What's wrong with pine bedding, shavings or chips?

[sayccrn]

You may of heard sawdust causes respiratory distress. It does in fact cause lung irritation. So no sawdust. But I use pine shavings in my coop, everyone seems just fine, good luck.

Thanks so much, no saw dust here, ever!

 

[sayccrn]

X2
Pine shavings make very good bedding. It drys out the poop quick and it’s easy to clean up.

Thank you!

 

[sayccrn]

I have used pine shaving for a number of years for literally hundreds of chicks and never YET experienced any respiratory or other ill conditions caused by the shavings. After using a number of materials.. (industrial hemp not locally available) they come in different sizes and work fairly well.

I do also like rice hulls.. carried in the same plastic type bale as shavings and equally affordable at one of my LFS (local feed stores).

I did read some time back that the oils in cedar *could* cause issues for the feet skin, in addition to the lung stuff.. I don't use cedar, and definitely see how it's easy for folks to make the association jump to pine.. I see it all the time with things like deadly night shade and plants in the night shade family, for example.

Another product I have used is pine or aspen wood stove pellets.. preferred in my piggy litter box, but not in my brooders.

Hay/straw.. awful for absorbtion


For my coop, I do add in outside material.. some folks use the "deep litter" method. My location is too moist, so I got semi deep litter (think forest floor) on my coop floor and droppings boards to catch roost waste, clean as needed depending on season and stock density. My brooder usually only gets a shovel of dirt/grass for enrichment/immunity not as bedding.

Okay, thanks so much!

 

[FastEddy22]

I have been using pine shavings since I started out with chickens six years ago. I use them for both them as well as my goats. I have never had any problems with my animals becoming ill from the shavings in any way.

 

[sayccrn]

I have been using pine shavings since I started out with chickens six years ago. I use them for both them as well as my goats. I have never had any problems with my animals becoming ill from the shavings in any way.

Wonderful! Thanks so much.

 

[SteveE]

Hamsters don't like raw (untreated) pine... I wonder if this caution is some accidental species cross over?

 

[sayccrn]

Hamsters don't like raw (untreated) pine... I wonder if this caution is some accidental species cross over?

Yup, idk either. I am new to chickens, but have done tons of research and haven't heard of it either.