Pine needles for bedding ???

[Mrsfoote]

Is it safe to have pine needles for bedding in the coop.

 

[Mrsfoote]

Anyone?? Please

 

[Hookem]

tHATS A GOOD QUESTION THAT I DONT HAVE AN ANSWER FOR SINCE I JUST STARTED RAISING CHICKENS A MONTH OR SO AGO. I LIVE IN THE PINEY WOODS OF EAST TEXAS AND HAVE TONS OF PINE NEEDLES. hELP!

 

[maizey]

yep, mine have a nice deep layer of pine needles in their coop. It works great and its FREE

 

[feathersnuggles]

The brown dried needles have less resin than the fresh green ones... so I'd use the brown ones (which are more available under the trees, anyway).

 

[Deanner03]

My great-aunt has been doing this for years with her Dominiques with NO problem!

 

[HottentotTeal]

I use pine straw in a corner of my aviary as well. My ducks don't really use it much, but sometimes play in it. They love to root around in it, though.

From what i heard in the duck section, it's very hard to get moldy, which was the main reason i went with it.

I was previously going to use some dried grasses like meadow hays, but nearly all of them are green and i noticed all the green hays seem to mold over within a week in my climate.


If you are lucky to have a pine tree, you can get it for free or just buy a bale of it, much like Hay. I bought a 25 or 40 pound bale, for about $20.

 

[BWKatz]

Great for bedding and after they've used it great for mulching garden. Smells good too. Just another form of pine.

 

[krcote]

I use pine needles in my nest boxes

 

[gmendoza]

gonna steal some in my next visit to my friends acreage.Pine needles rock!