Which is better pine shavings or straw?

[spook]

Interesting using sand. With the dairy cows up to the barn, we used sand as it prevents bacteria from growing when the cow "soils" the bedding, or leaks milk. It worked great.
When you folks put straw on your gardens, don't you find it to grow more weeds? DH does use straw in and around plants, but at times it grows!
I have been using shredded paper - the never ending supply of documets, bank statements, prescription information. Let the birds crap on it, compost it for "land fill"! lol. The chicks loved it and its warm for them.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Your local feed store will have it in big plastic- or paper-wrapped bales, about 1x2x3' (ish). I am currently paying about $4.50 per bale I think. It varies regionally. The shavings are tightly compressed in the bale - for me, 2 bales will comfortably bed a 6x20 pen.

Wouldn't adding that much pine to the compost or garden make it too acidic? I want to use all of my chicken manure/litter in the vegetable garden, and I think I've got soil tthat's already a little too acid.

a) it's worth checking iwth a pH test kit or meter to be sure. They're not super adequate (the cheap ones that we gardeners are likely to buy

) but they are generally accurate enough to tell you where you stand relative to plants' general preferences. Follow directions.

b) a number of gardening writers etc seem to be saying nowadays that composted shavings *do not* increase the acidity of the soil. I can see where that perfectly well might be true, and it matches my experience and observation. I've never actually tested it myself but you could take it as food for thought

Personally I use shavings because I have them anyways for the horses (although they're only stalled a couple nights a year and when waiting for the farrier), and because I have much warmer fuzzier feelings about cleaning horse stalls bedded with good quality shavings than with straw (given the straw that I've encountered at barns, which may not have been the best, I dunno) and this seems to have carried over into a reluctance to deal with straw for the chickens either

Shavings are more absorbant, less prone to mold, and in a good brand are more predictable in quality than straw; straw composts down faster, esp. if chopped.

Pat​

 

[cmom]

I use pine shavings and I sprinkle food grade Diatomaceous Earth (DE) on the shavings. Also my roosts in my coop are over wire which allows the poop through and I sprinkle the DE over the poop too. The pine shavings are on the floor in the rest of the coop. I clean my coop once a year. I have no problems with flies and such. My pine shavings stay nice and dry easy to clean out. I put them in my compost pile. which every once in awhile I give a toss to keep it mixed up with the other stuff that goes in. sprinkle with water and let it cook. I move my coop and chicken yard about every 3 months approx, clean up the poop under the roost and it goes into the compost. I grow so much produce that I give most of it away. My soil is low in acid so I think the pine shavings are good for my soil. I usually buy the pine shavings at my local feed store. They were out before, so I have bought some in the pet department at Wal-Mart.

 

[clarktx]

I think the answer to this question has a bit more to do with whats important to you.

I am going with pine shavings for my first attempt, because I can't have it make any stink, even if it costs more. On the other hand, if I lived in a more rural area I can guarantee that I would be trying straw because its cheaper, and I wouldn't care about the stink as much.

the only problem I see with construction sand is that its heavy and at some point you have to get rid of it. Certainly for the country gentry on this forum, that is not a problem. Just dump it in the back 40. But for us city dwellers it would be. The pine shavings win out here too, because I can not only use them in my garden but can easily give them to my neighbors who are in need of good compost. Depending on where you live, sand could be perfect.

So there is no universally right answer here...

 

[Weasleymum]

Quote:
Your local feed store will have it in big plastic- or paper-wrapped bales, about 1x2x3' (ish). I am currently paying about $4.50 per bale I think. It varies regionally. The shavings are tightly compressed in the bale - for me, 2 bales will comfortably bed a 6x20 pen.

Wouldn't adding that much pine to the compost or garden make it too acidic? I want to use all of my chicken manure/litter in the vegetable garden, and I think I've got soil tthat's already a little too acid.

a) it's worth checking iwth a pH test kit or meter to be sure. They're not super adequate (the cheap ones that we gardeners are likely to buy

) but they are generally accurate enough to tell you where you stand relative to plants' general preferences. Follow directions.

b) a number of gardening writers etc seem to be saying nowadays that composted shavings *do not* increase the acidity of the soil. I can see where that perfectly well might be true, and it matches my experience and observation. I've never actually tested it myself but you could take it as food for thought

Pat​

Thanks Pat (boy I seem to say that a lot these days

) I actually did a soil test yesterday, and the pH of our soil is a lot higher than I anticipated-- pretty close on neutral. Now I'm actually just fine with acidifying it a bit!

Cmom, what is the DE used for?

 

[rughooker]

De is short for diatomaceous earth. You have to buy the food grade, not the stuff used for swimming pool filters. Not good for chickies!

It is used in the coop for pest control (lice, flies,etc.) Log on to mypetchicken.com to learn about it.