Railroad Ties

[speedy2020]

I thought railroad ties is toxic.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
Creosote is toxic, if you are licking it...

It is fairly nasty stuff, definitely not permissible for organic production, but is a great wood preservative.

I've been slowly removing and replacing our railroad tie fence posts because we are certified organic producers. Nobody has ever said anything about them and the hens aren't really in contact with them, but I find them rather ugly and they are a leftover from when they used to run cattle here. We don't really don't need railroad tie fence posts to hold in a bunch of chickens. They are a bear to remove though. Many are eight feet long, weigh a couple hundred pounds, and are sunk three or four feet down into wet clay.

 

[bantams in Maine]

We purchased used ties from the lumber yard and used them around the base of the pen. We dug them in a few inches and stapled the chicken wire to them. Because they were used, much of the creosote was gone. I would not rip them longwise because their heft is what makes them so valuable as a base. I agree with the post that suggested that cutting them is a dangerous activity- for both the saw and the sawyer.

We've had them in place for about eight years and they are still very effective. The chickens have done a good job covering the ties with dirt and whatever else they are scratching in, and it's never been a problem.