Who says cedar is bad for chickens???

[Chez Poulet]

I live on Harstene Island near Shelton, 2 hours from Seattle. The best thing ever is a mix of fine bark mulch and peat moss. I've been doing this for 4 years now. The peat absorbs water and the mix doesn't turn into mud. The chickens love rolling around and dust bathing in peat. Even when they're digging around in the wet peat, it doesn't stick to their legs and feathers like mud does. Just don't ever use straw. It really starts to stink when it's decomposing in a wet environment.

 

[Ullie]

I haven't read through all the post but the ones I did mostly refer to shavings. Just saying.......Maybe 'shavings' should be inserted for the caption on this post.

Who says cedar shavings are bad for chickens???

I don't believe cedar trees or out side roosts are harmful to chickens, if so someone please show me some scientific research to back this.

 

[janinepeters]

I haven't read through all the post but the ones I did mostly refer to shavings. Just saying.......Maybe 'shavings' should be inserted for the caption on this post.

I haven't read through all the posts, either, but I think this is an important point. I've seen the cedar debate so many times that I once tracked down the actual journal publications on the impact of cedar on animals. Don't have them at hand right now, but could probably dig them up if anyone is interested. My conclusions based on that literature search:

• Concentrated cedar oils (used to repel insects) are probably dangerous to animals.
• As far as exposure to the wood itself, the smaller the particle, the more potential danger. The smallest particles (like sawdust) can be directly inhaled, bringing offending agents right into lungs. Also smaller particles have more surface area from which volatile compounds can emanate.
• Exposure to cedar boards (as in a chicken coop built of cedar) is of very low, if any, risk. This is because only very low quantity of volatile compounds emanate from it, due to low surface area. Also boards eventually outgas, after which exposure is almost nil. However, when cedar is used for bedding, it is replenished periodically for hygiene, leading to almost continual exposure.
• Despite the theoretical risk of using cedar shavings or chips for chickens, it still may be insignificant. Some of the studies involved putting a plastic container over the animals on cedar bedding, to increase exposure to fumes. That would be much higher than exposure chickens would have in normally ventilated coop. Also some studies were poorly done, and there were explanations other than cedar for the illnesses which developed after exposure to cedar.

My own personal view is that cedar housing is fine, and cedar bedding might be fine, though if you have something else just as readily available, it would probably be better to go with that. Good ventilation always a must, cedar or no cedar. And don't use concentrated cedar oils around your animals.

 

[chicken dude]

little chicken racing team, if pine shavings are bad for the chickens then what can be used besides them that will work well with raising chicks. i am no doctor or anything but i had a hamster and cedar shavings were much worse for him than pine shavings and i read that cedar shavings will give him a respiratory problem. so maybe pine shavings don't have as much oil or something. also i thought that was one reason maybe for drying the pine shavings out was to get rid of the oils.

 

[Sparkyfam]

Aspen Shavings are good, and from the earlier posts I've read, and the research I've done, if you get the Kiln dried stuff (not as stinky) it isn't supposed to be as bad for them. But anything that has an odor to it (pine wise) can cause respiratory inflammation and irritation.

 

[janinepeters]

Kiln dried is always better, but according to my reading, the link between exposure to volatile compounds emanating from the wood (any kind) and respiratory (or any) illness is weak. Inhalation of a lot of wood dust (sawdust) is clearly a cause of respiratory illness, with western red cedar being the worst, because of the high plicatic acid content. It is a well known occupational hazard for saw mill workers. If you use kiln dried, I would not worry at all about inhalation of gases emanating from the wood, because it has been dried out, but would still be concerned about the dust. You could change the litter frequently, adding fresh shavings and removing the old stuff, as the animals wear it down to dust. If it is kiln dried, you don't need to worry about the fresh wood giving off more fumes.

 

[jeffbro11]

Thanks for this informative post

Jeff

 

[WiresSuck]

I have started working on a run for my new chickens. Inside the run is an dead cedar. Will this cause any issues should they ingest the bark? From my understanding the aromatic oily or toxic part is nearer the heartwood of the tree.

Also along similar lines of thought I have also read that oak leaves and acorns are also toxic.

 

[JacobMaxwell]

Now before I go and get anyone riled up about this question, let me explain. I was at my nephew's birthday party last night and we got to talking about our chickens, dogs, ticks, DE, and so forth. I was trying to give some simple advice to my BIL on how to get rid of ticks on his dogs, since they've had such a bad time with them this year. Well my nephew chimes in and says that cedar works really well to repel ticks. I agreed that it does work well for dogs. Then my nephew says it works great for the chickens and their bugs also. I about fainted!

I then told him that cedar was very bad for the chickens and should never be used. He then announced that he'd been using cedar in his coop for over a month now and the chickens haven't had any adverse affects from so he didn't believe me. Well I'm standing there, mouth open and trying to figure out what to say. He then asks where I had heard such a thing. I explained that everything that I had read here on BYC says that it is bad for chickens and could damage their respiratory systems. He then just sneered and went on his merry way. I then felt under educated about this whole cedar thing. I'm just one who reads a lot on how to care for my animals and if I read that it's bad, then I take heed and don't ever do it. What in the world do I say to my nephew? Why else is it bad and has anyone ever experienced why it is bad? Just curious.

I have to say I agree with your nephew. I have been using cedar ever since I got my hens and they have never had any respiratory problems and the best part is NO MITES OR STENCH!

 

[Dodger Dean]

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