Minnesota!

[scandiafowl]

Mornin' everyone,
Are there other options to buying pine shavings other than the compressed pack?

 

[MinnesotaNice]

Hey MinnesotaNice, due to hatchery SNAFU, I ended up with 28 chicks. I had ordered all pullets but after 2 partial deliveries, who knows if they are or not. I had an order for 6 different breeds, but only recieved 3, Black Astrolorp, Speckled Sussex, & Production Reds. They are almost 4 wks and have been in the house. PM me if you want some, or anyone else.

I PM'd you. Hopefully, the hatchery gets you your right order or at least a refund of some sort.

 

[MinnesotaNice]

Mornin' everyone,
Are there other options to buying pine shavings other than the compressed pack?

I have a friend that buys hers from a Mom & Pop landscaping company. She has horses and chickens, so goes through quite a bit. You could also ask the local feed store, too. They might have resources, if anything. I buy mine from Fleet Farm. a 20lb bag is $5. According to the fancy Fleet Farm website, it expands to 7 cu. ft. when opened! Way to go Fleet Farm!

http://www.fleetfarm.com/detail/dejnos-7-cu-ft-pine-wood-shavings/0000000017332

 

[Dandelioness]

Went out and got a pic. This is what she does. One duckling was under her and the other were under the chicks.

Holm, this is so sweet!

 

[nordicacres]

Scandiafowl, do you have any local towns with a compost site? We just found out our city compost lets you pick up FREE truckloads of compost and mulch. So we will be trying a load of mulch for the coop. Free is free. It won't be as fine as pine shavings, but hopefully it will work for us!

 

[Dandelioness]

We added to our farm today.  2 feeder pigs.  The kids (and DH) are excited (for now).  We will see how this goes and if we will do it again in future years.  I raised pigs on a small scale as a teen so I am excited too to have some again.  We will be spending the next few days reinforcing fencing before they are let out to pasture.  Good times.

A friend of mine did this last year - she was able to move them around in wooden chicken tractors for a while as they were young. They were a little under half grown when she moved them into a fenced area. Good eating!

 

[Dandelioness]

Mornin' everyone,
Are there other options to buying pine shavings other than the compressed pack?

Are you just using them for bedding?

Some alternative or free bedding that we've been happy with: bagged leaves, arborists wood chips from a tree guy down the road, untreated pine shavings from a friend who does a lot of woodworking, sand (non-silica), pine needles.

Hope that helps!

 

[scandiafowl]

Are you just using them for bedding?

Some alternative or free bedding that we've been happy with: bagged leaves, arborists wood chips from a tree guy down the road, untreated pine shavings from a friend who does a lot of woodworking, sand (non-silica), pine needles.

Hope that helps!

That does help. I'm doing a lot of brush clearing and tree trimming, if I rent a shredder I could put all that to good use. It's for bedding.

 

[scandiafowl]

Scandiafowl, do you have any local towns with a compost site? We just found out our city compost lets you pick up FREE truckloads of compost and mulch. So we will be trying a load of mulch for the coop. Free is free. It won't be as fine as pine shavings, but hopefully it will work for us!

Probably not in Scandia proper but I'll check in out, thanks for the idea!

 

[scandiafowl]

I have a friend that buys hers from a Mom &  Pop landscaping company. She has horses and chickens, so goes through quite a bit. You could also ask the local feed store, too. They might have resources, if anything. I buy mine from Fleet Farm. a 20lb bag is $5. According to the fancy Fleet Farm website, it expands to 7 cu. ft. when opened! Way to go Fleet Farm!

http://www.fleetfarm.com/detail/dejnos-7-cu-ft-pine-wood-shavings/0000000017332

That is where I've been buying and it works well. Seems I'm going to have to invest in a truck soon!