saw dust in the coop?

[erindubb]

Hi - I was wondering if I can use saw dust in the coop instead of shavings? I have bags full that I can get from my dad.

 

[patandchickens]

It is awfully dusty, and tends to mat solid in an undesirable way. You can try it but you may well find it doesn't work well. (Depends a lot on the exact nature of the particular batch of sawdust, though)

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[tylermckee]

If he uses a jointer, thickness planer, router, or hand plane a lot then it could be good, otherwise most machines just make powdery dust. So like pat said it depends on the bag and what he was doing.

 

[razmond]

And maybe a side note.... without any validation.... is that it might contain chemicals/preservatives that may not be healthy for the girls. It might just make them sneeze. I used to work in a wood working shop and wanted to take the shavings away too, to have have in the garden, but with pressure treated wood and so forth, decided against it as I didn't want to ingest it myself...

It was about $10 for 10 cubic feet which (for my 5x7 coop) should last a while... but I applaud your recycling idea.