Cedar chips?

[TheChickenGirl16]

My mom is on a free wood chips disposal thingy on facebook.
Gold for a gardener.

We’ve been planning to scoop all the fertilized dirt out of the run, and put it into the garden beds. And we would refill the run with mulch/chips.
Today, we got a truck delivered.
After he dumped it, he said it was ceded.
I know cedar isn’t supposed to be safe for the chickers…
But I was wondering if it would be okay to have in our big, open, run? (Not the house)

They’ve already been crawling all over it all day…

 

[StinkyAcres]

I wouldn't use it right away. I'd let it dry out thoroughly and turn it regularly before using it in the run, maybe for a year or two to be safe. I've seen what cedar can do to animals and it's not pretty.

 

[saysfaa]

Eastern cedar or western? It matters because one has much more of the aromatic oils that can cause problems.

 

[TheChickenGirl16]

East coast.

@StinkyAcres, what CAN it do?

 

[StinkyAcres]

East coast.

@StinkyAcres, what CAN it do?

It is not only a respiratory irritant, it is also a skin irritant. I had a hamster who lost much of her hair due to cedar bedding. I'd imagine it could do similar damage to birds.

 

[AshVau22]

Cedar contain aromatic oils that can cause severe respiratory issues, liver damage, and allergic reactions in chickens.

 

[AshVau22]

Many many years ago like 20 year's. I had a guinea pig and I can't remember why I did it but I bought a bag of cedar shavings instead of my usual pine. I can't remember if they were cheaper or something. But he ended up with a bad respiratory sickness took him to the vet but was to late. Vet asked if I'd done anything different I mentioned I changed up the bedding about month ago to cedar chips but didn't think anything of it. She told me that's what caused the upper respiratory issues that killed my pig I'll never have anything cedar around any of my animals after that.

 

[StinkyAcres]

Many many years ago like 20 year's. I had a guinea pig and I can't remember why I did it but I bought a bag of cedar shavings instead of my usual pine. I can't remember if they were cheaper or something. But he ended up with a bad respiratory sickness took him to the vet but was to late. Vet asked if I'd done anything different I mentioned I changed up the bedding about month ago to cedar chips but didn't think anything of it. She told me that's what caused the upper respiratory issues that killed my pig I'll never have anything cedar around any of my animals after that.

So sorry. Isn't it crazy you can still buy cedar bedding for pets?

 

[AshVau22]

So sorry. Isn't it crazy you can still buy cedar bedding for pets?

It is, I'm curious if the bag contains a warning label.

 

[AshVau22]

@StinkyAcres