pine straw or cedar shavings?

[the_great_snag]

Pine needles can be bedding? :O

I live in the middle of a jackpine forest! Never thought the needles were good for anything.

I personally have always used coarse pine shavings without a problem. They are too big to eat for the most part, and should be fine if your brooder has proper ventilation. The big bundles they sell for horse bedding would be best if you can find them in your area. I'm not so much a fan of the fine shavings they sell for hamsters, etc...

I suspect that if a brooder is so tightly sealed that the pine resins are "cooking" out of the shavings that the chicks were also having trouble getting good breathable air.

Cedar is the debbil for any type of birds, and I don't really recommend it for any animals. The natural oils in cedar are preservative in nature and make the wood smell good and pest-resistant. Great for long lasting woodwork, not so great for living creatures.

 

[RendonRoo]

First off welcome to BYC. I use pine shavings with paper towels on top for the first 2 days. This gives the chicks time to learn what is food and what is not. They will still scratch and peck at the shavings but i don't think they are eating it. So far so good for me. Good Luck

 

[jonathansenn]

working in a high school in rural Georgia has perks! I just spoke with the FFA (future farmers of America... although I think they call themselves something different now) teacher and he told me that baby chicks may hurt themselves on the pine needles (i.e. stuck in the eye, etc.) so I think I will just use something different. There have been many good suggestions so far. Any more? I like the shredded newspaper one. My teacher friend suggested sand, since it doesn't get cold here.

 

[Imp]

I've read that sand is not a good idea as chicks will eat too much of it.
I think I'm reading BYC too much.

Imp

 

[patandchickens]

Pine straw is not at all like pine shavings, it is the dead pine needles raked up from the forest floor. Makes good mulch.

After working with a LOT of it in grad school I would have to echo the earlier poster's comment about chiggers

If you have 'clean' pine straw without chiggers, I guess you could try it in a brooder, but it sure wouldn't be my first choice. You'd want good ventilation (pine straw can be rather resinous smelling) and I'd worry about them having trouble walking around in it or getting tiny little 'poke wounds' from the pointy tips.

A bale of pine shavings, designed for animal bedding, is like $5 at the feed store (don't waste your money on the priced-up little bags at pet stores), and will last a LONG time... I'd go that way, personally.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[M@M@2four]

Pine chips, but make sure you get the soft, plush kind. Some pine chips are more mulch like and very jagged and rough. No cedar--it's toxic!!!

 

[momofdrew]

Pine shaving covered with paper towels for the brooder when they are full grown I am sure the pine straw would work fine in the run

Actually I wish I could get some pine straw to mulch my flower gardens but we dont have too much in the way of pine trees here lots of spruce smaller needles

by the way

 

[lisahaschickens]

pine shavings won't make them sick, and they do need ventilation no matter what kind of bedding is used. newspaper is too slick and can cause leg problems. I have read this so many times in many places. Mine were one pine shavings from day 1 and I zero problems and they are now 7.5 weeks old and I used pine shavings in their coop and I love it - easy, no smell, affordable, and they seem to love them. Any problems people might associate with pine shavings are probably actually from something else like lack of ventilation or disease. And yes, they nibble on them and eat little pieces sometimes and in mine there was no ill effect. All three of my chicken books also recommend them.

As for papertowels... you can place them on top of the shvaings for about a day and sprinkle food on them just until the babies find the feeder and then remove them - this technique is only to help them find the food and nothing else.

 

[b-cuz]

I've found that given a choice of wheat straw (which I used to use) and pine straw, the chickens prefer the nest with pine straw (needles) over the wheat straw. I, also, used to put pine shavings under the wheat straw because of the fresh smell and it didn't make my chickens sick.

I have a 6' x 8' chicken house inside a 30' x 45' pen (run) with 14 hens & 1 roo. They are outside most of the time except when settin' or roostin'. Pine straw is plentiful where I live, too - Senoia, Ga.

 

[peaceful]

I used pine shavings for my fifty-six chicks last year and had no problems. Later, when they were grown, I switched to straw because I want to compost the litter for my garden and I thought it would break down faster and not hold the nitrogen (as pine shavings will do until they are fully broken down).