Away in a manger, Christmas tree for a bed

Being a frugal chicken-keeper, I grabbed my neighbours' cast off Christmas tree to use as coop litter.  The tree had sat outside for a month (in mid summer sunshine) so was very dry.  Yesterday I stripped all the needles off and spread them on the floor of the coop.

After feeling very smug for 24 hours, I thought I had better check here to make sure there are no faults with my plan!   If there is a major fault I can (reluctantly) rake the pine needles out again.

I will be getting six-week-old pullets next week, and intend to keep them in the coop for the first five days as they have never been outside before (I have been monitoring the temperature in the coop and they won't get over-heated). 

The coop has a dirt floor so I'm layering the floor up with dry litter.  I started by dusting it with dolomite, then added a layer of dry sand, and have been adding layers of dried leaves as they become available.  Mostly they are macadamia leaves but I have added 'strewing herbs' such as tansy, wormwood, lavender and pennyroyal (yes Hillfooter, I must be a witch ). 

The pine needles are the final topping, about 5cm deep over the whole floor.

I'm not even sure what sort of tree it is.  It's not pinus radiata which is the only pine I'm really familiar with.  It might be some kind of fir(?)  The needles are really soft, and there are lots of them for quite a small tree.

So does my plan seem ok?  Anything I should watch out for?

Thanks, Helenaj!  That's really helpful.  I will check with the neighbour and also read the articles you linked to.  Only a couple of days to chicken-time so I had better find out fast!

Thanks Rachel.  I am completely over-excited like a child before Christmas.  I will try to calm down and be a sensible chicken-keeper.   :blink: 

Thanks ManicMum.  I'm getting two Light Sussex, two Barnevelders and two Barred Rocks.  All hardy, docile heavy breeds that (hopefully) won't be leaping over fences any chance they get.

I'm getting closer to identifying my pine tree.  Mine has three pine needles in each bundle.  From an article on the site Helenaj linked to:

To determine the particular type of pine tree, count the amount of needles per bundle. ... Trees with three needles per bundle include the Pond Pine and Loblolly Pine...

Thanks bn.  The local regulations say I can only keep six hens (no roosters).  Unfortunately I am really bad at counting so it's possible an extra one or two might sneak in without me noticing.   

Looking forward to seeing the photos of your new girls when you get them 

It would be reasonable to ask for a bit more info - but you don't have  lot of options unless you are near enough to pop in....