Types of wood

[keechoo]

I'm having a coop built and need to know if there are any types of wood that absolutely cannot be used, which are best, and whether pressure-treated wood is ok. Thank you!

 

[patandchickens]

There is no wood species that needs to be especially avoided. (You don't want to deliberately construct your coop to function like a cedar-closet, but nobody would

, and just using some cedar wood in the construction is fine)

Pressure-treated wood is not a problem per se for anything other than roosts or unpainted floors. It has great advantages when used for ground-contact purposes (posts, sills); no particular point in using it for non ground contact parts, though. Some worry about chemicals from the pressure-treating leaching into the soil, getting taken up by invertebrates or plants, then eaten by chickens, and passed onto you in their eggs. If you do the math you will see this is not a serious concern, but if you'd rather shell out for cedar or redwood or black locust posts, sure. The p/t wood currently being sold does not have arsenic compounds in it; the older 'green' p/t wood did. Thus it is safer to use the new stuff than the old. I know of no long-term studies on the leaching of stuff from the new type p/t wood.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[CityChook]

I'd steer away from OSB or the chip board type of stuff. It tends to be sort of absorbent and will fall apart more quickly. It's cheaper, but in the end, it's more expensive when you have to replace it.

If you live anywhere that gets serious weather, consider that in your materials choices. Here in MN, we need to consider snow load, wind and freezing ground temperatures.

 

[lisahaschickens]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=165183

If you click on that, it will take you to a great thread with detailed discussion on types of wood for chickens. In Particular, Graywolf is very helpful and knowledgeable. If you still have questions after you read it, you can post your question on there and you may get him to respond.