Tractor Supply Pine Shavings

[Birde]

TSC has pine shaving Flake for 5.99. It's good & smells nice. I use it with my cornish rock super pooper chicks. Those are going in the freezer so it doesnt bother me if they eat them They do not have a long life plan like my other birds. I raise birds with strong gizzards

 

[ChirpyChick]

Thanks Birde! How many cornish rock super poopers do you have? How big of a coop/run do you have to spread the bale out in and how long does it last?


Also how do you raise your birds to have strong gizzards? I've never heard that before...and it's something I would like to try with my fluffy butts

~jr

 

[Birde]

I'm gonna have to take a head count on the cornish rock. They are just a few weeks old. I can tell you my husband doesn't want them getting any exercise so when they get bigger they will be in a small area. In a couple months he plans to dress them out. The will have to be soaked in a pot of cold water for about 5 hrs after to make than tender like what you buy at the store. As for birds with strong gizzards, I raise my chicks in Alfalfa hay that I purchase at TSC. It's compressed & wrapped in plastic. Lots of greens there. My chicks love it. It's very healthy & completely natural unlike pine flake. It bothers me when I see my beautiful babies eat it. Like children I do what I can to protect them. Did I answer all your questions? Ppl don't understand about the Alfalfa. They just need to try it to see the difference & how healthy the chicks are.

 

[ChirpyChick]

Thanks Birde! The only other question is this - how long does one bale of the shavings last? Please don't go through the hassle of trying to herd/count chickens...I only have 10 and that's a huge PITA lol

Anyone else have experience with the TSC brand shavings they'd like to share?

 

[BeulahBreezes]

Hello to a fellow chicken raising newbie! My "Lucy" was hatched out on March 28 also! I have two cuckoo marans named Lucy and Ethel! I have two more Rhode Island Reds......hatched out March 21. This has been an interesting and fun experience. I too 'lurked' here until I joined a few weeks ago. I have learned so very much from BYC! Hope you have a great day!!! ~Beulah

 

[Red Barn Farms]

You've recieved a lot of great advice and I'd like to add mine for what it's worth. I've used pine shavings from TSC on and off for years with good results. That's been for chicks, guinia pigs and rabbits. It's true the 'fine' is a bit dustier then the course would be. At the moment I have chicks in a brooder in the utility room of our home and find the house dustier then normal using the course. So, I could not imagine using the fine! I'd also think the chicks might 'peck' more at the finer shavings to the point of eating it. I've seen mine actually eat some of the smaller wood shavings and have to wonder if this is normal? Should I be concerned?

Pine is the way to go when buying 'commercial' products. I remember reading a thread where someone suggested and use leaves for bedding. Sounds like something I might try in the fall of the year when it's raking time. I have to add and would like feedback on using grass clippings. Would that work? When I cut part of my yard I use a bagger and always add the clippings into the compost bin. Would letting this grass dry out using the same method as when bailing hay work for bedding? I know I do not need to remind anyone here to never use bedding which contains cedar wood. It's very bad to the respiratory system.


The great thing at the moment is the TSC close to my location has this pine bedding on sale for only $4.99! I picked up a few bales yesterday!

 

[ChirpyChick]

@ Beulah - Thanks for the welcome and Welcome to yourself as well! My Lucy is a Welsummer...still hoping for a hen than a roo, but not good enough at sexing to tell yet. I've also got an Aunt Pittypat Buff Orpington chick and Snowball the Speckled Sussex. The other 7 don't have names yet...they all look too similar. Though I think 2 of my Buff Orps are Roo's so they may end up being named Tigger and Roo...depending on that. Glad you love BYC as much as the rest of us! Happy Chicken-ing!


@ RedBarnFarms - thanks for telling us your experiences, it always helps to know what someone else has been through. I thought my chicks were eating the fine flakes too, but then I noticed that they were actually succeeding in scratching out some of their crumbles. Then they would do their chicken-thing and scratch and peck it out of the bedding. I do know that some people have an issue with chicks eating the bedding, but I personally have not had this happen. I have also offered grass clods, rice, and other treats along with grit to them since I got them, and have not had one pasty butt. If it concerns you that they are eating the shavings, perhaps giving them grit will help make sure they don't get the pasty butt? Just a thought...

I'm still actually cleaning up dust from the little buggers and they've been outside for two weeks! It's kind of like cleaning up glitter after Christmas - you just keep finding it!

*edited 2/25/2012 @4:11pm EDT to fix a random attack by the typo fairy...sorry!*

 

[gickelvolk]

We've used the TSC product for all of our chicks and for our coop today...... We always use the flake.

In the coop we use a dusting of DE, layer of the pine flake, and in cold weather we add about a 6 inch layer of clean straw.

We've had no problems to date.

 

[Birde]

In my coop I just use hay. I really like the all natural way with my chickens. In the brooder I use the Alfalfa hay which is $ costly.15.99 a bail.1 bail lasts a long time. I use it as a treat for my penned birds that don't get to range feed a lot. I live in the country back off the road but they still manage to play in the road. Why do the chickens cross the road?? e as for the shavings for my grown birds. It's too late for that. If I put it on the ground they will think its food. I've seen them it in & I know its not good for their gizzard!