HELP ME PLEASE!!!!

[DarleneE]

My 9 week old chickens are eating the pine shavings!!?? Will this hurt them?? We just out them in their new coop and they're eating away. PLEASE help me... I'm SO scared!!!!!

 

[realsis]

You can change out the small shavings for big ones and they shouldnt be able to eat them as easily. They should be alright but you wouldn't want them to eat too much of the shavings . Tractor supply carries both large and small shavings for the same price. I would go get the larger ones this way they won't eat them . I like the larger shavings as well because they have less dust too. Your birds should be alright, I would just switch the shavings to prevent them from eating any more of it. I've seen my birds eat the small ones too when I used them. They are just fine Thank God! But switching over should stop the problem. Hope this helps and don't worry they should be ok. But do switch to the larger shavings because you don't want them to continue to eat shavings.

 

[DarleneE]

OK I will do that tomorrow!! I'll Google it to find where they might sell them. Thank you SO much.. I was SO scared, I was actually crying.. didn't know WHAT to do!! And I did NOT know they had bigger shavings..thanks SO much!!

 

[farmtotable]

You can also try wood pellets as coop litter, the kind you burn in a pellet stove. You have to make sure to get UNTREATED ones, though. The treated ones have a chemical that isn't good for anyone. I used shavings for a long time, but then switched over to pellets on the advice of my friend at a feed store. I will never go back, pellets are awesome. As they come in contact with liquid/poo/etc, they expand, and eventually break down into sawdust. We compost everything, and they break down way faster than the shavings do in the compost heap. In the long run, you save money, too, because they last a lot longer than the shavings before you have to swap them out. We have ducks, turkeys, chickens, quails, and guineas (as far as birds go), and no one has tried to eat them.

 

[DarleneE]

Thanks for the suggestion. I've seen those in pictures. I will look into those as well tomorrow. I appreciate the advice!!

 

[katbriar]

I use shavings from a local mill and they are square and rectangle shapes rather than flat pared shavings.

My birds are a year old and pick through and eat them all the time. (And they're fine!)

Make sure they have grit to eat and don't worry about the shavings. It's ok!