Chicken bedding...

So I worked my butt off tonight cleaning the chicken's coop and I opened the bag of bedding, to find that is was pretty much saw dust, not the woodlike chips I was hoping for...

Is there anything I can do to make the saw dust safe and workable in the coop or should I reclean the bedding again and replace it? Love my girls and want the best for their health; just don't want to overthink something that may be okay for them.
I know it is expensive but I have been using hemp and it's the best thing I've ever used. Hemp won't cause respiratory irritation like pine can, it's completely non-toxic, long lasting and absorbs odors incredibly well, as long as you don't have too many hens in one space. You can use what's called the deep litter method and the hemp will last months to about a year without being changed. Then it can be composted for fertilizer. You'll need to have something on the bottom of the coop of course so the hemp doesn't fall through. I'm using a plastic tray from a dog kennel I have because it happened to be the right size. You could use untreated wood or some type of food grade laminate. Hope this helps.
 
Good rule of thumb, if your messing with the bedding and you experience breathing issues your chickens will be dealing with it too.
That is exactly how I've been doing things since this happened.

I was hoping that night to find a trick so I wouldn't have to reclean everything. Plus it meant me driving 15 minutes into town for fresh bedding, plus the time recleaning it. But it was worth it. I slept good that night, knowing the girls were SAFE in the coop. I think I'm just going to stick with store bought bedding again, as the woodchips I've been given recently haven't been chicken friendly. :) Better safe than sorry!
 

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