pressure treated lumber?

[redinator]

I'm wondering if it's safe to use pressure treated lumber for nest boxes and roost bars.

I typically use pressure treated lumber for anything that could possibly come in contact with moisture, but I don't know if it's safe to use in the coop where the chickens will be constantly coming into contact with it.

If it isn't safe, what is?

 

[Ted Brown]

Safe to use but not needed in those applications.

Plain lumber & /or plywood.

 

[StinkyAcres]

I would use pressure-treated for the walls and posts you plan to install, but the roosting bars and nesting boxes probably don't need to be PT as long as they are protected from the rain (which they should be).

 

[perkolator]

I would probably not use them for either application, due to whatever chemicals used in PT lumber might off-gas in the tight space of a nest box, and from direct foot contact of chickens roosting on PT lumber every night maybe causing a skin issue.

 

[redinator]

I would probably not use them for either application, due to whatever chemicals used in PT lumber might off-gas in the tight space of a nest box, and from direct foot contact of chickens roosting on PT lumber every night maybe causing a skin issue.

I was thinking along those lines . . . as for the nest boxes I'll probably go with some sort of plastic/PVC container so it'll be easier to clean and water/poop won't be an issue.

I've seen several pre-built roost bars, but we have a bunch of tree limbs I'll probably use. New ones fall each, well fall, so I'll be able to replace them as needed.

Would the rough uneven surfaces cause things like bumble foot? If so, I can sand them down. . . .the branches, not their feet, lol.

 

[MapleLaurelFarms]

I was thinking along those lines . . . as for the nest boxes I'll probably go with some sort of plastic/PVC container so it'll be easier to clean and water/poop won't be an issue.

I've seen several pre-built roost bars, but we have a bunch of tree limbs I'll probably use. New ones fall each, well fall, so I'll be able to replace them as needed.

Would the rough uneven surfaces cause things like bumble foot? If so, I can sand them down. . . .the branches, not their feet, lol.

You're possibly overthinking things. Super green person who is married to an architect who was raised by a contractor: treated wood is no longer a concern.

Back in the olden days (pre-2004), treated wood contained 'ACQ' which used an arsenic-based treatment. Now it's copper-based treatment. No worries.

Copper is pretty much inert unless burned to ash and ingested. So yeah, just don't burn down your coop and feed it to chickens.

 

[MapleLaurelFarms]

I've seen several pre-built roost bars, but we have a bunch of tree limbs I'll probably use. New ones fall each, well fall, so I'll be able to replace them as needed.

Would the rough uneven surfaces cause things like bumble foot? If so, I can sand them down. . . .the branches, not their feet, lol.

Before chickens were domesticated, they roosted in trees. Uneven rough branches. We use those in our coop. You'll be fine. So will they.

 

[Ted Brown]

.. Back in the olden days (pre-2004), treated wood contained 'ACQ' which used an arsenic-based treatment. Now it's copper-based treatment. No worries.

Close but no banana.

As of January 2004, there was a change in the chemical preservatives used for pressure-treated lumber available for residential use in the United States. Up until that time, almost all pressure-treated Southern pine lumber was preserved with Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA), which contains arsenic, a known carcinogen. With this new change in place, all pressure-treated lumber manufactured for residential use (and available to the general public) after January 2004 has been treated with different chemicals. The new pressure-treated lumber is preserved with Alkaline Copper Quaternary (ACQ), also known as Copper Azole (CBA). Both of these chemical treatments are to have fewer environmental and health risks, but they’re also more corrosive to nails, screws, and any other metal fasteners that come in contact with lumber

 

[MapleLaurelFarms]

Close but no banana.

As of January 2004, there was a change in the chemical preservatives used for pressure-treated lumber available for residential use in the United States. Up until that time, almost all pressure-treated Southern pine lumber was preserved with Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA), which contains arsenic, a known carcinogen. With this new change in place, all pressure-treated lumber manufactured for residential use (and available to the general public) after January 2004 has been treated with different chemicals. The new pressure-treated lumber is preserved with Alkaline Copper Quaternary (ACQ), also known as Copper Azole (CBA). Both of these chemical treatments are to have fewer environmental and health risks, but they’re also more corrosive to nails, screws, and any other metal fasteners that come in contact with lumber

Interesting and thanks! Probably shouldn't post on forum after two glasses of wine lol but yes you're correct. The arsenic is now MIA but pressure-treating wood still requires certain chemicials aka heavy metals. However my point being that it's less toxic or at least benign in controlled (not burning, ingesting, etc) situations and fine for a chicken coop.