cedar shavings in my coupe

[jdw2476]

hey all ive had my chicken coupe for almost a year a friend gave it to me it had cedar shavings in it since he had it so they are old ive read and been told cedar is bad for chickens its 28 degrees tonight so locked my chickens in the coupe for the night as they will never use it and i called my boss panicking since cedar isnt good and he said he will give me a free bail of hay tomorrow and ill remove the cedar...will they be ok for the night??????they have ventilation but now im worried as these are my pets/egg layers and i dont wanna harm them...also please note the cedar has lost its scent and its old and has been used on the current flock before my 2 hens....please say i didnt do somehting stupid and they will be ok

 

[birdicus7]

And your chickens will be fine overnight until you can replace the bedding. I would consider switching to pine shavings when you can it will require less maintenance on your part. That said you should be more concerned with placing your birds in a coop with used bedding from other chickens. Could be a disease or mite nightmare in the making. Anytime you switch birds or coops they should be cleaned and sanitized before you place your birds inside, and that goes for anything you add to the coop like used nest boxes, feeders or waterers etc. Practice good Biosecurity and your hens will live a long happy life. Good luck!

 

[jdw2476]

thank you so much for your advice i can rest easy now i love my birds i consider them not only my egg layers but my pets heck i cried when my rooster died he was my buddy

now i can rest well tonite thank you so much!!!!

 

[oliviad51]

I have always used cedar shavings in my chicken coops, with no problem.

 

[Judy]

Cedar that old will probably not bother them. Neither will cedar in a well ventilated coop, or in an open air run. It's the fumes, the odor, that can be irritating to the lungs. Actually, too heavy an odor from any odorous wood can be irritating to their lungs. I have yet to read of a grown chicken getting severely ill or dying from cedar, though it seemed to be a source of trouble for very young chicks in a small brooder.

 

[Ironmaiden]

I'm a little confused about your post. You have had the coop for 1 year with the bedding in it? I'd worry about disease from using shavings from other birds, cedar gives off a gas that is harmful, but one night shouldn't hurt. Just clean it out. It will be okay. Also, 28 degrees isn't cold for them in their feather jackets! Good Luck!

 

[mulewagon]

I've always used cedar, as a matter of fact I raised my last chicks on it ( in a corner of a well-ventilated coop). The stuff isn't strychnine or anything - it might be a problem in a tightly enclosed area, but then so would many other things.

I like cedar for its insect-repelling properties. Lots of fresh air, sun, cedar and DE have kept my chickens parasite-free (knock wood!)

 

[jdw2476]

thanks all for the input and responses i removed the cedar and put hay/straw in also got 3 more additions that i will release tomorrow i got them inside the run in a big cage so they can get used to each other got another barred rock an amerucana and a buff oprington rooster

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

That said you should be more concerned with placing your birds in a coop with used bedding from other chickens. Could be a disease or mite nightmare in the making. Anytime you switch birds or coops they should be cleaned and sanitized before you place your birds inside, and that goes for anything you add to the coop like used nest boxes, feeders or waterers etc. Practice good Biosecurity and your hens will live a long happy life. Good luck!

X2 you should quarantine all new birds for a month BEFORE introducing them to your flock. Also clean and sanitize anything other birds have used before you add it. If you don't do this they COULD all get sick and die.​

 

[birdicus7]

I don't want to sound critical, but I am concerned with your posts. Are you saying that you have 3 new birds that you placed right in with your other birds? Having a coop with bedding used by other birds and then adding new flock members without a proper quarantine
before hand is BAD Biosecurity practice. You may get lucky and make out ok but continue operating like this and you will have health problems at some point..

Again I'm not trying to be nasty but I think you should do some reading on the site and brush up on the basics of chicken keeping.

Good luck and I hope everything works out for you.