Can you use pressure treated wood on coops

[CityChook]

I'm in the North and if we didn't use pressure treated wood, the coop would rot away under the 3 ft. of snow that sits on the ground for 5 months of the year. And, like AT, I've never seen my chickens mess with the wood -- it's not tasty.

 

[Camshaft]

I preserve my own wood, scrape wood or any wood I get my hands on for construction. Here's the recipe...... bring linseed oil to a boil, stir in crushed charcoal till it looks like paint, then paint it on your wood. You'll be dead and gone before that wood starts to rot.... if ever.

 

[RocketDad]

I use a commercial product from Superdeck - its a stain made with linseed oil, mineral spirits carrier, and various mineral pigments like titanium dioxide (like the old fashioned white sun screen) for white. It's pretty durable stuff. I've painted my rough-cedar picket fence in the front yard with it, and it drinks into the wood grain really well on the first coat. I try to recoat some portion of the fence every year and the subsequent coats bond with the lower coats pretty well.

I can imagine that with a heavy load of charcoal carbon fines a similar mix would be pretty "un-tasty" to insects.

 

[columbiacritter]

Here in the Pacific Northwest untreated wood touching ground rots in a year or less. I use PT wood for ground and roofing, untreated for nest boxes or anything in where it's dry. Per the hubby they stopped using arsenic in PT wood a while ago so it's a lot safer.

I would be very careful using recycled wood that might have been treated with industrial grade preservatives. Some of the stuff they use is darn scary.

 

[Prospector]

To go against the grain...

I would not use PT anyplace the birds or their feed will come in regular contact with it. Where I am regular plywood will delaminate in about 3 years. I have a piece of 3/4 ply under my deck that has been there for the past 3 years with no treatment and it has just started to let go. If you treat the wood with paint or stain or sealer, you should be able to at least double its lifespan, if not extend it indefinately with continued treatments. Make it part of your spring/fall routine to paint the coop.

I did buy PT for the posts that will hold our coop up off the ground. I know that untreated wood that comes in contact with the ground wil lhave a very short lifespan. We have since changed plans and will simply set the coop up on blocks.

If your coop is a shed style, then I would use PT on the outside, and for the sill plates, frame with regular SPF studs, and use the cheapest luan (or other) plywood or panelling you could find on the inside to keep the birds away from contacting the PT lumber. Another alternative is to use Siding on the outside to form a barrier.

The copper used in PT today - ACQ (Amine Copper Quat) is a heavy metal that will stay in the birds system, and in their eggs, however it is much less dangerous than the old CCA (Chromated Copper Aresenate). It is safer, but it is also new technology, and the question of how much safer still lingers. Guys who work with the stuff all the time report that splinters are much more painful, inhalation of sawdust leads to worse irritation than the old stuff, and generally treat it with a higher degree of respect. Leachate from PT is not a big issue, but it does affect soils within 4" of a PT structure. We used PT for our garden boxes, but then planted marigolds adjacent to it to absorb the leachate, and prevent planting vegetables near the stuff.

If you use PT for the posts on your coop, bear in mind your birds will be scratching around by the posts and will pick up some copper there. A box made of cedar fenceboards just big enough to contain the leachate may be an idea to help there. Be prepared to replace them every three years or whenever you see rot.

I think you will also see a cost savings in using regular lumber wherever possible as well.

 

[poltroon]

I used redwood for the ground contacting lumber on my last coop. It lasts pretty well here.

 

[Chickenpalooza]

One tbsp. of ash from burned pressure-treated lumber contains a lethal dose of arsenic. It is imperative that you wear a mask when cutting or burning pressure-treated lumber.

Read more: http://www.ehow.com/list_6399268_dangers-pressure_treated-lumber_.html#ixzz2zvZWs9jO

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[Chickenpalooza]

One tbsp. of ash from burned pressure-treated lumber contains a lethal dose of arsenic. It is imperative that you wear a mask when cutting or burning pressure-treated lumber.

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Even though most treated lumber is now treated with CCA (Chromated Copper Arsenate). One of the key ingredients in CCA is arsenic, which is on the Environmental Protection Agency's list of chemicals that are definitely known to cause cancer. Exposure to wood treated with CCA increases your risk of cancers of the lung, bladder, skin, kidney and prostate. Most wood treated with CCA is intended for commercial use, but sometimes homeowners buy it too. The newest treatment for wood is Micronized Copper Quaternary (MCQ).
It is chemically different than the old CCA treatments. It is made of tiny (micro) particles of copper. These particles are forced into the wood cells or pores during the pressure cycle. Once in, they stay in, also forming a barrier keeping in the quaternary. The leaching of chemicals out of MCQ is practically non-existent and using the treated lumber for a vegetable bed is safe because the chemicals do not leach out into the soil.

Use leather gloves when handling treated lumber of any kind. Do not burn it.

If you're looking for a totally safe wood that lasts longer than treated lumber consider Accoya wood. It is safe enough to eat since it is treated without any chemicals. Google Accoya wood for more info. It also doesn't warp, is waterproof, very easy to work with, doesn't warp and is just incredibly beautiful wood to work with. Also lasted up to five years longer than pressure treated lumber over a 15 year test.

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[dheltzel]

CCA was discontinued in 2003. I'm not saying you can't still find it around, but not in what you buy in your home center (maybe if you buy it used somewhere). Search on "pressure treated lumber" to get a lot of info about safety. This is one link I found easily that explains a lot: http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/infxtra/infpre.html

In a nutshell, there was never a lot to worry about and now nothing at all.

 

[Chicken Advocate]

My Hubby wants to know if pressure treated wood is ok to use to build a chicken coop?? We have an existing small coop that we are adding to, and he has some pressure treated wood that he was going to use to add on, but figured we better check first. Thanks!!!

Something that many are not considering are VOC's. This basically means "smell or fumes". Any type of fowl is super sensitive to odor, thats why they use canaries to take into caves to alert for toxic gas right? Pressure treated wood has VOC's, I would never use it around fowl or pets. There is product now that has zero VOC's and is not only 100% non toxic, it seals the wood permanently. Many are using it now to seal pine, fir, cedar, cyrpress etc instead of using pressure treated wood. If you spray the wood with Internal Wood Stabilizer by Timber Pro Coatings, it clear, colorless, and will waterproof the wood permanently, and non toxically. Kind of a no brainer !