All About Coop Shavings

All About Coop Shavings

May 22, 2022

(Shavings in the coop!)

Do 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.

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:

• Cheaper
• More readily available
• Less dusty

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.

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. 

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.

Your bedding should be at least 3-4 inches in depth, but your chickens will appreciate you if you give them closer to 6 inches.   

Pine shavings can last quite a long time as bedding. How often you change them is largely a personal choice. As long as the shavings are dry, and are 3-6 inches in depth, you may be able to go a couple of months before you absolutely have to change them. If you use some of the methods outlined in the section above, you may be able to go even longer.

But you need to use your best judgment. You should never smell ammonia in your coop. If you smell even a hint, you need to change your bedding.  

When I used pine shavings, I found that the coop always had a little bit of a poopy smell, except when I first replaced the old shavings with new. Then it would smell fine for a few days. A little bit of a smell seems inevitable with shavings, unfortunately, but your coop should never smell really bad.  

If you want to keep the coop always smelling fresh, replace your shavings once or twice a week. I know a lot of city dwellers take this approach because their coops are so small. It’s much harder to do this if you have a large coop—time and money become a factor.  

If you can replace shavings frequently, though, your chickens will be in heaven. They are ecstatic over fresh bedding!