Cedar: Okay for coop but not for shavings?

[StephanieH]

I know birds shouldn't be on cedar shavings, but I see lots of sites that suggest cedar for building coops. Is this because they are likely to eat shavings or is cedar a bad plan all around. Please advise! Thanks so much for all your help.

 

[Kaitie09]

I'm not totally positive, but I think when you build with ceder, you have to give it sufficient time to air out, then it will be fine. You should not use ceder shavings because the birds come into direct contact immediately.

 

[AtholCoop]

You don't even really need to give cedar boards time to air out. The issue with shavings has to do with the much higher surface area of the shavings which makes it much easier for the harmful oils etc to become airborne. With all that said I would avoid the type of cedar typically used for lining closets. It is in fact not a cedar product, but Juniper.