Chicken coop smells like cedar.

[jwebs94]

Hello Totally newbie with an urgent question...
I'm unpacking the coop I bought because my 4 week old chicks are starting to peck thru the giant box/brooder I have them in. I was going to build the hen house part and move them into that, inside, until it was warm enough to move out. I knew the wood was treated when I bought it but not with what...it smells of cedar. Strongly.
WTHeck? Isn't cedar bad for chickens? Just baby chicks? Is 4 weeks to young to put them into this cedar smelling hen house? Should I return this for something else?

This is the one I got them (If the link doesn't work it's the "Pets Imperial Double Savoy Large Chicken Coop with 2 nest boxes" on amazon): https://www.amazon.com/Pets-Imperial-Double-Chicken-Suitable/dp/B076JDGBTR/

 

[PirateGirl]

I definitely would let it air out before putting them in there. It could just be from whatever they used to treat the wood. If it smells strongly, hold off. You wouldn't want to be trapped in a room with bad fumes for any length of time, even if it doesn't make you sick, it would be unpleasant. Also you are right, cedar fumes and dust are bad for small animals and can be toxic. Trying leaving it outside a week to air out. If that doesn't work, maybe you will have to send it back. Good luck!

I checked out the link and also noticed it says for up to 10 birds, but the dimensions printed are only suitable for 3 LF or 4 bantams. I'm not sure how many chicks you have.

 

[featherhead007]

the coop may be too small after you complete your chicken math.
"up to 10 birds" did they mean finches? gezzz

 

[jwebs94]

I checked out the link and also noticed it says for up to 10 birds, but the dimensions printed are only suitable for 3 LF or 4 bantams. I'm not sure how many chicks you have.

That's the other issue. I'm notoriously awful at visualizing size when reading dimensions... I have 8 hens. Now that it's out of the box and I'm looking at it... No way. *sigh* It took me forever to make this decision. Now I'm back at square one. Thanks so much!

 

[featherhead007]

another thing, cedar is great for closets, saunas and hope chests, but not for pet chickens!

 

[PirateGirl]

You could get a second one and find a creative way to connect them and make a double wide! Ideally you should have about 4 square feet per chicken. When looking at coops online, be sure to check the dimensions of the coop part excluding any attached run/fencing it might include. Good luck! You've got time until they are bigger to figure it all out!

 

[Acre4Me]

Use the ask a question feature on Amazon so that you can see what people with the same coop have to say.

Where do you live? It appears to primarily be for roosting/sleeping, and laying eggs. So, you should make sure you can provide an area for them to spend much of their time. It is recommended to provide approx 10 sq ft per bird in a run during the day, although more is better.

 

[jwebs94]

I'm in Western Pa where we are having a never ending winter so they can't go outside yet anyway. There were some broken pieces in the box and that with the cedar oil I decided to return it. I went crazy for days trying to find one that will work for them. The "Big Green" from tractor supply would have been the best for my budget and size wise until I build my own (that is the plan, to eventually build my own as these prefabs probably don't last a year). But it just didn't look like a good fit for my yard. Where I had enough level space is near my water well... or under old trees with sickly looking branches that might fall, etc.
I did finally find one that I think I can modify to work out nicely for them. They'll only be sleeping in it anyway. I got a pen for it, plus I'm putting up fencing for them in my yard. The one I found is supposedly for 12 chickens. But it has two rows of next boxes inside the coop with roost bars right over top of them... Um? Poop with your eggs? I'm going to take out one row of nest boxes to use as floor space and take out the roost bar over the nest boxes that I am keeping (there is another roost up high in the coop) and I will fit that third roost bar in there somewhere. They'll have over a foot of roost space each.

 

[Stephine]

I'm in Western Pa where we are having a never ending winter so they can't go outside yet anyway. There were some broken pieces in the box and that with the cedar oil I decided to return it. I went crazy for days trying to find one that will work for them. The "Big Green" from tractor supply would have been the best for my budget and size wise until I build my own (that is the plan, to eventually build my own as these prefabs probably don't last a year). But it just didn't look like a good fit for my yard. Where I had enough level space is near my water well... or under old trees with sickly looking branches that might fall, etc.
I did finally find one that I think I can modify to work out nicely for them. They'll only be sleeping in it anyway. I got a pen for it, plus I'm putting up fencing for them in my yard. The one I found is supposedly for 12 chickens. But it has two rows of next boxes inside the coop with roost bars right over top of them... Um? Poop with your eggs? I'm going to take out one row of nest boxes to use as floor space and take out the roost bar over the nest boxes that I am keeping (there is another roost up high in the coop) and I will fit that third roost bar in there somewhere. They'll have over a foot of roost space each.

I think it is close to impossible to find an adequate coop online to buy. They are always impossibly small and usually flimsy, the wood too thin, no adequate vents, not held together well etc. You need the thing to be able to withstand racoons! At a minimum make sure to add boards over the places hardware cloth is stapled to and screw them in, otherwise just a good push against the cloth will open up an entry way for critters.... and add ventilation: 1sqft per bird, so 8sqft for your eight... That might not even be possible with a small prefab coop...

 

[junebuggena]

I'm in Western Pa where we are having a never ending winter so they can't go outside yet anyway. There were some broken pieces in the box and that with the cedar oil I decided to return it. I went crazy for days trying to find one that will work for them. The "Big Green" from tractor supply would have been the best for my budget and size wise until I build my own (that is the plan, to eventually build my own as these prefabs probably don't last a year). But it just didn't look like a good fit for my yard. Where I had enough level space is near my water well... or under old trees with sickly looking branches that might fall, etc.
I did finally find one that I think I can modify to work out nicely for them. They'll only be sleeping in it anyway. I got a pen for it, plus I'm putting up fencing for them in my yard. The one I found is supposedly for 12 chickens. But it has two rows of next boxes inside the coop with roost bars right over top of them... Um? Poop with your eggs? I'm going to take out one row of nest boxes to use as floor space and take out the roost bar over the nest boxes that I am keeping (there is another roost up high in the coop) and I will fit that third roost bar in there somewhere. They'll have over a foot of roost space each.

Forget the prefab coops and start looking at shed kits. You'll get a lot more space for your money. For 8 hens, you'll need 32 sq feet.