When you use pine shavings (or any other organic bedding) in your coop, the poop takes a while to dry out, and your chickens inevitably step in it. They carry it around with them on their feet, sometimes a lot of it. They also soil their nesting boxes and eggs with these poopy feet.Īnd your chickens will get filthy in another way. They will dust bathe in their pine shaving bedding. Yep, that’s right, your birds are actually cleaner themselves on sand. Let me explain why. Besides keeping the smell down, this also means there’s less moisture in the coop, and the chickens are cleaner. When you have sand in your coop, the poop and sand seem to dry out very quickly. When looking at the top three contenders for “best chicken coop bedding” (i.e., pine shavings, straw, and sand), pine shavings are intermediate in their absorbency. They tend to stay drier than straw, but they are considerably more moisture-rich than sand. Pine shavings, however, aren’t the most absorbent bedding, not even close. The more absorbent a bedding material is, the less smelly your coop will be, and the longer you can go without changing bedding. Chicken poop is very moist, and if your bedding isn’t very absorbent, it will turn to a stinking, rotting, slimy mess in no time.
#Tsc chicken coop pro#
Pro #1: Pine shavings are dry and absorbent beddingĬompared to most other bedding types, pine shavings are dry and absorbent, which is incredibly important for coop bedding.Ībsorbency is one of the most important characteristics you want in chicken coop bedding. You also don’t want to use sawdust, no matter what kind of wood it comes from. Whether it be pine, aspen, or anything else, sawdust is too fine grained for the chicken coop. It causes too much dust for the coop, and it may cause serious respiratory problems in your chickens.įor more information on using sawdust, wood shavings, or wood chips in your coop, check out my article, A comparison of 21+ chicken coop bedding materials.īelow is a list of the many reasons that pine shavings can make a good bedding for the coop. One type of shavings you don’t want to use is cedar. Cedar contains Plicatic acid, which can cause asthma and respiratory illness in your chickens. Check out my article, Why you should never use cedar bedding in chicken coops, for more information. You also want to be sure that the shavings you’re buying haven’t been treated with any kind of chemicals, whether you’re buying pine or something else. Some treated woods may be toxic for chickens. You can use some other types of wood shavings in your coop too, such as aspen shavings (a soft hardwood). These shavings, however, tend to be much more expensive. There are so many different types of wood shavings out there. Why is there so much attention on pine? Pine is typically preferred over other kinds of wood shavings because it’s: Why Pine Shavings for Chicken Coop Bedding?
I decided to keep this post live so that if you do decide to use pine shavings, you have a guide for the safest ways to use and maintain them. I considered deleting the post below as I no longer condone using pine shavings in the chicken coop, but I know a lot of people are going to use them anyway. Please read my most recent article on pine, Pine shavings in the coop: The secret chicken killer?, before going any further with this post. I wrote this post you’re now reading before doing thorough research on pine shavings toxicity. WARNING - PLEASE READ: Pine Shavings may be TOXIC to Chickens How pine shavings rank against other bedding typesĪlthough I was disappointed after trying pine shavings for bedding (I’ll take sand in my coops any day), many people sing the praises of pine shavings in the coop! You might love them too!įor a more scientific treatment of the pros and cons of pine shavings, check out my article, The best chicken coop bedding: Sand vs. The cons of using pine shavings for bedding The pros of using pine shavings for bedding Here, you will learn everything you need to know about using pine shavings for chicken coop bedding, including: In my search for the ultimate chicken coop bedding, pine shavings were the first material I tried.ĭo pine shavings make good chicken coop bedding? Pine shavings are commonly used for chicken coops as they’re more absorbent than most other materials, have insulating properties, are low in cost and widely available, and can be used for the deep litter method and composting. However, pine shavings contain dangerous toxins that may cause serious harm to your chickens. If you’re like me, you want the very best for your chickens, and you know chicken coop bedding plays a strong role in the health and comfort of your girls and roos. UPDATE: Before reading this post any further, please first check out my more recent article, Pine shavings in the coop: The secret chicken killer?
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