Is Pressure Treated Lumber okay around chickens?

[ZaneyMama]

Can we use pressure treated lumber for the bottom part of the coop or is it dangerous to chickens?

Thanks,
Sarah
Boulder, CO

 

[B'villechicken]

I have treated plywood on the floor of mine. I don't think PT lumber is an issue with chickens buit I'm sure you will get all sorts of opinions. This one is mine.

 

[4-H chicken mom]

I have treated lumber in mine also. I have never had a problem with chickens eating the posts.

 

[patandchickens]

Chickens don't chew lumber

so the only possible risks are a) contact and b) soil contamination. I believe I *have* seen irritation of the footpads from chickens on a p/t roost (the old p/t stuff, not the new ACQ), so I would not use it for surfaces they will stand on. The soil contamination issue is fairly theoretical rather than data-based and in any case pertains mainly to the old (CCA) p/t, not the current ACQ or borax-treated stuff.

Personally I would only use p/t for parts of the coop where you NEED it -- basically, ground-contact like posts and sills -- simply becauase it is stupid IMHO to encourage the production of unnecessary amounts of toxically-treated wood. But for places where you DO need something very rot-resistant, personally I think it is quite appropriate to use p/t.

JMHO, good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[ZaneyMama]

Thanks! We only got it for the posts that are going into the ground - just wanted to make sure it wasn't going to kill them! What is the new vs old type of Pressure Treated Wood?

Sarah

 

[elmo]

As I recall, the "old" kind of pressure treated wood used arsenic, while the "new" kind uses copper.

http://woodworking.about.com/od/safetyfirst/p/SafeACQLumber.htm

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Until what, maybe 5 years ago, most of the p/t wood sold in North America was CCA (chromated copper arsenate, or soemething like that) treated. Because of concerns about the arsenic component maybe getting into soils etc (it is still not clear to me how correct those concerns were, but better safe than sorry!) CCA was banned for retail sales and now the majority of the p/t wood sold is ACQ, another copper compound. There is also some borate-treated wood sold.

The new stuff isn't *quite* as rotproof as the old, but is still pretty good... the main thing to realize is that it is even more corrosive to metal fasteners than the old CCA was, so you really REALLY REALLY need to use ACQ-approved screws/nails/plates/hardware, not just any ol' galvanized.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Amigatec]

I am using PT lumber in mine in places when it needs it, and as mentioned in another post, make sure the fasteners you use are approved for PT lumber. Using normal nails, screws, etc, will not last more than about 6 months. The ACQ wood has a lot of copper in it, and the use of normal nails will create a battery affect, and will corrode very quickly.

 

[onedoodle3]

I am SOOOO glad you posted this question. I was going to post it myself so now I don't. Thanks!!!!