I also posted yesterday about the cedar dog house (chicken coop) which is completely NEW (assembled 2 days ago) that I purchased to house the chicks. I paid $180 but would accept any reasonable offer now. I live in Putnam County, in the Hudson Valley in NY.
I wouldn't use cedar chips but I've had the same dog house for over a year now and my silkies have done very well. I certainly respect your input though.
I am not sure where you heard this, but I don't think that is correct. There are actually many sites that sell cedar specifically for poultry and I could find nothing online that would say it is dangerous for chickens. It is a naturally "weather resistant" material...probably better than using treated wood for building. I guess if a specific chicken had an allergy to it or something strange like that.....??? Anyway... I am no wood expert, just MHO. Leah
Cedar is toxic only if they ingest it, which is why cedar shavings/chips aren't a good idea for litter. I think as long as they don't eat the coop they should be fine!
Cedar *shavings* can cause respiratory irritation in a variety of animals, in close quarters. However, I bet that solid cedar *wood* wouldn't give off as much in the way of volatile oil fumes. Just a guess!
The "cedar" that's potentially harmful is actually a juniper (Juniperus virginiana). It's marketed as "Eastern Cedar", "Red Cedar", "Aromatic Cedar" and probably a few others. The "Western Cedar", or "Western Red Cedar" usually used build sheds, saunas, etc is Thuja plicata. Different critter, not a problem.