pine shavings question.

[MurrayCove]

By mistake, I bought a huge bag of cedar pine shavings instead of the plane shavings. It seems to me that I heard that the cedar shavings are not good for the chickens. Anyone know about this? Thanks, Pat

 

[Nemo]

I've heard the oil in cedar is bad for chickens... I think it was said they are toxic when eaten.

 

[horsejody]

Cedar can also irritate the skin. Some people use it with no problem. I wouldn't risk it. Return the bag if you can. If you can't, the bags aren't that expensive anyway.

 

[MurrayCove]

HI and thanks for responding. I had already opened the bag before I caught the cedar smell..and then actually looked at it (duh!). I decided not to take the chance...so dumped the cedar stuff as mulch in one of my small flower gardens. Then went out and got the plane pine cedar chips..which I used in the coop...and even spread it around the run. I am sure that I read somewhere a good while back that it was not safe to use the cedar stuff...glad I remembered....and grateful for BYC. So, much good info here.

 

[Chicabee19]

good idea to use it for compost on the garden!