PINE OR HARDWOOD SHAVINGS?

[Fawn and Fam]

Which are better and why?

 

[creaturelife]

i dont us shaving i use hay or straw i think straw workes better its way easyer to clean out and it cost alot less

 

[Fawn and Fam]

I've always used pine shavings and really like them. I need to buy more and "hardwood" shavings are on sale cheaper than the pine. I'm just wondering if anyone knows if they are better than pine and okay for chickens?

 

[GarthRyan]

Just don't get cedar shavings, something about the strong aroma they put off will screw with the chickens lungs and can give them lung infections.

 

[aart]

Hardwood should be fine, but they probably won't break down as quickly as pine if you are putting them into a compost after coop use.

 

[creaturelife]

i use the hay out of my duck coop and chicken coop for my black berry's works good i take them to my grandma's house she make black berry jam

 

[chiknhurder]

There are studies that show that pine is just as harmful as cedar and there are also people who've kept chickens in cedar shavings for years without any ill effects. Straw is hollow and can harbor mites. That's what's out there for you to research.

I use a 2 inch base of pine with straw on top in the winter and during the summer months I use about a 1 inch base of pine only. I don't worry a whole lot about it because my coop is very well ventilated. If I had access to hardwood shavings, I would probably be using them.

If you do enough research, I'm sure you could find that there is no completely safe bedding material.

 

[Fawn and Fam]

Does anyone know if the hardwood shavings are as absorbent as the pine?

 

[chiknhurder]

Fawn..... the harder (denser) the wood is the longer it takes to absorb moisture.

 

[Nambroth]

Using hardwoods is not advised, as they are more likely to harbor aspergillosis spores and are much more likely to cause this ailment in chickens.

http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijmicro/2011/746356/
Quote:

Select, dry hardwood residues from furniture manufacturing plants has been used in limited quantities in a few broiler producing areas. Under poor storage (uncovered outside stockpiles) or some in-house conditions (warm, moist, low ventilation), “green” hardwood has had extensive mold growth. Although Penicillium and Aspergillus are predominant mold species isolated from wood - base bedding materials, Aspergillus fumigatus induced respiratory infections (referred to as aspergillosis) has caused severe mortality and morbidity in poultry.

This condition is acerbated when the spores of this mold become airborne under dry, dusty, low humidity conditions."

Source: http://spfnic.fs.fed.us/werc/finalrpts/05-DG-278.pdf

Honestly, it's not worth the risk to me. Aspergillosis kills a lot of birds every year and it's not pretty. Oak seems to be the biggest concern of all commonly used hardwoods.

Pine is not ideal either, but is safer.