I was cleaning out my henhouse and opened the new bag of shavings my hubby bought. I threw about 5 handfulls in before I realized it was cedar! Somewhere in the back of my brain something was screaming "STOP" so I just mixed the pine shavings that were still in the coop with the few handfulls I threw in. Is this going to be an issue tonight?? I can go get pine shavings tomorrow, I just don't know if it would be better for me to go out there and scoop out all the cedar I put in or just leave it overnight?? Keep in mind it's POURING out right now! (not that that would deter me if it really IS toxic to birds- I've stood out in the pouring rain trying to move the whole chicken pen myself when I realized it had been built in an area that flooded deeper then my SHINS!) thanks for the advice!
So, I would wonder how large your coop is and how well ventilated as well as how old your birds are. I know the stuff is very bad for chicks. I can't advise you on this, but perhaps someone else can with a bit more information.
Well, I don't know the right answer, but if it were me, I wouldn't stew too much. Heck, if it were just a few handfuls, and the coop had good ventilation, I'd stick my head in there and smell it to see if I smelled the cedar or not. If it seemed strong, I'd take it out. If not, I'd probably just mix a whole bunch of pine shavings in and call it done. I use the deep litter method. I wouldn't recommend leaving it in if it smells a lot, though. But not in a rainstorm!
I wouldn't worry about it if it was only a few handfuls. An experienced poultry keeper friend of ours (with twenty plus years experience keeping chickens) uses a handful of cedar shavings in the bottom of his nestboxes to deter mites (with pine shavings on the top). His hens hatch out chicks in these nestboxes, too. I just wouldn't use cedar shavings only.
