Are shavings harmful to goats? I cleaned out Dingo's pen and had just started to put some shavings down,and she started eating them out of the bag. I took the bag away,and decided to wait to see if they could be harmful to her before filling the stall.
I'm not sure if they are or not. I know a lot of people use shavings as a base and then put straw on top to make it easier to clean.
Shavings should be fine. That's what I use as a base layer, then just wait for the wasted hay to cover it up. Mine never eat it, though. I think once she gets used to it she should stop.
Mine eat a few of them sometimes and it hasn't hurt them. But I wouldn't want them to eat a whole lot.
I use the same shavings that I use for the horses. Never had a problem. I never use them in the kidding pens though.
Pine are ok, cedar is extremely harmful to any animal. I would completely advise against cedar, it causes upper respiratory problems. I use pine in my stalls and top it with straw. Shows use shavings around here as well.
Ok,it should be ok then,she only ate a few pieces of it,then I took it away. I'll put them in tomorrow and see if she leaves them alone after a while.
I have used shavings under straw. makes everything more absorbant. i like to use white pine shavings rather then cedr though. They are less dusty and the goats don;t seem to cough and sneeze when they are on them. Cedar savings though the smell better, tend to be dustier and are more prone to cause respiritory problems. beth
It's white pine. I ran out of straw,and had 2 bags left over from fair,so decided to use them,but I need to get more straw and some square bales.
Its technically called kiln dried pine and it is the best to buy for goats as aspen isn't available in bulk and would be more pricey.
I have heard of goats getting sick if they eat too much shavings. I don't use them because I don't have a place to store them. I have a know of people that use them and never have problems. I would just watch her closely to make sure she doesn't eat too many before she gets used to them being in there. Once she gets used to them, it shouldn't be a problem.
I like to use white pine shavings...yeah when its being spread they try to chomp on the plastic bag and mouth the shavings themselves. Hardly any dust, I can carry a bag of it alot easier than a bale of straw & not have to use a dust mask. It is more expensive than straw but I do like to use it for a base to absorb moisture, top dressed with straw.
I use sawdust because a local Amish lumberyard bags it and gives it to you for free. It turns brown fast but the goats never eat it and it isn't dusty.
