Mites in new store bought pine shavings?

[AinaWGSD]

Mites in store bought bedding is very unlikely to have mites. TSC pine shavings are usually kiln dried, which would kill any mites in the wood.

 

[Bawkbok]

I presume it's ok for them to eat wood shavings - our girls seek out the decaying lumber in the yard and regularly eat the small shavings from inside the logs. I guess it's a form of grit. They also eat soil - ours is sand. With the dead grass and weeds and no bugs, there's not much else - natural roughage I guess; better than store bought grit although they have access to that all the time. Thus far, no crop issues. My concern is the wood shavings turning into a nasty clump in their crop but it hasn't happened yet.

 

[H4mm3r]

I used to use straw in my bedding. But 3 days ago I switched to pine shavings from tractor supply and another local feed store. Now my 5 week old chicks are constant scratching since changing that bedding. Has anyone ever had mites or lice in a new bale of pine shavings bag?!

They're in my garage so not on the outside ground. I just don't see how else they would have gotten so itchy. I check their bodies but don't see much, but I'm new to this and don't really know what I'm looking for!

I know I am commenting a year and a half later but I did not have mites… however, I recently bought some shavings from tractor supply. I added it to the nesting boxes. Now there are mites crawling on the eggs from the shavings. They are definitely mites.

 

[SourRoses]

I know I am commenting a year and a half later but I did not have mites… however, I recently bought some shavings from tractor supply. I added it to the nesting boxes. Now there are mites crawling on the eggs from the shavings. They are definitely mites.

I believe you!
I had chicks get lice from shavings a couple years ago.
The brooder was inside, a clean new tote. I noticed the tiny white bugs, and chicks scratching, for the first time after adding shavings from the brand new bag.
So my theory at the time was the shavings became contaminated after the kiln drying but before being bagged. Maybe with only eggs which can wait on hold for quite a while until conditions are right to hatch.
I was worried whether it would be safe to treat one week olds, so I made them a new tote with fresh shavings, and kept switching it out every day for a week. The chicks groomed themselves madly and handled most of it. Then I treated them later. Now that I use Elector PSP I feel a lot safer treating any age because it's naturally derived (from a bacteria).