Pine Needles - Good or Bad???

[1st Coop Hen]

I am new to chickens. I have been doing a lot of reading on this page to get more educated. However, I have come across a contradiction on whether to use pine needles or not.

I am not sure the type of pine trees we have in our yard but I know they have the long pine needles. I would like to use the pine needles in my coop. I found some threads here that pine needle make great bedding material. but then I found a thread that people were telling the person not to use them and that she should cut all the pine trees down. UGH

Someone tell me, can I use the pine needles or not???

So confused!

 

[Debs55]

I don't use them as bedding but one of my runs is built around a huge pine tree so the needles are every where and have never been a problem

 

[henless]

I plan on putting down pine shavings first in my coop. Then when my chicks get a bit bigger, I have about 15 large bags of leaves/pine straw raked up to add to the coop.

 

[aart]

Pine needles are not bad per say...but they wouldn't make great bedding on a coop floor because they are not absorbent and they do not decompose quickly in a compost situation.

They might be fine to line the nests with tho.

 

[1st Coop Hen]

Thanks everyone! I think I will use them for the nest for now. They are out free ranging right now and they are loving the needles. I just went and looked on them and there are like 7-8 open dirt spots all around the needles. Amazing how they work! And I only have 3 hens (one's a pullet) and a rooster.