RainForestBird
Songster
- Jul 12, 2016
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I found a cheap moisture eliminator / desiccant at the dollar store and was wondering if it would be safe to use in my small enclosed chicken coop for absorbing moisture. I live in a very rainy part of the Pacific Northwest and buildings, especially wooden ones don't last very long, even when you weather proof them with Thompson Water Sealer and use all cedar framing. The desiccant contains Charcoal and Calcium Chloride Dehydrate and is in a plastic container that is sealed with a moisture-permeable white sheath that is covered by a plastic top that has 1/2" holes. I thought that I could fashion a holder that I would attach to the top 3/4 of the coop near the roof about 6" down. I read on Wikipedia that the ingredients are used in food and medicines but it can dessicate moist skin and can cause burns in the esophagus and mouth, and can cause hypercalicemia which is a high level of calcium in the blood stream. If the chickens cannot reach the desiccant it does not seem all that dangerous, considering we feed extra calcium to chickens via ground oyster shells to improve the porosity of their egg shells. Still it does make me worry about the possibilities should the young chicks come in contact with it - or if the chickens walk on it. The only way I would do this is if I could build a very secure holder for it. But I wonder if it could be dangerous just being in the air. I'm just desperate to have this coop last longer than one season, I spent a long time building another coop that is already starting to swell with moisture.