I wouldn’t use black cherry either. Black cherry can be toxic to Holstein dairy cows certain times of the year.
You need to avoid cutting down a black cherry around any cattle if it has leaves on it. Sometimes, if they eat the leaves after they wilt, it will kill them.
On noodles for bedding in dog pens, I have used Hickory and some of the oaks, and also red cedar without issue, so far.
I used tons of pine w/ my chickens over the years. And poplar. Those are the two I’d save for test cuts having fun with saws. Never had any issues, in fact before I started saving all the saw dust, my wife bought pine shavings by the compressed bale at TSC. I think it’s all we ever used and we had flocks for about 10 years.
I’ve never had chickens. Just did a search on the subject and saw a few articles like this. Pine Shavings in the Coop: The Secret Chicken Killer? — The Featherbrain May very well be alarmist meanderings.
If you are new to chickens and are using their eggs, I can advise to not wash them off with water before use. I had a bacterial infection for about 2 years and it was traced back to... our chickens. At first we washed any dirty eggs and later learned that can carry the “dirt” through the porous shell. I can provide more info if needed.
