Pine pellets for run?

[YellowRoseFarm]

I had the same question about the pellets. I've seen concerns that the chickens might think they're food but my pullets are still on crumbles so, maybe not?

We get some pretty gnarly rainstorms here in N. Texas and we had one earlier this week. Despite my run being covered, the rain shot sideways into the run with 65 MPH winds and the whole thing flooded. I don't have standing water but I do still have a muddy run since it's humid here. I had pine shavings on hand that I threw down just to give them something dry to walk on and they do have a lot of ways to get elevated but, after two days it's still not dry and the shavings are soaked.

While I don't live in a "wet" climate, it's humid and we get massive Texas-sized thunderstorms on the regular. I'm going to give the pellets a try this weekend while I'm here to watch them. I'm also going to lay down some dry sod and see if that helps just for now. Stay tuned...

 

[Dreammaker]

We used pine pellets during the awful, wet end-of-winter-into-spring season (I'm in MA, so not too far from you). Our run was just a mess and we needed something to help sop it up. The corners of our run, in particular, were really bad. A local fellow chicken-keeper recommended them and, being desperate, we gave it a shot and tossed them into our run, concentrating them on the trouble spots. They're cheap enough and we figured, 'Why not?'

They worked! Almost miraculously, they absorbed a ton of water and--as others have mentioned--turned into a sawdusty, crumbly material that breaks down into the existing dirt in our run. Now, I agree that they do strongly resemble feed (layer pellets, in my case). When we initially added the pine pellets, I don't recall seeing any of the birds try to eat them. They still happily ate their actual food. Did they ingest some pine pellets? Probably. But no harm seems to have been done.

All in all, I think they can be an excellent way to help with mud and/or puddles. I would not use them "just because" and only put them down in really bad spots (I'm talking stagnant water that just won't recede for days). My run at the moment is mostly dirt. I am a big fan of bagging up nice, dry crunchy pine needles or leaves periodically, storing them in lawn bags in my garage, and tossing them in every so often. I even throw a little straw from the nesting boxes in there when it's due to be replenished. No matter what I add to the run, the chickens break it down into basically dirt in no time and have lots of fun doing it.

 

[Pat Fox]

So when considering types of chips for the run, are there no-no ingredients? For example, I've read not to use cedar shavings as bedding. In my woods there are redwood, and fir. The redwood sheds a lot of "needles". Would that be okay?

 

[rosemarythyme]

So when considering types of chips for the run, are there no-no ingredients? For example, I've read not to use cedar shavings as bedding. In my woods there are redwood, and fir. The redwood sheds a lot of "needles". Would that be okay?

Some cedar chips in moderation are ok - depends on the type of cedar, aging and amount. And as a general rule anything aromatic, fresh/green, or oozing sap should be avoided. Really don't know of any woods that are 100% no's, but I would be cautious with using Eastern Red Cedar (the most aromatic type) and Black Walnut (which might not be harmful to chickens, but is harmful to horses and other plant life).

 

[3KillerBs]

So when considering types of chips for the run, are there no-no ingredients? For example, I've read not to use cedar shavings as bedding. In my woods there are redwood, and fir. The redwood sheds a lot of "needles". Would that be okay?

Eastern Red cedar is a respiratory irritant in a closed environment but *can* be used in moderation in the run -- get right down at chicken level to see if you can smell it and remember that birds have very delicate respiratory systems.

I don't know what redwood needles are like, but I use pine straw very successfully -- mine are the long, soft needles of the Longleaf and Loblolly pines. So if the redwood needles are soft and flexible they're probably good but if they're sharp and stiff like spruce I probably wouldn't.

Black Walnut wouldn't necessarily hurt the chickens, but if you intend to use the compost for gardening I wouldn't use it because the jugalone that kills plants might remain.