Is cedar bedding okay to use?

[Tailfeathers]

Please do a search on here for "cedar". There is a plethora of posts on it.

Bottom-line: It is NOT toxic and it won't hurt your birds. I've been using it for years. Chicks, juveniles, and adults. I have no doubt in my mind whatsoever that they've ingested some cedar and drank water that have had cedar chips sitting in it.

 

[CherokeeFlats]

Quote:
Yeah. mine seem fine. I know that it can't be used for guinea pigs or rabbits as the oil is toxic if ingested to THEM. Since putting a few handfulls in the coop, the smell is better for everyone and we have less flies in there!!!

Now, to get the Sevin dust to get rid of the lice.. UGH...

 

[Tailfeathers]

You may want to check into Diatomaceous Earth (DE). I use it liberally in the coop, nesting boxes, and in their food. I have had ZERO problems with mite, lice, or worms.

God Bless,

 

[ging3rhoffman]

Is Red lake earth the same thing as DE? I wanted DE and they sent me some stuff in a clear bag and the label was hand written in magic marker that said Red Lake Earth.

 

[Anny]

Cedar bedding is not good for ANYONE. Not chicken, chicks, rabbits, nice, other small critters , or even dogs. Honestly I don't know why they even sell it.

 

[elmo]

Quote:
I think that another moderator here on BYC does that too and hasn't had any issues with it. Just be careful that it isn't to much. Birds respiratory systems can't handle strong odors very well.

The very experienced bird keeper I got my chicks from does the same thing, to help repel mites in the nestbox. But he keeps his chickens in open sided roofed pens, so adequate ventilation is not in question.

 

[maine chicks]

Cedar is good for your closet-leave it there and keep it away fom the coop. I even have the tree guy keep my cedar chip pile away from the run area.

 

[Akane]

The danger is not ingestion. It would probably do little harm ingested actually unless the animal ate large quantities. The danger is the phenols or volatile oils given off. The smaller the area, the less ventilation, and the more used the more these fumes build and the more likely you are to see problems. Small animal cages and brooders tend to be small with low ventilation and a lot of bedding. That's why you see the most problems in these situations. In cages or pens that are more open you may not see immediate symptoms but that doesn't mean it isn't doing damage. They've found that rats and rabbits exposed to cedar have increased liver enzymes even when no other symptoms are obvious. You'd have to do blood tests to see the potential damage it's doing. The phenols cause unseen damage to internal organs even when the level is low enough not to cause obvious respiratory distress. Cedar really is best just avoided. Even pine that hasn't been kiln dried or aired out can contain enough phenols to cause health problems. Adding cedar back in on top of that is not a good idea. Out in the coop you may not see a problem but that doesn't mean there isn't some impact on their health. This applies to every animal including humans.

 

[greenegglover]

Dont buy the stuff at Walmart .... it killed 2 of my kids guinea pigs.... it was supposed to be pine but must of been milled with cedar(didnt have any dark chips) ... they had 2 feet in the grave before I figured it out!

 

[SallyF]

I must have been born under a lucky star. My husband used cedar shavings for the coop for two years before I was able to move up here. I switched to pine shavings from Wal-Mart (because I had a broody hen sitting on an egg, which hatched just fine) Go figure! Admittedly, these were all pretty much adult chickens before the switch; didn't try to raise babies on cedar.