sawdust for bedding?

[Mrs H]

Hi guys, I'm just wondering if I can use unprocessed sawdust as bedding for our poultry and ferrets? As hubby has started chainsaw sculpting there is a fair lock of sawdust being created everyday!! I'm trying to find a use for it and it would be great as a floor covering but unsure if there is a reason shop bought sawdust is processed. Any ideas? Xx

[thesunflowergal]

I am pretty sure its processed for dust extraction, I have no idea what affect this would have on your chooks and ferrets though.

[happy place]

i am currently useing chian saw sawdust for bedding for my chooks and seems to work ok the girls dont seem to mind it and it isnt that dusty as its larger than saw dust from a chippie because the teeth of a chain saw are courser so make bigger shavings
i think this makes sence

[Jandra]

Ik don't know about chickens, but ferrets are quite sensitive to dust.

For my ferrets I always used old fabric for bedding, changing the rags - an washing them, of course - once a week (it DOES get rather ... fragrant, otherwise). But our outdoor ferret cage had a well insulated sleeping part, so they were warm enough when they had fleece rags to burrow in. For the litter pan I used regular cat litter (pressed wood pellets). As they only use a corner it wasn't a big litter pan and a bag of cat litter would have lasted ages if it hadn't been for our four cats!

Jandra