Cedar in Coop

[wesleyhw]

Whoops. A friend of mine gave me some cedar bedding that he uses in his rabbit beds. ( New Bag. Not used) I read a post the other day not to use that in the coop. So I guess I'll take it out and use something else. Its not a large coop so I think I'll try some pine bedding that you can get at the Pet store. Does anyone else use this?

 

[True Grit]

Yup, pine shavings. Cheaper at a farm store though.

 

[33yardbirds]

Cedar is a beautiful wood for siding and cornice work. I would not use it on the interior unless it was well aged and all the oil is dried or the wood is sealed. The saw dust is toxic, nice time for me to find out, Pine shavings for my crew in the brooder, straw in the coop.

 

[BWKatz]

Cedar makes the chickens susceptible to respiratory diseases. U can use it on the outside. BTW,

 

[LongRider]

Quote:
Thanks great to know. When we drop a cedar we often run it through the chipper to use for the dog run and yard as bugs don't like it. Thought it would have been great for chickens had you not posted this. Thanks, You may have saved a few chickens lives.

 

[aggiemae]

I am planning to build our coop for around fifty bucks by using mostly recycled materials. Are 15 years old cedar fence boards OK for building a coop? Currently, they are a mix of natural and painted but some are stained. The paint and stain have been on them for at least a decade, I plan to paint them using low VOC exterior house paint.

Thanks in adviance for any advice.

 

[HomestedHomeboy]

The only reason people tend to avoid cedar for bedding is that it has oils that can be absorbed through the skin and cause a rash. It makes for a great coop, though, and even discourages bugs from chewing on it.

Neil Wigley

 

[DCasper]

I always thought the whole cedar chip thing was an old wive's tale. I guess there is almost always some truth behind the old wive's tales. It seems like everything my Grandparents told me turns out to be true.

 

[aggiemae]

The only reason people tend to avoid cedar for bedding is that it has oils that can be absorbed through the skin and cause a rash. It makes for a great coop, though, and even discourages bugs from chewing on it.

Neil Wigley

Yep, I should have kept reading before I asked the question.

 

[bwalden]

I have to say that I have used cedar shavings as bedding many times before (because its just what I had on hand at the time) I've never had a problem with respiratory or any other thing. Only trouble I had with them is the eggs sometimes smelled like cedar when I brought them in from the coop. That being said I use pine shavings or wheat straw most of the time cause it is less expensive.

** As an added bonus the cedar shavings are naturally incsect resistant **