Tried that 'pine shavings only' bedding method and my coop turned into a dust bowl in 3 days

I'm in Nashville and we had that dry stretch last week. I thought I was being smart switching from straw to pine shavings because everyone said it's better for ammonia control. After 72 hours my hens were sneezing and I couldn't see two feet in front of me when I opened the door. Had to spray the whole thing down with water just to settle the dust. Anyone else have this backfire? What's your go-to bedding for dry climates?

2 comments

2 Comments

paulw631mo ago

Man, that's rough. I'm in a dry area too and learned that lesson the hard way last winter. But honestly, did you try just misting the shavings before you put them in, or did you just dump them in dry and hope for the best? Because I used to just toss them in there and had the same dust cloud problem until a buddy told me to spray them down with a hose first. I'm curious if you actually gave that a shot or if you're like me and just assumed it would work out of the bag.

jessicajohnson1mo ago

Pine shavings work fine if you run a humidifier in the coop or mist the shavings before adding them-your real issue was the dry air, not the bedding itself.