Pine shavings produce way too much dust, I can't take it anymore

[Lisa202]

I've been using pine shavings in my coop since I started with chickens last Oct. The dust is extreme! It is so dusty in there that, when I go into the coop, I either have to hold my breath or where a mask. I've cleaned it out twice since November, but the dust is so thick. I didn't have a thick layer of shavings on the floor, just an inch or so. Any movement from the chickens produces so much into the air, that it can't be good for them. It covers every horizontal surface and is even seeping out of where the nest box lid is. I just did a spring cleaning and the dust under and in the shavings was literally a fine dust. I have the vents opened, but when the windows would be closed due to very cold weather, the dust would just settle in there.

I only have 10 bantams, so either I don't have much of a poo problem, or the pine shavings really absorb it great. I just can't handle all that dust. It really affected me this winter as I had a bad cough that wouldn't go away and I really feel that the small amount of exposure to the dust either caused my cough, or aggravated it badly. Just leaning in to give bedtime treats was enough of a lung full.

What do you think of me switching to straw? I'm thinking that it's not as absorbent for the poo, but this dust problem is just not healthy, for me or the chickens.

Any concerns with the chickens eating it and having crop problems?

 

[speckledhen]

The chickens themselves are the cause of much of that dust. They have lots of dander as they shed feathers and grow new ones. Chicks are the worst!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I just wanted to mention that for my shed coop (plywood floor) I just scrape it out daily and sprinkle some sweet PDZ down (very small amount). I treat the whole floor like a poop board. (No shavings.)

For my other coops, I just hose them out once a week or scrape them too with a metal implement.

No more shavings for me except in nest boxes and for new chicks. It has saved me a lot of money. Sweet PDZ is a powder- you can look up their website for more info. if you are interested.

 

[Amigatec]

I switched to straw sometime back, it's cheaper and you get more of it. I don't have any problems with the chickens eating it. And they don't kick it out of their nesting boxes as bad.

 

[vebyrd36]

Help please, the DH is going to buy me a coop for my silkies for my graduation with my MSN. I would build it but I don't have the time. So I need one to put in the main backyard so we can enjoy them. So help is greatly needed.

 

[Coopa Cabana]

Speckledhen is correct - it's the keratin in their feathers - you will see it mostly with youngsters, and during molting. For the longest time, I also thought it was my shavings. But you'll also see it in your brooders that have no shavings! Winter is always bad, because they're "cooped up" more. Giving them a good place to dust bathe helps somewhat(!) - they can rub a lot of it off outside.

 

[Lisa202]

ahhhh...so it's chicken dust I've been breathing in.

I already use Sweet PDZ and I love it, but I just sprinkle in under their roost and in the sand in the run. I have absolutely no poo smell at all. I do have a floor that has linoleum type surface on it, so I guess I can use less of the shavings and clean it more often, I just thought they needed the shavings for some warmth. They would dust bath in the shavings all the time, even though I gave them a dust bath container with peat moss mixed with DE (that they never used)

Well, ok...thanks everyone for clearing that up for me. My DH couldn't understand how the pine shavings could possibly produce that much dust and was thinking that I was doing something wrong.


to vbird36...
I got my coop from Horizon Structures. I ordered the kit, b/c it was cheaper, but then they said that when they make it to ship as a kit, they actually have to take it apart, so they wanting to know if I could take it already put together. I said yes b/c I was getting the one with wheels on it and I knew that it could be wheeled to it's final resting place. So they delivered it completely put together and even wheeled it to where I wanted it. The only thing I had to do was put on the roof shingles. Also, if you don't like the coops on their web site (for whatever reason...I wanted a bigger one than they made), you can ask them to look at another one you found (on another web site) and they will make that one for you. They are great to work with.

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

have you tried flake pine shavings, they help with the dust but as its been said the source is your birds more than the shavings

 

[Lisa202]

What is "flake pine shavings"? When I go to get my pine shavings, I'm never given an option to chose that. Is it hard to get?

I was wondering... Coopa Cabana (that's funny) posted that this dust problem is worse with youngsters. Do you think 24 week old chickens are "youngsters"? Maybe this will get better with age?

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

Quote:
TSC is starting to have them, you might have to ask, they look more like wide thin shavings, like if you use a wood plane on a piece of wood, yes 24 weeks are youngsters.