How much Pine Shavings do I need?

[Jmurcks]

I have looked at all these little bags of pine shavings and I don't know how many of these I will need!
I have a coop 12'x4' and I'd like for the floor to be at least a foot or two covered but I don't know how many little squares to buy!
What do you guys do?
Thanks!

 

[valentinebaby]

I buy a HUGE bag of compressed large (I prefer the large) pine shavings and it covers my 4x8 coop about 4-5" thick when unfluffed. Costs around $6 from feed stores around here.

 

[ZooNana]

Depends on what size the little bags are. If you're talking about the little walmart size bags in the pets section I think those are like 3 cu ft. I buy the 10 cu ft large cut bag from the feed store for $7.50 and use two to get it really deep. The small bags at walmart cost about $6 I think, which is a huge waste of money.

 

[Jmurcks]

I don't know why but I was thinking I was going to need like 10 or more of those little cubes!
I was looking at Tractor Supply so I think it was the larger bags...
Thanks for the help... it is so hard to buy all this when going at it blind so to speak!

 

[cluckcluck42]

Cute avatar!!!

I have no idea how big my coop is, it's a large shed we partitioned off. We've sunk at least 6 bags in there and we still need more!!

You should be good with two I bet, if you want it nice and thick.

 

[Jmurcks]

Quote:
Thanks! I got to find a new one since I'm not an egg anymore and I'm out of the brooder - haha!

I think I'll start with two... it's not like I can't add more!

 

[savingdogs]

We started with using shavings but found we had to add some all the time. We live in a wet and rainy climate.

We have switched to sand and it works 100 percent better for us. They LOVE it and it is easier to just rake out the poo. It was heavier to haul in though. But we could not afford to go through all those shavings especially in the outdoor area.
We do use shavings just in the nest boxes. We found that switching to sand made for cleaner eggs overall though. Before that we were getting muddy eggs all the time.

 

[greathorse]

Most of the larger bags are 9-10 cubic feet so if your coop is 4x12 48 sq feet one foot deep is at least 5 bags. Two feet deep is double that of course.

 

[Hambone]

Get cedar shavings not pine shavings. Cedar is a natural form of insect pesticide. Bugs hate cedar.

 

[mamagardener]

Quote:
I was always told not to use cedar shavings because the scent and oil is too strong and can cause lung problems, I use pine shavings and one bag of kiln dried shavings seem to cover the floor of my 4 by 8 coop about 4 inches thick.