Pine Shavings for Chicken Coop Litter: Pros, Cons and How to Do It Right - The Featherbrain (2024)

UPDATE: Before you continue reading this post, check out my more recent article,Pine shavings in the garden: the secret chicken killer?

If you're like me, you want the very best for your chickens and you know that coop bedding plays an important role in the health and comfort of your chicks and chickens. In my search for the ultimate chicken coop bedding, pine shavings were the first material I tried.

Are pine shavings a good bedding for chicken coops?Pine shavings are often used for chicken coops because they are more absorbent than most other materials, have insulating properties, are inexpensive and widely available, and can be used for deep bedding and composting. But pine shavings contain dangerous toxins that can seriously harm your chickens.

Here you'll learn everything you need to know about using pine shavings for chicken coop bedding, including:

• The benefits of using pine shavings as bedding

• The disadvantages of using pine shavings as bedding

• How pine shavings compare to other bed types

• Where can you find pine shavings for bedding?

• How to use pine shavings in your home

• Pine shavings in the incubator

• Pine shavings in the race

Although I was disappointed after trying pine shavings as bedding (I put sand in my chickens every day), many pine shavings sing in the garden! You might like them too!

For a more scientific treatment of the pros and cons of pine shavings, check out my article,The Best Bedding for Chicken Coops: Sand vs. straw versus pine shavings.

WARNING - PLEASE READ: Pine shavings can be TOXIC to chickens

I wrote this post that you are reading now before I did extensive research on the toxicity of pine shavings. Read my latest article about pine,Pine shavings in the garden: the secret chicken killer?, before continuing with this post.

I thought about deleting the post below because I no longer agree with using pine shavings in the chicken coop, but I know a lot of people are going to use them anyway. I've decided to keep this post live so that if you decide to use pine shavings, you have a guide to the safest ways to use and maintain them.

Why pine shavings for chicken coop bedding?

There are so many different types of wood chips. Why is there so much attention for pine? Pine wood is generally preferred over other types of wood shavings because it:

• Cheaper

• Easier to reach

• Less dusty

You can also use some other types of wood chips around the house, such as aspen chips (a soft hardwood). However, these chips are often much more expensive.

You also want to make sure that the chips you buy have not been treated with any kind of chemicals, whether you buy pine or something else. Some treated wood types can be toxic to chickens.

One type of wood shavings you don't want to use is cedar. Cedarwood contains plicic acid, which can cause asthma and respiratory disease in your chickens. Check out my article, Why you should never use cedar bedding in chicken coops for information only.

You also don't want to use sawdust, regardless of the type of wood it comes from. Whether it is pine, aspen or something else, sawdust is too fine-grained for the chicken coop. It creates too much dust on the farm and can cause serious breathing problems in your chickens.

For more information on using sawdust, wood shavings or wood shavings in your chicken coop, check out my article,A comparison of 21+ chicken coop bedding materials.

Below is a list of the many reasons why pine shavings can make an excellent ground cover for the garden.

Pine shavings:

1. Are dry and absorbent

2. Are cozy and comfortable for chickens

3. Can be used for the deep bottom method

   See Also

   Bedding - The Poultry Center

4. Can be composted and used in gardens

5. Has insulating properties

6. are low in cost

7. Are available everywhere

8. Are easy to store

9. His light

Pro #1: Pine shavings are dry and absorbent bedding

Compared to most other types of bedding, pine shavings are dry and absorbent, which is incredibly important for coop bedding.

Absorbency is one of the most important qualities you want in chicken coop bedding. Chicken waste is very moist and if your bedding is not very absorbent, it will turn into a smelly, rotting, slimy mess in no time.

The more absorbent a bedding material is, the less it will stink in your home and the longer you will be able to change your bedding.

However, pine shavings are notmostabsorbent bedding, not even close.

When looking at the top three contenders for “best bedding for chicken coops” (i.e. pine chips, straw and sand), pine chips have average absorbency. They tend to stay drier than straw, but they are considerably moister than sand.

If you have sand in your chicken coop, the feces and sand seem to dry very quickly. In addition to keeping the odor low, it also means that there is less moisture in the stable and that the chickens are cleaner. Yes, that's right, your birds are actually cleaner, even on sand. Let me explain why.

When you use pine shavings (or other organic bedding) in your chicken coop, it will take a while for the droppings to dry out and your chickens will inevitably step in them. They wear it on their feet, sometimes a lot. also contaminate their nest boxes and eggs with those poopy feet.

And your chickens get dirty in a different way. They will dust bath in their pine waste. It doesn't matter if your chickens have lovely dust bathing material right outside the coop, or even in a box inside the coop, some of them will occasionally dust bath in the litter.

So yes, they are covered by what is in the bedding. In the case of pine shavings and other organic ground cover, this also includes wet feces. During the dust bath, the poop usually does not stick to it, but they still bathe in it.

This is something you need to take into account if you use organic bedding for example pine shavings, you will have a lot of wet poop in the garden. Again, pine chips are a more absorbent bedding type than most other organic materials, meaning the problem is only exacerbated with these other materials.

Pro #2: Pine shavings make a cozy and comfortable bedding for chickens

When you put fresh pine wood in your chicken coop, your chicken coop will feel great. The pine shavings are dry, soft and clean.

Your chicks will be super excited when you put the curls in for the first time. They will love walking around on the curls, scratching them and even lying in them.

In fact, every time I empty a house and fill it with new chips, my chickens lay eggs in the chips. Although you don't want chickens laying eggs on the ground, this will only last a few days. It is a symbol of how much chickens love fresh, soft bedding.

The freshness of pine shavings wears off quite quickly, usually within a few days, unless you have a very large chicken coop with very few chicks contaminating the litter. Some people with smaller curls will choose to change their pine shaving bedding once or twice a week to maintain freshness. Your chickens will undoubtedly thank you!

Pro #3 Pine Shavings are excellent for the deep soil method

Many chicken keepers, especially homesteaders and people who live in rural areas, will be interested in using the deep litter method.

With this method, you typically only replace the bedding in your chicken coop once or twice a year. When the bedding starts to get damp or smelly, you can simply add and mix more bedding instead of replacing the old bedding.

People use this method because (a) it keeps their chickens a little warmer in the winter (the bacterial breakdown of the litter releases heat) and (b) the litter can later be used as rich compost for the garden.

Pine shavings are one of the best types of ground cover you can use for deep ground cover. Straw is also an excellent option. For more information on straw, see my article,Using straw in the garden.

Pro #4: Composted pine shavings can be used in your garden

Even if you don't use the deep soil method, you can throw your used pine chips into your compost pile. Pine shavings compost beautifully. Many chicken keepers use the end product in their gardens.

Benefit #5: Pine Shearing Bedding Insulates

Pine shavings provide some insulation to the coop and can help keep your coop a little warmer in the winter. However, I have found that if your house is properly ventilated, it will be cold no matter what.

Pro #6: Pine chips are low in price

Depending on where you live, pine shavings may be the cheapest ground cover material you can find (aside from free, less absorbent materials like dried leaves and dry, untreated grass clippings).

Pro #7: Pine shavings are widely available

Pine shavings can be found in almost any farm store. I buy mine at my local D&B. You can also buy them on Amazon, but at the time of writing they are more expensive. I bought these pine shavings previously on Amazon (my farm shop was temporarily offline for a few months).click here to check their current price.

Pro #8: Pine shavings are easy to store

You usually buy pine shavings in a plastic bag. You can buy very large bags at your local farm shop, but you can also buy small bags online, for examplethese pine shavingson Amazon. You can store what's left in your garage or somewhere dry and above ground (you don't want rodents getting in there).

In this regard, pine shavings are much more convenient than straw, for which you may need a separate closed, well-ventilated shed or storage area. This is because straw is often only supplied in large bales. (Although you can buy itstraw in bagsalso online.)

Pro #9: Pine shavings are lightweight

Unlike sand, pine shavings are very light and you can fill your chicken coop with them very easily.

Straw is also light at first, but after growing in the garden it becomes very lumpy and heavy due to manure and moisture. This can make dirty straw heavy to move from the garden. Pine shavings, on the other hand, stay put quite easily, even when dirty, so emptying your coop is much easier.

Some people also like to use a rake to rake out the dirty pine shavings, instead of replacing all the bedding every time. An even simpler method is to use a pitchfork with fine teeth, for examplethis pitchfork with fine teethon Amazon, to easily scoop out the dirty bits.

This significantly extends how long you can keep your bedding in the basket. This is also something you cannot do with straw; pretty much all of it needs to be removed when it starts to turn sour.

The disadvantages of using pine shavings for chicken coop bedding

There are some disadvantages to using pine shavings in the garden, which I have listed below. Pine shavings are:

1. Average quality waste

2. Dusty

3. Strongly scented

4. Organic (may contain bacteria)

There aren't many downsides, but some of them are quite significant.

UPDATE: Research shows that pine shavings litter can be toxic to your chickens. Check out my article,Pine shavings in the garden: the secret chicken killer?,for a summary of current research.

Con #1: Pine shavings do not make a good nest

Compliments toChicken Chickto open my eyes to this. Chicken coops don't actually need bedding at all. They need waste.

Bedding is intended for "bedding" - for example, mammals such as calves and piglets may need bedding to sleep on in the stable. Chickens need loungers to sleep, not bedding.

So the material on the floor in the chicken coop is not for litter at all, but for waste management.

So what is good waste? Good waste is material that meets these goals:

• Absorbs moisture

• Neutralizes odors

• Dry out the stool

• Doesn't break

• Is not toxic

Pine shavings are a very moderate source of waste. They're not terrible, but certainly not unusual.

Pine shavings absorb moisture, but not as well as sand. They neutralize odors a bit, partly because they absorb moisture, but also partly because the pine scent is so strong.

Pine shavings are mediocre at drying out feces and completely fail at breaking them down. Pine shavings are organic and will therefore certainly break down. That's why you can compost it.

Despite not having a good 'litter scorecard', pine shavings are no worse than other organic types of litter, such as litter.

The only better source of waste is sand, which scores 100% on the 'litter scorecard'. For more information on sand in the garden, check out my article,Use sand for chicken coop bedding.

Cons #2: Pine shavings are dusty

This may bethe worstquality of pine shavings. That's why, after trying pine shavings on my chickens for a year, I vowed to find a better option for my chickens.

Pine shavings, yesSothe dust - don't let anyone tell you otherwise. But if you have a small chicken coop, this may not be a big problem because your chickens will spend less time in the coop.

When I used pine shavings in one of my small coops, the dust wasn't as bad as it was with my larger chicken because my chickens literally only went in the coop at bedtime. They went straight to the nice bars.

They didn't even lay eggs in the garden - I made sure to give them nest boxes elsewhere (aside from the pine shavings). They had actually also built nest boxes in the garden, but chose not to lie there.

In my large chicken coop of 3.5 x 3.5 meters, on the other hand, my chickens spend a lot of time there; they love to move around there, scratch around and lay eggs.

During my first year of raising chickens, I also used pine shavings in my large house and it was a nightmare. You don't always do thatmetthe dust (although you can always see it floating around when the sun hits it right), but your nose, eyes and lungs are safefeelingdusty.

I couldn't sit in that pig for more than a minute without my eyes watering, my nose itching, and my lungs aching. sensitive airways than us. This dust cannot be good for them nor pleasant for them.

I'm completely speculating here, but I wouldn't be surprised if chickens that live in pine shavings for long periods of time could eventually develop respiratory problems, or be more susceptible to respiratory illnesses.

Update: This is no longer speculation - see my article,Pine shavings in the garden: the secret chicken killer?

I have personally vowed never to let my chickens live in pine shavings again because the dust and odor certainly lower their quality of life. However, many people disagree with me on this and will tell you that their chickens live long and happy lives on pine trees. chips. If you have any doubts, try it yourself.

Cons #3: Pine shavings are highly scented

Pine smells great. I won't disagree. When I poured my very first bag of pine shavings into my first house, I loved the smell. However, I soon noticed that when I got into the chips near the chicken, the smell came outa lot ofstrong - probably too strong.

As I mentioned above, chickens have very sensitive respiratory systems. I'm not sure if the super strong pine scent causes them any discomfort, but I suspect it does.

I'm also biased because I'm very sensitive to strong smells, much more sensitive than the average person. But this makes me understand how bad it can feel to be exposed to something that smells "too strong" and not be able to escape it.

It's also why I never put aromatic herbs in my chicken coop or nest boxes, and another reason why I'm not crazy about pine shavings.

I also found a few comments on the forums from others who thought pine shavings smelled too strong for their chickens, so I don't think it's just me. Even the brilliant Lisa Steele of Fresh Eggs Daily had a similar experience, which she sharesher.Once she tried pine shavings, andwhenas soon as she said:

Lisa admits she's not sure if the pine shavings were the cause of her chickens' problems, but she couldn't think of anything else and the problem disappeared when the shavings were removed.

She also said:

Cons #4: Pine shavings are organic (may contain pathogens)

Many people want organic waste so they can use it as compost, but that can come at a price, especially if you use the deep litter method.

Bacteria feed on organic matter (that's what breaks it down), so you need thata lot ofof bacteria in your home. Bacteria also like moisture, and organic matter generally retains moisture (although pine shavings are better than many other types of organic ground cover).

The added moisture from chicken feces can actually make the farm a breeding ground for harmful pathogens, such asE coli, Coccidiosis and fungus. Please note that some of these pathogens (such asE coliand Coccidiosis) should be introduced into the garden by chickens or contaminated objects (such as shoes) so that they do not just appear on their own. But when they do appear, this is a good place to grow.

For a summary of scientific studies on the growth of pathogens in pine shavings, see my article:The Best Bedding for Chicken Coops: Sand vs. straw versus pine shavings.

In addition, too much moisture in the garden leads to a build-up of ammonia in the garden. This ammonia is released during the process in which bacteria break down the feces. Moisture from feces helps speed the breakdown of feces and litter, releasing more ammonia in less time. High ammonia levels are extremely harmful to chickens' eyes (in extreme cases causing blindness) and are harmful to chickens' respiratory systems.

If you have a drinking water leak, even a small leak, in pine chips, the ammonia levels can skyrocket in a very short time. My first year of raising chickens, one of my waterers in the yard leaked a bit. I didn't even know. The bedding upstairs was completely dry.

But then one morning I walked into the garden and the smell of ammonia was overpowering - I mean really bad! I had no idea why. I immediately drank the entire cup (even though the bedding had only been in it for a few days).

What happened was that the water had seeped onto the floor. The pine shavings on top were exposed to the air and dried (and gravity brought the water deeper), but the layer of pine shavings on the floor, hidden from view, was soaked.

When I uncovered the wet pine shavings as I cleared the garden, the smell was so great I almost fainted. I was also very concerned about mold developing.

These kinds of things don't happen with sand in the garden, but they do with organic ground cover.

Of course this could have been avoided if I didn't have water in the garden, but I don't like to deprive my chickens of water at any time. And at the time it happened it was summer heat and my chickens were still very young. Some of them were afraid to be outside for very long. I had plenty of water in the garden to keep them hydrated.

One way to prevent or at least reduce all the risks discussed here is to replace your pine razor bedding regularly. In any case, consider removing the chip droppings with it Pitchfork with fine teethdaily or at least weekly.

Another good way to prevent or reduce these problems is by spreadingzeolite crystals in your chips. All the problems I described above were caused or greatly aggravated by moisture. Zeolite crystals attract water and can absorb much of the extra moisture. You can findzeolite crystal hair on Amazon.

I would also like to clarify that pine shavings stay dry better than most other organic ground covers and therefore limit these problems. Only sand is a better contender due to its inorganic nature. For more information on sand, check out my article,Use sand in the garden.

Pine shavings vs. other types of bedding

Check out my well-researched article,A comparison of 21+ chicken coop bedding materials. You will see that of all possible ground cover materials, pine shavings rank very low for their toxicity.

Sand and straw are much better choices. For more information, see my article,The Best Bedding for Chicken Coops: Sand vs. straw versus pine shavings.

Find and buy pine shavings for your chicken coop

When purchasing pine shavings, buy the largest flakes you can find. Very fine chips are very dusty and can potentially cause breathing problems in your chickens.

Where can you find pine shavings for your chicken coop?

Pine shavings are available at almost any farm store, such as D&B or Tractor Supply. You can also order them online, although they are more expensive there. In the past I have bought these pine shavingsof Amazonia.

How much does pine wood cost for your chicken coop?

I bought my pine shavings at my local D&B for ~$10 for a very large bag. My large 10'x10' house needed about 2-3 bags of wood chips to get started. My smaller copper pieces required about half a bag.

When I boughtpine shavingson Amazon the price was higher.View the current price here.

How to use pine shavings in your chicken coop

Pine Shavings Supplies

Here is a list of the supplies I use with pine shavings and Amazon links for each:

• Safety glasses

• Fabric masks

• Spade

• Snow shovel

• Tape-mes

• Plastic packaging

• Fintande Hooivork

• Zeolite crystals

How I use these supplies is explained in detail below.

How to move pine chips in your chicken coop

It's so easy. Take yours firstsafety glassesIn fabric masks to protect your eyes, nose and lungs from irritants. Trust me, you'll need them! Then you simply open the bag and pour the pine shavings onto the farm floor. Or, if you prefer, you can use your hands to apply a handful of chips at a time.

You can fluff the curls a bit if you want, but you don't have to. The chips expand themselves quite quickly.

How deep should the pine bedding be in your chicken coop?

Your bedding should be at least 3 to 4 inches deep, but your chickens will appreciate it if you give them a depth of about 6 inches.

How to Keep Pine Shaving Bedding Clean in Your Chicken Coop

There are a number of different ways to keep your bedding as clean as possible:

1. Dramatically reduce the amount of poop in your bedding by placing a poop board or tray under your sleeping quarters. Every day you should use a scraper, such asit tape knife on Amazon, to scrape the tray or board clean. I scrape mine into a container, e.gthis plastic bag on Amazon.

2. Occasionally use a special rake or pitchfork, e.g this pitchfork with fine teeth on Amazon to remove the soiled pieces of bedding from the garden floor. When you scoop the bedding with the fine-toothed fork, most of the clean bedding falls through the tines - so easy to scoop out the poop!

3. Manyzeolite minerals in your shavings to dramatically reduce moisture levels and extend the life of your bedding.

4. Change the bedding more often or mix fresh bedding with the old bedding.

How often should you replace the pine shavings in your home?

Pine shavings can last quite a long time as ground cover. How often you change them is largely a personal choice. As long as the chips are dry and 3 to 6 inches deep, you may be able to go a few months earlyherto change them. If you use some of the methods described in the section above, you may be able to go even further.

But you must use your common sense. You shouldneversmell ammonia in your house. If you smell even a whiff, change the sheets.

When I used pine chips, I noticed that the yard always smelled a bit like poop, except when I first replaced the old chips with new ones. Then it smells nice for a few days. Unfortunately, a little odor seems unavoidable with chips, but your house should never really stink.

If you want to keep the garden always smelling fresh, replace your shavings once or twice a week. I know many city dwellers take this approach because their chips are so small. It is much more difficult to do this if you have a large chicken coop; time and money become a factor.

However, if you can replace the chips often, your chickens will be in heaven. They are very happy with fresh bedding!

At the other extreme is the deep bedding method, which involves not changing the bedding for an extended period of time, usually six months to a year.

You see, the question, "How often should I change my sheets?" doesn't have one clear answer.

After first trying the deep soil method and hating it,I decided to change the pine shavings for my copper work every two weeks.A week would have been ideal (I want my chickens to live in the most comfortable conditions possible), but it really is a lot of time and work to empty a big house every week.

If I'm completely honest, the only thing that kept me from changing my sheets every week was the dust and irritation I had to deal with. There was a real fear factor for me when it came to emptying and refilling the coop.safety glassesIn fabric masks,I felt terrible after scooping out the pine shavings.

How to remove pine shavings from your chicken coop

In a small hanger, you can scrape pine chips from the hanger into a bucket or pail. I use the same tape mes Inplastic attitude with which I scrape the droppings of my chickens.

For a large house, you will need a large shovel to remove the chips. You can shovel them into a tractor bucket, wheelbarrow, garbage bin or directly into a compost pile, whichever suits you best. I prefer to usethis type of powerful snow shovel for this task, while my husband prefers a regular taskpowerful shovel.

Can pine shavings be used as bedding in the incubator?

Pine shavings can be used as bedding in the incubator. In fact, pine shavings may be the most commonly used bedding in incubators, at least in the United States.

In the past I have used pine shavings in my incubators (see some of my cute babies in the photo). However, I now have some doubts about this, but for the same reasons I don't like the chips in the garden. I'm afraid the poor chickens are lying in strong-smelling litter that contains a lot of fine dust.

When I first hatched chicks, I hatched them in a large cage, e.g this large dog farm on Amazon. The cage was in a room in my house. Although I didn't notice the dust at first, within just a day or two every surface of the room was covered in a thick layer of dust. This just can't be good for chickens!

Next time I hatch chicks I'll try sand (although this has its own potential problems as brood waste - see my article here onUse of sand in the garden).

UPDATE: I strongly advise against using pine shavings in your incubator. See my article,Pine shavings in the garden: the secret chicken killer?,for information only.

Can pine shavings be used in the run?

Under certain circ*mstances, you can use pine shavings while running.

Some people spread their old, very dirty pine shavings from the yard to the run so they can complete the composting process. When you do this, keep a close eye on the curls so they don't get too wet. Otherwise, you could end up with dangerous mold.

But even in dry conditions I personally wouldn't put any dirty chips in the race at all. It's simply because I would be concerned about my chickens being exposed to mold and other growing pathogens that I might not see. However, I can be overly concerned about my babies, so judge for yourself.

I guess you can spread fresh pine shavings while running, but I've never heard of anyone doing this. You would only consider it if conditions were very dry and there was no wind. Fresh chips are so light that even a slight breeze is likely to blow some (or all) away.

You also don't want to put down fresh pine shavings in damp or wet conditions because they will become soggy, won't form a good running ground cover and you can develop mold.

Some people combine pine shavings with other types of bedding (straw, wood chips, dried leaves) in their run. However, all of these bed types are conducive to mold growth in wet conditions, so be very careful.

Although pine shavings can be used in the run, they may not be the best choice. You may want to consider sand - check out my article on thatUse sand in the garden- below you will find information about sand in chicken coops.

You may also be interested in:

• The BEST Luxury Home You'll Ever Buy: Treat your chickens to Rita Marie's

• Chicken coop ventilation: 21 design ideas with pictures

• Sand for chicken coop bedding: pros and cons and how to do it right

• Straw for chicken coop bedding: pros and cons and how to do it right
  
  

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