Treated lumber

[teddychalupa]

I just built a new run and used treated lumber. Now reading this could have been a mistake. Any info or thoughts on this?

 

[TerryH]

Modern treated wood is much safer than the old formula's that were once used. I built our run with treated and many others have as well. I don't see any issue with it.

 

[enrgizerbunny]

Treated lumber used to be treated with arsenic salts, which made it poisonous. I believe modern pressure treated uses a copper based formula that is much friendlier. After about 6 months in the weather it wont kill fish whose water is running over it, so I'd say that's pretty safe.

 

[Howard E]

Old treated stuff was called CCA, which was short for Copper, Chromium and Arsenic, the latter of course being a heavy metal element and in concentrated form, a poison. Despite that, it is also found in trace amounts in the foods we eat and in trace amounts, an essential nutrient for some species.

New stuff is MCA, which is short for Micronized Cooper Azole.......essentially a finely ground copper dust. The azole is a fungicide. The two of them are put into a liquid suspension and are then injected into the wood using high pressure.

The new stuff is safe enough for the birds......but won't last as long as the old stuff did. New stuff....at least most of what you can buy at the lumber yard......is not rated for ground contact, so won't last as long as the old stuff if you bury it or put it in contact with the ground.

FWIW, I used both in my Woods coop and have no concerns at all. (CCA was used for the 4" x 6" skids the whole thing rests upon and is buried under the deep litter......I didn't want those rotting out).

 

[Ridgerunner]

Since you used treated wood you cannot be certified organic. I don’t know how important being certified is to you. But I agree with the others. I use it for anything that touches the ground. I try to avoid it for other uses but I do have various things made from treated wood in my coop and run. It depended on what wood I had available when I needed it. In my opinion it is not a big deal.

If you are really worried about it, paint it to seal that stuff in. You will probably need to house your chickens somewhere else until it dries, the paint fumes could be dangerous to them, but it should ease your worries. Personally I would not paint it even though the entire thing is treated wood but that’s up to you.

If you were building from scratch, which you are not, you could use cedar, fir, or redwood heartwood for the parts that touch the ground and remain “organic certifiable”, but that wood gets really expensive. Or use concrete or cinder blocks for the foundation. For others reading this that don’t have a coop yet there are other options, but I would not lose sleep over what you have.

 

[Howard E]

Good point. That could matter to a lot of growers and a good thing to point out and consider.

I may be "certifiable", but not as organic.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Good point. That could matter to a lot of growers and a good thing to point out and consider. 

I may be "certifiable", but not as organic.

I think I fit that category as well.

 

[Folly's place]

Mary