoid, western cedar trees are not an issue. 
