Pellets vs. Pine Shavings?

[NancyDz]

Quote:
For me though the pellets last 3X longer than the shavings.. so take that into account...


Nancy

 

[DarkWolf]

So you need 4x the material to cover the floor, and it lasts 3x the amount of time that shavings do.. At that ratio, it fails.

 

[cmjust0]

Not all shavings are created equally....

The shavings I get from TSC are smallish chips, dusty, unpack to 5.5cu ft, and cost about $6.50.

The shavings I get from Farmer's Feed Mill in Lexington, KY are large chips, not very dusty at all, unpack to 12cu ft, and cost about....$6.50!

So far, my experience has been that the FFM shavings also tend to perform quite a bit better than the TSC shavings.. Seems like the TSC shavings pack down harder and all the waste rides on top, whereas the FFM shavings stay 'fluffier' and it takes longer for the top coat to start looking and smelling so rough.. I actually hate the TSC shavings now and won't buy them unless I absolutely have to.

That being said, as I'm reading this and seeing some people say "Shavings work great!" whereas other people say "I hate shavings!", and seeing as how I'm actually of both opinions depending on the shavings in question, I'm kinda left to wonder whether we're comparing apples to apples..

Could be that everybody's right -- that shavings are both awesome and horrible -- and it could be that a lot of disgruntled ex-shavings-users could save a lot of money on pellets by shopping around to find better shavings...

Just a thought.

 

[eponagirl]

It sounds like it comes down to personal choice. For me, I am going to try pellets in the coop and see how it goes. I've been VERY pleased with pellets in the brooder....I've really not had to change it out at all...they've been on it for 4.5 weeks. I do stir it up and add Stall Dry and more pellets if needed, though. No smell, VERY dry, chicks like to dig around it. You may need more bags of pellets than bags of shavings in the coop at first, but not only does it last longer than shavings it also reduces odor better and keep things more dry, so you won't need to add as much as you would shavings.

Would love to hear from more people that use pellets in the coop...

 

[DarkWolf]

Quote:
That's a good point.. We had a bag of shavings come in, was ultra compressed. It was literally like taking out bricks by the handfuls and then breaking them up filled space great. This recent bad, isn't the same brand. It's not highly packed at all and contains more bark chunks and sawdust. Also doesn't smell the same, which is odd.

So I think trying a few different bags of shavings from a few places would be a good idea so that you can compare and find the best overall deal and most functioning.

My choice is going to be shavings until I feel that something better is out there for certain.

Pellets are compelling.. What, with the fact that less is needed than shavings once you get the floor covered, and that it composts very quickly.. But I'm not sold just yet.

Sand is something else I'd like to give a try but I'm limiting that to a kitty litter fan poop board sand pit.

 

[b'hamPeeps]

I use shaving that have been screened and then compressed. One bale, about $8, opens up to huge amounts of shavings, and they've been screened so the sawdust is gone. I can get a good deep layer of several inches to cover a 4' x 6' coop and 2' x 4' house/nesting boxes from one bale.

The shavings are pine and fir, ask at your local feed store to see if they can get screened & compressed.

The current brand is "Pine Stall" Pure.

 

[~*Sweet Cheeks*~]

I am sold on using pellets in the brooder. I used shavings in the huge stock tank brooder for my ten standard chicks. As the chicks got older - 3 wks on I had to change out the shavings weekly to keep the smell down. They were very dusty.

With my three banties going on 4 wks old, I've had the same wood pellets in the brooder and there is no odor. They quickly dry out the poo, don't get kicked up in the food or water as easily, and seem a lot less dusty.

I will use the pellets in their dog house coop/tractor when the time comes to put them outside.

For the big chicks coop that was a 12 x 12' horse stall, I used what I had left over from the horses. Cleaned out the stall down to the stall mats, added saw dust, wood pellets, stall dry, then a layer of aspin shavings. Once every two weeks or so, I sprinkle out stall dry with another bag of aspin shavings. I'm really happy with this combo as the coop smells good and stays dry. I will add more wood pellets in the fall/winter when it gets wetter here in the Pacific NW.

I pay $4.99 for a 40# bag of pellets. $12.99 for the big
compressed brick/bag of aspin shavings from Petsmart.

My feed store carries bags of shavings for $4.99 but I didn't like the pine shavings as much as the aspin.

 

[eponagirl]

Sweet Cheeks, love your method! I am curious what the aspin shavings are for in your mix? What extra benefit are you finding in using them instead of just pellets? I am about to set up my coop floor and love everyone's ideas!

 

[sangel4you]

I too recently started using the pellets in my brooder vs the shavings (altho it's a big girl brooder and is about 3x4 and took a whole 40lb bag of pellets) and they've been in them almost a week and in our room there is still no smell unless someone has just gone a cecal poo and that usually is soaked up quickly and I havent had to add or change it yet...less in the food, less in the water... all around much better. I can see the price argument, but I also think the no smell and less work and longer lasting benefits outweight the few cents long term difference. I will certainly be putting them in my coop! Although I pay 6.95 for a 40lb bag- where are you getting them for $5?!

 

[mediazeal]

Quote:
I'm using pellets after a bad dusty experience with pine shavings in my indoor brooder.
Pellets are only dusty if you let them stay in there wet and collapsed to dust.
I think it would take about two months for my guys to turn the pellets to dust at the rate they are going and by then they will be outside.
Pellets are awesome at absorbing the moisture. There is some broken down pellets but the sawdust from them is pretty buried under the pellets.
And I can also just add alittle more to the top layer as needed.
Pellets have not been dusty for me at all in the indoor brooder.
The pine shavings were very dusty indoors. However, I agree that the pine shavings will hold up longer as deep litter in my coop. And I'm looking forward to the compost it will create. The pellets in the coop would not be my choice for deep litter method as they will break down to sawdust much sooner.