Harmful wood shavigs for bedding?

[k_long]

I burn wood for heat and cut all my own firewood. Therefore I have piles of shavings/chips from the chainsaw. I burn whatever type of wood I can find mostly oak and pine I know cedar is bad, but what about other types. Does anybody else do this. Thank you ahead of time for your advice and expierience

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

We have been using pine shavings in our barn for horses, chickens, turkeys, pheasants, and everyone else for the past year, and have seen no ill effects. Fresh cut pine shavings may have a little resin that could stick to feet, and cause problems, but just keep your eyes on them!

 

[Marlinchaser]

You can use whatever type of shavings you have available, lots of cedar can be harmfull, the problem with Hardwoods is they are not as absorbant as pine.

P.S. be careful burnig pine if you dont burn it hot enough you will get creosote buildup, which can cause a chimney fire.

 

[k_long]

Thanks for the advice. I know most people say don't burn pine. Therefore there is a lot for the taking. I burn it hot let it season and open my flue completely up pretty often to burn out. thanks again good looking out

 

[domino7]

I tried using chips from my chainsaw. I think they were too fine, and too much moisture in them. I didn't like it at all. I do all my heating with wood too. While I don't use pine, it's an old wives tale about building up creosote in your chimney. Pine dries a lot faster than hardwoods, and should be good to burn after 6 months or less. The biggest problem with pine is that it burns up so fast. From what I understand, all wood produces roughly the same amount of btus per pound. Google it. There's tons of information about it.

 

[gsim]

I would say to do it. If the sawdust can be kept where it does not soak up water then it should be fine. Don't put it in the coop if it is damp. Spread it thin to allow it to dry out further and add in thin layers to build it up.

I use grass clippings/deep litter and nests too. I have had great results with that. Even now it still smells good although it has not been added to since November. I would blend the two if I had enough of the chainsaw-produced sawdust. It is coarse and chunky so is good for litter. Wood chips are probably better if not too coarse. I usually save the fine sawdust from my table saw for oil spills, like in my workshop.

Oh, and regarding pine producing creosote in chimneys, it will definitely produce more of that than other woods, but not if it is burned at a good hot temp with a visible flame. The air-tight type stoves that burn wood very slowly and have a very smoky interior because of very low air intake will be the ones that will cause more creosote buildup. In those cases, pine is the worst offender as far as I know.