Can wood shavings be used as bedding for Poultry?

 

Mary Muhati a widow at Lirhanda in Shinyalu practice battery farming at her home. [Duncan Ocholla, Standard]

 

Wood shavings and sawdust are regularly used as bedding for chickens. However, for young chicks, sawdust has been found to be unsuitable as bedding material as young chicks tend to feed on it leading to complications with their digestive system.

Studies have established that composting chicken manure with sawdust and or wood produces high-quality compost as long as the compost pile is well aerated by turning it regularly to allow for air circulation which enhances microbial organisms present in the pile to break down the lignin (a tough organic substance that forms wood in combination with cellulose). So you can use wood shavings combined with chicken manure to make poultry manure.


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