Straw or Shavings? Help please!

[aart]

It sounds fantastic to me. I have to pay $5.00 a bag from Tractor Supply. Ten bags does not even come close to filling up my truck bed. If it were me I'd take it and run.

Oh, I don't know about that.....those compressed bales of shavings get a lot bigger once opened up and spread out.

@MadamPoofyBrow I would take a good close look at these shavings before committing to buying any.
Is the wood green that they are milling?
Are the shavings wet or damp at all?
Are the shavings large or small and maybe become dusty.
I would not put damp wood shavings in my coop, it would raise the humidity and could grow molds.

Think about the size of a 55 gallon barrel...a compressed bale of kiln dried shavings opened up would probably fill it.

I use the bales of shavings in my 6x16 coop, probably 2 bales a year then completely replace them each fall.....but I use roost boards to manage the poops.

 

[MadamPoofyBrow]

Oh, I don't know about that.....those compressed bales of shavings get a lot bigger once opened up and spread out.

@MadamPoofyBrow
  I would take a good close look at these shavings before committing to buying any.
Is the wood green that they are milling?
Are the shavings wet or damp at all?
Are the shavings large or small and maybe become dusty.
I would not put damp wood shavings in my coop, it would raise the humidity and could grow molds.

Think about the size of a 55 gallon barrel...a compressed bale of kiln dried shavings opened up would probably fill it.

I use the bales of shavings in my 6x16 coop, probably 2 bales a year then completely replace them each fall.....but I use roost boards to manage the poops.

Thanks and will do. The listing said they were dry, and they have both shavings and dust available, so I'd imagine the powdery would be in the dust rather than the shavings. I will definitely examine it though :-D

 

[jerrey]

Thanks and will do. The listing said they were dry, and they have both shavings and dust available, so I'd imagine the powdery would be in the dust rather than the shavings. I will definitely examine it though :-D

good ideal

 

[cafarmgirl]

I would go and check them out first. The difference between what you get direct from a saw mill and packaged shavings is that the packaged shavings sold for animal use are almost always kiln dried, even then they still have a strong smell at first. Raw wood shavings, even if dry, will be even stronger. Might be a bit much for the birds if used inside the coop.

 

[beccaWA]

Similar to what you're talking about, we have a mill in the area too that offers pine shavings. I have not tried it yet, but I do know that the pine shavings offered commercially as bedding are kiln dried. I'm not sure how fresh shavings that are not dried would fare on the mold front. Let me know if you do try them. I'd be interested. I also have ducks, which make way more moisture than chickens, thus my concern.

 

[MadamPoofyBrow]

As for the smell, they are in chicken wire coops, so they have lots of veltilation. As for the moisture, we'll see. I called, and I'm going to check it out Saturday.

 

[ChickenMammX4]

We use pine shavings in our coop (8' x 9') I use 2 of those $5.00 compressed bags from Tractor Supply, makes it nice and deep. We clean it once a year. The poopboard under the roost helps keep the floor cleaner.