Cedar wood safe?

[Chelleythechickenlady]

Hey! We have a ton of aged cedar wood we chopped down, and was wondering if it's ok to use for a coop ladder & roosting poles?
We also have aged elderberry, sweet gum & Asian pear wood if those would be better?
Thanks!

 

[TwoCrows]

I used cedar fence planks to build my entire coop. Cedar is safe if it airs off in an airy coop. Its the small quarters with fresh cedar oils you want to avoid. Cedar is nice because it will resist rotting and repel bugs. Cedar looks nice too.

 

[Chelleythechickenlady]

I used cedar fence planks to build my entire coop. Cedar is safe if it airs off in an airy coop. Its the small quarters with fresh cedar oils you want to avoid. Cedar is nice because it will resist rotting and repel bugs. Cedar looks nice too.

Thanks! I built a ladder for outside, and our coop for 6 chickens is a 12x8 shed with Windows & big doors.

 

[4 ever Orpington]

Hey! We have a ton of aged cedar wood we chopped down, and was wondering if it's ok to use for a coop ladder & roosting poles?
We also have aged elderberry, sweet gum & Asian pear wood if those would be better?
Thanks!

 

[Henrybelle]

Should be fine for those purposes but everything i’ve researched says chips are a bad idea for coops and brooders even seasoned

 

[Chelleythechickenlady]

Should be fine for those purposes but everything i’ve researched says chips are a bad idea for coops and brooders even seasoned

Yeah we won't be using chips, just the aged logs
We do have other wood too that I may use

 

[TwoCrows]

Should be fine for those purposes but everything i’ve researched says chips are a bad idea for coops and brooders even seasoned

When the oils are fresh and you enclose birds in small spaces such as brooders or small places with little ventilation, the oils will damage their respiratory systems. However once the cedar ages, the oils dry and are not harmful. Cedar dries out pretty quickly in the environment. My coop lost all of its smell extremely fast. By the time we finished the build, it had no smell at all. Chickens are all fine.

 

[TwoCrows]

@Chelleythechickenlady oh and welcome to BYC!

 

[Henrybelle]

When the oils are fresh and you enclose birds in small spaces such as brooders or small places with little ventilation, the oils will damage their respiratory systems. However once the cedar ages, the oils dry and are not harmful. Cedar dries out pretty quickly in the environment. My coop lost all of its smell extremely fast. By the time we finished the build, it had no smell at all. Chickens are all fine.

 

[SueT]

Our coop has cedar fence pickets used for the wood part. These are western red, not eastern aromatic cedar....those are 2 different species. I suspect that the eastern aromatic is more of an issue.