Pine shavings

[yellowletters]

So I've been told to use kiln-dried pine shavings for my brooder box and in my deep-liter method in the co-op.

I found a local company called http://www.southernshavings.com that does pine shavings. They are not kiln-dried but have been dried after the lumber is shaved down. It's put through a triple past drier. The savings run about 130-140 feet in the drier and they get the moisture level somewhere between 8%-12%. I think that all sounds good. Think so?

If that sounds good, my next question is about which TYPE of pine shavings would work best for chickens. The company makes pine shavings for horses mainly so they don't know much about what chickens would benefit best from.

Their website isn't totally up-to-date but here's what they said they carry:

Southern Star shavings are 3/4" shavings. This is easiest for me to obtain locally. They add in very fine pieces to make it more absorbent. Not exactly as fine as saw dust but close, he said.

Heavy Weight shavings are 1/4" shavings and "look nicer" in a horse stall, he said.

Southern Pride shavings (these are the hardest for me to get a hold of) are also 3/4" but they do NOT add the very fine saw dust pieces into this product.

I'm new to chickens so my question is - how will the very fine shavings (almost saw dust like) affect the chickens? It sounds more absorbent but I also know that chickens can be prone to respiratory issues some times. Will the dust stir up and cause any problems for the chickens?

Any ideas or thoughts appreciated.

Thanks!
Callie

 

[Bradfordj]

All of the above, don't worry about dust unless you have jammed into tight spaces, or have terrible ventilation. I seriously wouldn't fuss to much over pine, kiln dried, or adding finer dust. shavings are shavings get a bag and load er up

 

[LeanneP]

I'm certainly not an expert on this subject, so I'm sorry I can't offer you any real advice. However, I can tell you that if you go pick up one of the bags with the sawdust (and it IS sawdust, it may be coarse, but it's VERY dusty) and one of the shavings without it, you'll notice a HUGE difference in weight. The sawdust stuff is VERY heavy. I dislike it and use the lighter, larger flakes in my brooder. I don't know if that is "right or wrong", but it's my preference.

 

[threescompany]

I have been using the larger pine shaving flakes and they have worked well for my small flock. They are absorbent, easy to clean out of the coop and light weight.