Cedar Wood Shavings For Chickens

Cedar shavings chips give off fumes that may kill some poultry parasites but they are also toxic to chickens.

Cedar wood shavings for chickens.

The oil from cedar can be absorbed through the feet of the chicks. This is not a myth it s backed up by very strong evidence. By themselves they may not cause problems but they may affect the chickens respiratory system enough to stress them and make them more susceptible to other diseases that may be around. Not much oil or sap left at all.

You absolutely need pine wood shavings and not cedar shavings cedar oils and scent can be toxic to chickens. Go for large flake wood shavings over fine shavings too dusty and don t use sawdust way too dusty and damp. I had actually never considered giving my chickens pine needles in their nesting boxings or their coop until we moved to our new. It is much easier to clean shavings than it is to clean knotted wet straw.

See my article on why you should never use cedar in your coop for more information. Easily attainable shavings can be picked up at local feed stores. Well after doing some research it turns out that cedar shavings can be toxic for chicks. Cedar shavings are incredibly toxic to chickens.

Cedar bedding is not safe for chickens due to the damaging effects of plicatic acid on chickens respiratory systems the damaging effects of terpene hydrocarbons and aromatic compounds on chickens livers and the carcinogenic nature of cedar dust. Great odor control. First of all many people use cedar shavings and have no problems but we use only pine shavings. Easy to clean shavings can be fluffed and forked up much easier than straw bedding.

Wood shavings are a really good option for chicken coop bedding. Sun colored straw with its sweet earthy smell and springy texture is what many new chicken keepers reach for to line their. But because cedar toxicity has been commonly accepted for at least decades this finding wasn t really that surprising to me. I love to use shavings due to odor control and ease of cleaning.