Treated or untreated wood

You can use it for inside and out. Not much need for inside though, unless you're just thinking of the floor.

Modern treated lumber is copper based instead of arsenic based, so it's much safer. Doesn't last near as long however.

 

I used treated lumber for the frame under the coop. I used untreated for the rest of the coop.

 

Chickens don't eat wood (unless it is dead-rotten, then you've got bigger problems anyhow ). The worst that can happen is some of the chemicals leach into the ground, are taken up by invertebrates or plants, then the chickens eat the invertebrates or plants... by the time you do the math, enh, teensy number in most scenarios.

I use p/t lumber (including the old CCA stuff) for posts sunk in the ground, and anything ground-contact. Can't afford cedar, can't afford to rebuild it all every 5-8ish years either

If you *are* worried, spring for cedar or redwood or look for a source for black locust or osage orange, they are all pretty rot-resistant. No point in any of that for things that are not ground-contact, though.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

Quote:Lotsa great folks on BYC.

Glad you are here!