neighbor shavings

[max13077]

I have a chance to cut my costs if some folks would give me an opinion. A neighbor of mine has recently gotten into wood working. He makes signs, little yard windmills, decorative plaques, etc. He has a copious quantity of wood shavings that go out in the trash. I was speaking with him this morning and he said he would be more than happy to see them be used. The only catch is, there might be a tiny amount of treated wood sawdust in the shavings. He said it’s a very limited quantity if any at all. But at times there might be. He has a planer and buys rough cut pine and once in a while some hardwoods. That is where 99.9% of the shavings come from. Can I use it? Other than directly eating the dust itself, I can’t see much harm. Breathing maybe? I’ve found some scary stuff in the shavings I’ve been buying from TSC. An ear plug, a piece of metal, etc. So what do you think?

 

[patandchickens]

First off I have to say that "neighbor shavings" sounds pretty unpleasant, I'd recommend using wood shavings instead

LOL

More seriously... I dunno. Is it old-style (CCA) or new (ACQ or whatever it is) pressure-treated wood, and by 'a little', what does that mean? Is that, like, 'I chopped a couple 2x4's in half, the dust of which is mixed into three cubic yards of untreated softwood shavings', or is it a larger amount? Is there any possibility that you could take shavings *only* when he is sure there's no treated sawdust in the pile?

I honestly do not know what I would do in your shoes... it would depend on the amount of treated shavings, I suppose. It's not just a matter of the chickens eating 'em - treated sawdust is bad to breathe as well. OTOH if you can get clean piles, sure. Or piles with just a truly microscopic amount in 'em... I dunno. And of course it also depends on how the quality of his shavings compares to what you can get elsewhere. (Have you tried local feedstores, not just TSC?)

BTW, if he's throwing them out in the trash, tell him he should put a sign up out front, or if you have a small town newspaper with free classsifieds, or something on craigslist or freecycle... because there are generally LOTS of people out there who would LOVE to have the shavings for bedding, mulch, composting, etcetera. Silly to fill up landfills with it!

Good luck whichever you decide,

Pat

 

[professor-yellow]

Forget the addage :beggars cant be choosers".
Have another talk with him and tell him you would really like to help him out and reduce his wastevolume. However you have found out that even the smallest amout of treated dust could be FATAL!

Understanding that it is more of a pain for him, if he could sweep up before he uses treated would and then isolate the material after he has worked it, I am sure he would accomodate. Especially if it only a small amount. See if he will go for it. I am confident he would since it will help him in his garbage bill.

I get produce scraps every day and have them trained what is used and what is not, so I do not have to sort when its home. it is advantageous for them since it greatly reduces their garbage volume, and they are happy to work with me. Of course i throw a couple dozen duck and chicken eggs their way once in a while also just to show my appreciation.

 

[fivebigreds]

I thought that the stuff they use to treat wood with now won't harm animals. Everything in our coop and run is treated wood.

 

[spatcher]

I would personally say "Thank You" and take everything he gave to me. But, thats just me!

 

[max13077]

Quote:
The floor and corner studs are in mine. I wish I knew

 

[DuckLady]

Quote:

That was my first thought Hahaha.
I thought, "What a novel idea for ridding yourself of those pesky neighbors"

 

[ibpboo]

The pine shavings would be fine. But some woods are not good for animals, such as cedar. So as long as it is a safe wood to begin with, that is a wonderful thing!!
Hardwood examples would be, maple, oak, walnut, beach wood, mahogany etc, so just do a search on whether or not a particular wood is harmful to chickens.