Please some advice for a first timer - Should u never use PT wood in a coop?

[AtholCoop]

Cedar shavings are...even with that some folks will disagree, but on the whole it's a good idea to avoid them.

Cedar building materials are safe.

Seems like I spend a whole lot of time defending the use of cedar building materials here.

The fundamental difference between the two is surface area. Shavings have a great deal more, as such they off-gas oils much faster. Cedar building materials will stop off gassing all together in rather short order after being cut.

 

[chiknhurder]

Cedar is toxic to chickens, I used pt wood posts for years and nothin bad ever came from it.

Cedar is not toxic to chickens. I know people who've bedded their coops with cedar shavings for years. Cedar is a naturally occurring product of nature. Treated lumber is a chemical additive created in the laboratory. The federal government will certify a coop made of cedar. They will not certify a coop or run made with treated lumber. I have friends that have large, organic farms that are certified organic by the government so this is where I get my information from.

If a person doesn't want to sell organic eggs or if they don't care about the possibility of having health issues down the road from consuming eggs or meat from birds living in a treated lumber coop then go for it. We may not suffer from it but our kids and grandkids and their grandkids may just like people are now from products that were deemed safe years ago. Cancer is now the number 1 killer in the U.S. and big corporations spend millions of dollars on disinformation about the safety of their products. Again, I point to Monsanto or Dow Chemical, and they are just two of many.

I'm not telling you what to do but I am going to forewarn people that just because someone on here or a manufacturer says something is safe is no guarantee and if there's a known safe alternative, and there is, maybe that's the best bet. Take it for what it's worth.

 

[ChicknCommander]

Government will say anything just read the news. At the end of the day your building a chicken coop build it the way YOU want anf not to what some people say is toxic or not.

 

[justaud]

Thank you for all of the helpful info, everyone! The pt lumber in question are three 4x4x8 posts that I have from a previous project. I would like to save money by using as much leftover lumber as I can to build my coop, and luckily the rest of my scrap wood is untreated. I will think about it some more, before I start. Thanks again!

 

[TonysChickens]

My coop uses 2x4 PT wood for the framing. Chickens been using it for the past 2 years without any issues.

 

[Midnightsrfr]

Humm.. won't join the debate on what type of wood to use, but here's a thought on how to set your post's in the ground. Dig your holes 8-10 inches deeper then you need, fill with "pea gravel" until your post's are at the correct height. Set your post in the hole and back fill with pea gravel. As your filling the hole, shake your post back and forth, you'll find that the more gravel you add the harder it will be to move the post. Be sure to use your level to keep the post plum, by the time you've filled the hole with gravel, you won't be able to move the post. The result... a solid post. the pea gravel drains well, (better then concrete) allowing the post to stay dry, and it's alot cheaper. You'll need maybe 2/3 bags of pea gravel to set a 4x4 post 3 feet deep... Give it a try...

 

[justaud]

After a lot of deliberation, we decided to just buy lumber from Home Depot, kiln dried fir 2x4's. Instead of posts to support the coop, we just built it up on a frame of 2x4's. We still have that pressure treated lumber, but will just have to find some other use for it. Thank you for all of your input!