treated lumber?

[MojoWorkin]

I am seeing some treated lumber from a dismantled deck for free on craigslist. Would this work for a coop, or would it be bad b/c of the chemicals?

Sorry I'm asking so many questions on my first day!

 

[rufus]

I would only use treated lumber in a place that the chickens could not acess, like inside a wall or under a floor.

Rufus

 

[MojoWorkin]

Ok, that's what I thought. Darn! There is a lot of it around for cheap/free. Well, sick chickens wouldn't be good, so I'll avoid it.

 

[Just-Like-Hatching]

I use treated lumber in all of my pens. It does not hurt the chickens. You just don't want to use it in pens for birds Like parrots that chew the wood.

 

[redoak]

You just don't want to use it in pens for birds Like parrots that chew the wood.

My buff orpington hen named Cissy is eating my chicken coop door

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
I agree! A coop that's going to be exposed to the weather almost has to be out of treated lumber unless you want to replace it every couple of years.
Chickens, unlike parrots, don't chew on the wood. Now the styrofoam insulation between the walls is another story. If they can see the styrofoam at all they will peck at it, believe me.

 

[Pumpkinpup]

I would not make a outdoor pen out of untreated lumber because it will rot too quickly. The treated lumber is not going to harm your chickens. All of mine with the exception of my tractor (which is painted) are made of treated lumber.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

We used treated lumber inside our coop. Chickens haven't been bothered by it.

I say snatch up that free lumber!

 

[patandchickens]

You do need something rot-resistant for ground contact (the fenceposts for your run, and the posts or sills (whichever) for your coop. If the coop is raised only a little above bare earth, rot-resistant lumber can also be wise for your floor joists.

Rot-resistant could mean pressure-treated OR could mean something like cedar that is naturally durable.

There is not really much of any benefit to rot-resistant lumber elsewhere, however, like the studs inside your walls, roof rafters, siding, etcetera. Anything that will not get wet (inside of walls, inside of coop), or will have good opportunity to dry out after getting wet (siding, etc) can perfectly well be made of normal wood such as pine (although priming and painting is smart, especially if it is thinner rather than thicker lumber). I would not use "used" (old, weathered) p/t stuff for posts or sills or joists, btw, because the whole point is you want those things to LAST and even p/t lumber will eventually poop out.

Personally, I would not use pressure-treated lumber without a good reason -- chickens *can* peck at softened wood, and when in ground contact p/t wood *can* leach things you don;t want into your soil (which is what your chickens are eating bugs outta...). Older p/t lumber is probably not as bad as fresh stuff. But I have used it in some places myself, most notably the grade boards that retain the run footing. I don't personally think that amount is going to be too terrible (I'd worry more about its effect on runoff water in our ditches, honestly, than its effect on the chickens).

BTW, if this free wood is from a deck, chances are pretty good that the wood is not in the greatest of shape and has started to split and possibly rot, making it more likely to get nibbled by chickens and making it less suitable for structural purposes and making it harder to clean and KEEP clean. So even if its pressure-treated-ness did not bother you personally, I still wouldn't get too excited about it til you actually saw the stuff.

Good luck whichever you choose,

Pat

 

[roosmom]

Quote:
AGREED!! Snatch it up. Our floor of our coop is made out of treated.