Are there any types of wood that are not safe for chickens??

[DreamsInPink]

My son in law works for a tree service company and I can get truck loads of wood chips for free. But I wasn't sure if there were any kinds that are not safe. I'd be using them in the run. The coop, I think I'm mostly going to go with pine chips/flakes/shavings. Thanks.

 

[ftfarmer22]

Cedar wood. It's not good on chickens lungs. That's about it that I know of.

 

[aart]

Cedar shavings, of the aromatic variety, sold as bedding can be a respiratory irritant.

If you have access to tree trimming detritus, I'd go for hardwood chipping from branches...called ramial wood chips, they are best for creating a poop eating deep litter in a chicken run.

 

[dheltzel]

If the area is well ventilated, you have little to worry about. If you can smell the aromatic odors, it might be bad for the chickens respiration, so either use them outdoors or leave them outdoors for a while to off gas.

People use cedar chips indoors because it gives off a pleasant (to us) odor that hides the smell of rodent urine. It's not really good for any animal to have to inhale that all the time. Of course the ammonia is even more toxic and covering it up so you don't have to clean as often is a recipe for disaster with anything that breathes.

Take a big whiff of the air your birds live in. If you can't wait to get out of there, your birds feel the same way, maybe times 2, because their respiratory systems are even more sensitive than ours.

 

[DreamsInPink]

Thanks you guys!! I knew cedar wasn't very good for them due to the aromas.. but I wasn't sure if there were more.

I'm happy to hear there aren't.