Uh oh... WOOD shavings vs Pine shavings...

[dacjohns]

I bought a bag yesterday but haven't opened it yet. The TSC near me had two types. A clear bag that said aspen on it and a white bag that said just wood shavings. We asked an employee it they had pine shavings and he directed us to the white bags. If it turns out to not be pine it will be going back to the store and TSC will be getting a complaint from me.

Just an aside. Has anyone used aspen? I know pine is what is recommended but TSC was the only place that I know of in my vicinity that sold pine. The feed store sells a mix of mostly hardwood shavings that has a lot of fine material.

 

[bawkbawkbawk]

Happened to me at our feed store, too (not TSC). Asked for PINE shavings specifically, the employee loaded a bag into the car and didn't realize until we got home that it was WOOD shavings. It did have cedar mixed in - there was some kind of descriptor on the bag that said so.

We took it back. The employees/manager/owners (not sure who's who) all have chickens but kind of made fun of us for being so fussy. I'm surprised at how often their "advice" contradicts what I read on BYC and in my chicken books.

 

[holachicka]

Well, they are in a clear bag and it really looks like a mix of shavings, I'm pretty sure that it has cedar in it by the looks of it. Darn. I think I'll call them and see what they want to do to fix this... Thanks for all the advice!

 

[Trailbo]

Ok,...I need to know...What is the deal with Cedar Chips??? Why are we not to use them??? Consider me a rookie, since I am, and please explain to me what the issue is.

 

[txchickie]

I use the "wood" shavings from TSC, if there is a small amount of cedar in the bag it is FINE. I haven't noticed any in the bags I buy, though. There really isn't any smell to them, unlike the pine or cedar.

 

[trase]

From what I understand, the cedar causes respiratory issues that can be fatal - even if not immediately to chicks, it can cause a long-term problem that will continue to plague the chickens as adults.

 

[LittleFeat]

I've noticed that even the pine that is vacuum packed has a fairly strong odor from the oils. I have an old deck box that hail damaged the top so now it has several holes in it. Well I decided it's a perfect place to air out the shavings some before actually putting them in the coop. I empty half a bag of the shavings into the container and fluff them up a bit and leave them there until the next time I clean the coop. Then when I put them in the coop, they have aired out some and have lost the strong smell. I then refill the box until the next coop cleaning. I store the box in my garage and pull it out to the coop on the now 20 year old little red stake wagon that was my son's when he was a toddler! The shavings are now totally fluffy and dry and there's very little odor.

 

[dacjohns]

My white bag of wood shavings from TSC looks and smells like pine. It is now in the coop.

 

[Trailbo]

OK, so my first batch of hatchlings have been on Cedar Chips for about two weeks and my second batch of hatchlings have been on the chips for about a week. We had one die from the first batch in the brooder box after we placed it in with the first few that were in there. We don't know how it died, except that maybe it was trampled by our oldest chick which was almost two months old at the time we placed it in the box. I am going to go to Tractor Supply tonight and look for different shavings. Hopefully they will all be ok. Thank you for the info.

 

[washxc]

Just brought home a bag of wood shavings in a clear package from TSC. Any one else do the same and have any trouble?