The guys at the Farmer's Co-op by me sold me a small bale of cedar shavings to put in my chick box while they grow out. Now I'm reading this may be toxic to chickens. So. I'm going to return the cedar, and now I'm not sure what to get. I'll have to see if they have ground corn cob or rice hulls? What do you guys use?
Litter for Chicks
Pine shavings are the item of choice here. Work great. Cedar aren't used because of high cost.
Straw works real well for older chickens.
Bernie
Pine shavings, and they should have known better. You can also use horse pellets, for them. That is what the horses bedding is and it is actually more absorbent than the shavings. About the same cost. Some actually use straw, and hay. It's really sometimes just an opinion or prefrence as to what you like or don't like. Best of luck to you and hope you enjoy your flock. Don't let them tell you there's no difference. Insist on pine if shaving is what you decide to go with...Haystack
This message was edited Feb 12, 2010 11:49 AM
I like the pelleted bedding. It is very absorbent and grows into a lot of sawdust when moisture is added. I just stir it regularly and it stays remarkably fresh.
See, I read that pine shavings were bad too - something about the oils and odor and their respiratory tract. I may look into the horse pellets. Or straw. I'm going to need straw for their coop when they're old enough to go out there anyway. Thanks guys!
Get some straw that still has a little grain left in it. The chickens will scratch to their hearts content. That always makes for dry litter also.
I think pine shavings are okay if the ventilation is good. Cedar is clearly a problem, but pine seems more a problem in theory than practice. Everyone uses pine at some point and I have never heard of an actual problem related to its fumes.
Pelleted is great though.
I wish you great success with your new chickens. When I had chickens, and I am hoping to get some more soon, I had a dirt floor. I would put grass clippings in by the bags full. what they didn't eat, I had 50, would dry up and they would scratch it into the dirt. I usually threw in some scratch grain when I put in the grass and that would cause them to scratch the grass into the dirt.. I always tilled up the floor once a week and it always stayed nice and dry. I never had a problem of caked up manure and there was never any smell. If you have a wood floor, I really don't
know what would work best, but trying to keep the floor dry and plyable is something to strive for. It also will make cleaning it out a lot easier and eliminate any smell. Have a great time and have a sunny day. MR. Rich
I have used piine bedding for two years now with baby chicks as well with older chickens never had a problem.