Wood shaving.....

[zekintha]

I did a basic cleaning of my coop today and noticed after I put a fresh layer of soft wood shavings down (and fresh hay jn the nests). One of my almost 5month wyandottes was actually eating the shavings.....is this normal? I've never noticed them eating it before. She has plenty of food in the coop, and all the doors were open so she had full access to free range with the rest of them.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Sometimes they do that, I'm not sure why but I've never seen any problems from it, but I always try to stop them by chasing them outside.

 

[tjo804]

Chickens pick through everything.
Cedar is not good for them
Make sure she is getting plenty of grit to break down the wood chips so she doesn't get a blockage.

I do not use wood chips myself so I cannot say for sure if it will harm her or not but here is a link to alot of articles on coop bedding maybe one can help.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/newsearch?search=coop+bedding

 

[aart]

I've never seen them eating the wood shavings in the coop, but they definitely eat wood off the old logs out in the run.

 

[MadamPoofyBrow]

I jsut cleaned my pens and put shaving in them. Everyone but the Seramas left them alone, who team-attacked, destroyed the shavings into little pieces, and ate them like the were starved. Even though there was perfectly good food right there.