Pine NEEDLES for bedding?

[Sansena]

We’re clearing out the old barn here and I was having a hard time figuring out what this old bedding was. Then it occurred to me: pine needles. There’s several tall, long-needled evergreens here but no dump pile.

The old barn had a/c, fans, and reinforced hitching posts. They had show cows here.

I realize cows are not horses… but aside from simply looking for a place to stash the fallen needles from the tree, has anyone heard of using pine needles for bedding? These are mashed/ broken into small pieces. When whole the needles measure about 3" long.

It’s just weird to me and I don’t see the point. It’s not as if they’re absorbent…

What do you think?

[cloudyandcallie]

No, they are not good
i tried them for my horses when I was 10 years old. Learned my lesson and went t o sawmill for free pine shavings.

[RoyalRain42]

All I can think of I the amount of sap that would be sticking to my animals lol

I can also only think of it as a fire hazard more than anything

[Sansena]

To be clear: I’m not asking if I should use them for my animals. I’m asking if anyone’s known or heard of anyone who uses them and has a seemingly “valid” reason for doing so. Like, what are they thinking, what is the goal?

I agree with you two, RoyalRain and cloudyandcallie. Just seems like a bad idea.

[sherian]

the only remote rationale is that I know people who feed their goats xmas trees,the goats love them - maybe they though cows would too and figured snack and bedding in one?

[trubandloki]

I can not think of any reason. No one that shows cows wants all that sap on their coat.

[to_the_ELF]

i know of one person, VERY new to horses, who tried it as way to save money on bedding (he lived in a piney area, so he had free access to them.) He put them in a run in shed. I never followed up to hear how it was going…

[Beck]

Dried pine needles for animal bedding is called “pine straw”. It’s collected from the ground under stands of pine trees. More commonly used for chickens. Definitely not absorbent.

[Beck]

I’d be worried about horses or cattle getting bits of needle in their eyes.

[Sansena]

@Beck

Dried pine needles for animal bedding is called “pine straw”. It’s collected from the ground under stands of pine trees. More commonly used for chickens. Definitely not absorbent.

Thank you for that. Now I just have to figure out how to get rid of it.I suppose I could mulch the back fence line with it.

[amymoyer]

I have BIG pine trees at my house, and have an overabundance of “pine straw”. You can use it like you would mulch (not for bedding). Garden, around flowers or trees, planter boxes, etc. I use them in my dog run - I could clean the area with a pitchfork rather than a scooper if I had one at home.

[RMJacobs]

Pine straw is used a lot for mulch where I live (coastal South Carolina), and is quite a fire hazard. I wouldn’t have it in my shrub beds, and certainly not around horses.

I lived on five acres with 60+ Ponderosa pines in Colorado, and my husband was obsessive about picking up and disposing of the pine needles that covered the ground after every strong wind (=daily). His concern was the fire hazard.

Rebecca

[StormyDay]

When I was in NC I knew of a few people who used pine straw in the run ins. I’m not sure why that and not just normal straw or shavings.
only thing I could think of is maybe the pine scent keeps bugs away.

[demidq]

I think in Misty of Chincoteague that Paul and Maureen bedded the Phantom in pine needles… :winkgrin:
I don’t think sap would be a problem if they were dry.

[Simkie]

Yeah, like Beck said–chicken bedding.