Oak Pellets??

[Henny Many]

Hi All! I'm new to chickens (my chicks arrive the 26th!). I saw the horse bedding pellets being used on a coop tour I went on and want to use those as well. The only ones I could find (easily) are made out of oak, not pine. Are there any health risks from using oak with my chicks??

Also....I wanted to break them down with water to make a finer dust so that I can just use a kitty scoop to get the poop/wet out. Is that ok to do with my little chicks? Pros/cons??

Thanks in advance!!

 

[Jx2inNC]

I'm not aware of any problems you should have with the oak vs. the pine.
I use pine pellets under my shavings, but that's just because I picked them up and they were the only ones I saw.

 

[In His Service]

I thought I read somewhere here that oak was poisonous to chickens ... ?

 

[Jx2inNC]

I guess it depends the level of tannin within whatever you are looking at.
It appears it is mainly acorns and oak leaves that cause problems: http://woodridge.wordpress.com/2010/10/07/acorns-toxic-feed-for-poultry/
I'm not sure it pellets made of shavings would be an issue, seeing as how horses can be effected too and this is a horse-specific product -- I'd imagine that it is fairly safe. I do not know for a fact, though.

 

[Henny Many]

Thanks all I've read that the acorns and leaves can be poisonous, but I can't find where the shavings would be. I've noticed, however, that my own allergies seem to be worse with the oak in the basement, so I may just switch to the pine shavings to be sure. I appreciate the responses!