Coop wood - Is redwood safe?

[Grayspots]

Hello! I'm designing my first coop and have seen redwood mentioned frequently as a top choice due to its durability and resistance to rot. But then I found a reference to it being high in tannins and being unsafe for poultry. Then, because it's the internet, I found a reference to cedar and pine being unsafe due to the terpenes (which I've read before), but no mention of tannins.

Just looking for some confirmation that redwood is acceptable or recommendations on what to use instead if it is not. Thanks!

 

[DotToDot]

Pine is great, especially the chips for bedding. I haven’t heard of it used to build a coop, but it should be fine. Don’t use cedar, though. For bedding or building.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I don't know if there's any wood commonly used for construction that wouldn't be safe enough for a chicken coop.

On the topic of cedar, cedar is fine for building and is more naturally rot resistant than some other woods. My current coop has cedar trim, my old one (which is now a chick brooder) is 100% cedar.

I have cedar chips in my chip mix (it would be literally impossible to get wood chips around here without cedar mixed in, as it's simply part of the environment) and I use aged chips in both coop and run. I feel very comfortable about using it in my set up. We have Western cedar which is lower aroma than Eastern red cedar (which is more aromatic and the type of cedar associated with hope chests and insect repellents).

I would probably avoid using all cedar shavings, or fresh cedar (well, fresh anything really... pine sap is awful!), or cedar in very closed-in environments (i.e. indoor brooder, coop lacking in ventilation), especially if it's a more aromatic variety.

Obviously if you're not comfortable with it, don't use it, but I've been mixing in cedar for the last few years and there's been no sign of respiratory issues in my flock.