Chips versus shavings

[Motts]

As I have read many threads on bedding materials, I have noticed that some people saying that they are using pine chips and others say shavings. Are people using these interchangeably or is there a difference? Right now I am using shavings in my coop and leaves but am looking for other options. Thanks

 

[Hokum Coco]

I have tried most types of bedding.
Wood chips or shaving your guess is as good as mine on this site.
Wood chips in my mind went through a chipper and are thick chunks of wood.
Shavings went through a planer and have a curl in a perfect world.

I have NOT tried sand.

I tried wood pellets last October it did not fare to well through the winter it froze harder than concrete with a poop crust.

Now it looks just like sawdust. I live in Canada and subject to -40º no heat or light in my coop.

I also have a bit of shredded paper added in but now you can not tell it is there. I find wood pellets (sawdust) the best bedding I have used so far.

The pellets are much more absorbent then wood chips, saw dust, or shavings . They swell up when they come into contact with moisture and disintegrate to sawdust.

I would not go back to wood chips or shavings.

It is going on a year and I have not changed my bedding yet. The girls dust bathe in it daily.

I know it is going to make excellent compost for my vegetable garden.

Chicken coop is metal shed on the left.

 

[chfite]

Pine shavings are thinly sliced pieces of wood, nearly thin as paper. They fluff easily. Being thin, they dry fast. As long as they are not staying wet, they don't compact. Wood dust is similar to flour, in my mind, and pretty much useless in a coop. Wood chips can be the large granules that come off of a chainsaw, or the ragged chunks that come from a wood chipper.

The residue from a chain saw is slow to dry. The product from a wood chipper is too variable in size and consistency to suit my needs in a coop. It would need to be dried for quite some time to be useful. It can work well in a run.

I like pine shavings because they come compressed in a bag, clean, and ready to use. I keep the unused portion in storage. The shavings are easy to turn over in the coop and nest boxes. The work well once shoveled into a compost heap.

Chris