Using dead cedar branches as roosts?

[andycowboy]

Just built a henhouse and added chicks. I try to keep things as natural as possible, and installed several dead cedar branches - this is the Texas Hill Country - plenty of dead cedar branches lying around in the yard - and they make great natural roosts! I was reading an article about setting things up for breeding (very small scale if I do it), and it says, in part:

"Cover the floor with an inch or two of rice hulls, shavings, ground corncobs or other semi-coarse, absorbent products that do not easily mat. DO NOT USE CEDAR SHAVINGS, cedar is toxic to chickens."

I've never heard of this before, and now I'm concerned about having those cedar branches in the henhouse! Should I pull these out and put in some other type of tree branch (which I also have plenty of)? Only reasons I'm not jumping right out there to remove them are: pouring down rain right now (we need the rain), it took some time to wire-anchor the roosts in place for stability, and these will be free-range (large part of the yard fenced in for their protection), which means they'll have some access to the broken cedar branches that are just lying around. There are lots of true free-range (no fenced yard) chickens around here, so I don't think using the branches as roosts should be a problem! Maybe just the shavings because they can "eat" them? Just don't want to endanger my girls.

I have 3 Rhode Islands and 3 New Hampshires (2 months old) and 3 each of Ameracaunas, Buckeyes and Barred Rock (2 weeks old), in case that makes a difference.

Continuing my research on this - any input would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks for all the good info in here - have a great day, and God bless!

 

[off-grid hen]

Just built a henhouse and added chicks. I try to keep things as natural as possible, and installed several dead cedar branches - this is the Texas Hill Country - plenty of dead cedar branches lying around in the yard - and they make great natural roosts! I was reading an article about setting things up for breeding (very small scale if I do it), and it says, in part:

"Cover the floor with an inch or two of rice hulls, shavings, ground corncobs or other semi-coarse, absorbent products that do not easily mat. DO NOT USE CEDAR SHAVINGS, cedar is toxic to chickens."

I've never heard of this before, and now I'm concerned about having those cedar branches in the henhouse! Should I pull these out and put in some other type of tree branch (which I also have plenty of)? Only reasons I'm not jumping right out there to remove them are: pouring down rain right now (we need the rain), it took some time to wire-anchor the roosts in place for stability, and these will be free-range (large part of the yard fenced in for their protection), which means they'll have some access to the broken cedar branches that are just lying around. There are lots of true free-range (no fenced yard) chickens around here, so I don't think using the branches as roosts should be a problem! Maybe just the shavings because they can "eat" them? Just don't want to endanger my girls.

I have 3 Rhode Islands and 3 New Hampshires (2 months old) and 3 each of Ameracaunas, Buckeyes and Barred Rock (2 weeks old), in case that makes a difference.

Continuing my research on this - any input would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks for all the good info in here - have a great day, and God bless!

I am fairly certain that you'll be ok. Cedar shavings are usually made from freshly cut pieces of cedar that haven't had any time to dry out, and they still have all the fragrant oils in them. It's the oils that we love the smell so much- that can irritate the lungs of chicks. If the coop is well-ventilated, you won't have to worry anyway. Small chicks are always down at bedding-level, where more problems are likely to occur. Dead Cedar limbs have had some drying time, but also don't have as much of the inside exposed. If the odor is faint, you're fine. I still wouldn't use cedar bedding for the grown hens (just as a precaution), but I wouldn't worry about limbs at all.

 

[andycowboy]

Thanks, off-grid! Was beginning to get that idea after reading several articles - good thing! The older ladies have started breaking in the roosts, and I hated the thought of taking it all out and starting over!

This one New Hampshire has been using the upper-level roost - the others are starting to hang out on the roost in front of the nesting boxes.

 

[bairo]

Youll be fine. It takes a lot more cedar (fresh) to cause any problem at all. Most old timers that had access to it freely used to combine it with pine or aspen or whatever else they had to use as bedding to help keep some bugs away. Now if you were to use 4 inches of pure fresh cut cedar bedding, then it could cause an issue. People have over reacted to some of the studies though (trust me) Ive had people tell me even a few flakes of cedar can "kill" all my hens....I just laugh at them.

 

[andycowboy]

Thanks, bairo! That appears to be the common information...so I quit worrying about it.

 

[ignatz]

Yes, the 'cedar will kill them all' thing *has* been abused and is an over-reaction. Mine dust themselves under our cedar trees!

 

[JeffOeuf]

Well, if cedar will kill them, mine should have been dead a week ago. I built their coop 80% from Eastern Red Cedar. If it bothers them, they sure haven't indicated that to me in any way. They seem happy and healthy. I would also question the "cedar death ray" effect, knowing that SWMO and NWAR are home to some of the largest chicken houses in the country, have been home to chicken farms from a few laying hens to thousands of birds for most of the last century, and happen to have an over-abundance of Eastern Red Cedar.

Will I bed them in cedar shavings? No. Though I might try a blend if I didn't use all my planer shavings for mulch. But if cedar branches and lumber would kill chickens this area would have one heck of a crop of chicken skeletons.