.. dunno if in right forum

[theemon]

i keep reading about the deep litter method, whats the "litter" ? juat wood shavings? now about that, local tree trimmers will dump chipped wood at ur house, can i use that, or is certian trees bad?

 

[TaylorHobbyFarms]

Never use cedar shavings because they can be toxic. Some people use them for older chickens, but not chicks. We never use them period.

 

[theemon]

why are cedar bad? is it the same reason for hamsters? the breathing thing? or?

 

[TaylorHobbyFarms]

Yes, it is bad for their lungs. Cedar shavings emit a chemical known as plicatic acid which can cause asthma in hamsters and can kill chicks.

 

[amillecay]

My mum bought be some bedding and on accident bought the wrong stuff which had a bit of cedar mixed in, I didn't know anything about this till several people told me it was bad and when I do think back on they were sneezing a lot but that was all.

 

[donrae]

For deep litter here I use bales of pine shavings. Just dump them out, kind of scatter it a little but mostly watch the birds scratch through and spread them out for me. Word of caution.....don't dump a big bale right inside your door! You'll have shavings in the door jam and outside all the time. Give that threshold a little space.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

We just use bales of pine shavings, too. We clean out the coop once per year usually, but more often if a storm blows a lot of water inside and things get wet or stinky.

One hint for the door problem--we a removable board that's 8" high across the inside of the bottom of the doorway. It's painted bright orange to help keep people from tripping. That board keeps the shavings in the hen house and doesn't let them spill out the door.