Pine and Cedar shavings are dangerous

[bruceha2000]

I will never use wood shavings again since it brought in scaly leg mites. I use sand and I love it.

Where did you get the wood shavings? Most people buy the compressed bags of dried shavings and I doubt they would have mites or other baddies in them.
I can see it if you brought pine branches out of the woods and chipped them up though.

 

[Suzierd]

Where did you get the wood shavings? Most people buy the compressed bags of dried shavings and I doubt they would have mites or other baddies in them.
I can see it if you brought pine branches out of the woods and chipped them up though. 

That's what I thought, bought at a Farm and Ranch store.

 

[tridentk9]

That's what I thought, bought at a Farm and Ranch store.

I thought shavings were heated. Kiln dried or some such phrasing. I wonder if it was a storage problem either at kiln or at the store.

Oh my, you're in Oregon too. Now I want more details! Store, brand?

 

[lazy gardener]

I would hesitate to blame scaly leg mites on shavings, though, almost anything is possible. If there are wild birds that fly over, or can potentially land in your run, it's just as likely, perhaps more so that is where they came from. I got a mite infestation last summer, and my flock is closed. I think these little pests (mites and lice and other creepy crawlies) are in all environments, and very capable of migrating into your coop/run to set up housekeeping.

 

[Suzierd]

Well I can't say a hundred percent sure they came from the pine shavings but I never had them before and they were only in the coops I put the shavings in. I read on here a few other people say they got them from shavings.

 

[chfite]

It would be informative to cite these educated sources, for those of us who don't readily believe everything we hear or see on the internet.

Most of the concerns with wood products stems from the dust, not the shavings or other forms of wood. The dust of almost anything can be harmful. Just the same, the shavings that we put in a coop are not dusty. By the time that the shavings have been made, loaded, packed, unpacked, and spread in a coop, all the dust has settled along the way leaving almost nothing to present a problem. Besides, they probably manage the dust at the mill where the shavings are made. The dust would be harmful to the folks who work in the mill.

When I open the compressed packages of pine shavings and toss handfuls into the coop, I haven't noticed any dust.

Chris

 

[bdfive]

Chris, you are right....no dust when I put 3 bags of shavings in the 10 by 12 chick shed. Only dust is the DE that I lay on the floor before emptying the bags onto it. YES, later when it's been beat down and used there is some dust but in years of using this method I've had no problems or lost chicks. YES, I see them eating some once in a while but to no ill effect. I just checked on 5 peachicks less then a week old and saw their food dish was empty. They were scratching to the bottom of the floor to find crumbles that had been tossed out of their dish while eating. Perhaps some of the folks think the birds are eating shavings when in fact their enjoying other morsels of food not seen but the human. I immediately filled the chicks dish and they came running to it. LOL, I love my little baby peacocks. I'd love to use the sand but in thinking about it not only is it expensive but the labor which I can't do at my retired age would be costly as well. Then there would be changing it out...........costly with hired help. I really don't have a choice but NO MATTER......they shavings have not harmed my birds in the 4 years I've been using them.

ANYONE IN THE MARKET FOR BABY PEACOCKS OR POSSIBLE GROWN ONES IN TEXAS? I've kept too many and they are pets. This morning at daylight they all sounded off due to predator or something upsetting them. Way too noisy.........could probably hear them in the next county, LOL!!! I have to find some good homes for some.

ALSO...I"m hooked on hatching eggs. Peafowl have quit breeding. I felt strange....no eggs to put in the incubator.....need eggs.....feel lost. OH!!! eggs in the quail aviary........ couldn't resist. Took some from the nest a hen isn't seriously incubating. Just candled and movement in a few. EEEEEK! what have I done? I don't want baby quail to care for.....already have to many peafowl. SO if anyone close enough to the San Antonio area and want them FOR PETS, not eating you are welcome to them. I'm about 30 miles north of San Antonio.

OK, that's enough of "off topic" yapping. Back to shavings. While you're picking up the baby quail you can help me change out the bedding in the chick shed. Shall we use heavy sand or light weight shavings? I vote on shavings due to weight and the labor. I've been throwing the old shavings out into the huge courtyard aviary and they compost quickly so it's an easy task. Just kidding about you helping when picking up baby quail but I won't refuse if you insist, haha!!!

Darlene

 

[bruceha2000]

I would hesitate to blame scaly leg mites on shavings, though, almost anything is possible. If there are wild birds that fly over, or can potentially land in your run, it's just as likely, perhaps more so that is where they came from. I got a mite infestation last summer, and my flock is closed. I think these little pests (mites and lice and other creepy crawlies) are in all environments, and very capable of migrating into your coop/run to set up housekeeping.

Wild birds will go into a run or coop???

Tell me about it, I think I'm feeding more sparrows, finches and chipmunks than chickens from the feeder! Those little birds go nuts inside the coop when I approach. No matter that they flew in either through the chicken door or the "always open during the day" people door, they are in such a panic they can't find their way out. I need to find time to make a treadle feeder or two.

With respect to the topic, my girls will peck almost anything off the tops of your shoes, including little bits of shavings. And snow, even though there may be several feet of it outside their open door. They just seem drawn to anything out of the ordinary. A "favorite" phrase down in the barn is "That is NOT food you stupid birds". Including freckles and scabs.

 

[The Yakima Kid]

I've been doing some research on using pine or cedar shavings and from what I've learned, both are very harmful to pets. They are toxic... and can cause respiratory problems for all types of animals. It's sold in bales at all pet stores and farm stores and when I asked why they sell it if it's so harmful the answer was the same reason the sell cigarrettes and other crap that isn't good. Its cheap and it sells. I've been told by reputable and educated sources that using Aspen bedding is best in place of hay if you don't want to use hay. Toxins from pine can even be absorbed into the animals body through thier skin touching it.
Just wanted to put this info out there if anyone is interested in investigating this on their own. I for one am not taking any chances and will be using only hay and Aspen shavings.

Nope. Just call the poultry profs at Oregon State University's department of animal science. They note that no study has found cedar shavings harmful to chickens and also noted that shavings have been used for decades The only reported problems are from laboratory rodents that burrow under the shavings and nest surrounded by them.

 

[The Yakima Kid]

Well I can't say a hundred percent sure they came from the pine shavings but I never had them before and they were only in the coops I put the shavings in. I read on here a few other people say they got them from shavings.

Unless the long abandoned theory of "spontaneous generation" has somehow been found to be true after all of these centuries, I would suspect that you need to check for wild birds, rodents, and other critters.