Who says cedar is bad for chickens???

[Dodger Dean]

Can you cite the studies?

 

[notachickennut]

Well having red EVERY single post & the reference material, we will go ahead and build our coop out the pine framing we purchased from Lowes & the beautiful rough sawn cedar boards we purchased from the nice Amish wood mill north of us. (Please read next sentence with humor & a touch of sarcasm) I'm sure since it's Amish Cedar the chickens will do just fine.

BTW, the local Amish build their chicken coops, brooders, etc. with the same cedar. Matter of fact build a LOT on their properties out of this inexpensive but durable wood.

 

[Dagar]

Oh wow..total newbie here with 10 chicks in the brooder and getting ready to build a coop.
Nevers seems to be lack of information I do not know.
We use kiln dried pine bedding for the brooder.
Someone asked about hay. I can get tons of hay out where I live. Good for a coop or not?
Pine needles are ankle deep in the area we are going to put the chickens. We plan on cleaning it all out, but this is the south and one thing we grow well in these parts besides peanuts and ham is pine trees.

Someone mentioned DE for putting over the ground in the runs..does anyone else do this? I was thinking of giving the whole run area a good dusting of it, before letting the girls out in it. Just for good measure...do I need or should I give the area a spray with permethin before letting them out in the run?

Great thread I read it all..yes, I have no life. I have chicks now.

 

[SeanaL]

Omg I have some cedar shingles inside the nest boxes to keep the chicks out for right now! I guess I better remove them!

 

[notachickennut]

I really wouldn't. As you can see by my profile pic we really built our entire coop out of rough sawn cedar. Our 23 chickens & 1 BB turkey are hale & hearty and doing just fine.

 

[estamets]

I really wouldn't. As you can see by my profile pic we really built our entire coop out of rough sawn cedar. Our 23 chickens & 1 BB turkey are hale & hearty and doing just fine.

I'm wondering if there's a difference between the acids/toxins given off by shavings, vs. the scents given off by finished, cut cedar boards. Our prefab coop is made of cedar, and I'm slightly concerned... But there is no dust involved, as there is with shavings.

 

[DoubleMM]

I've use on chicks and in nesting boxes... Never had a problem... Will have to think about this

 

[sueperina]

Thanks all. I guess I won't use cedar or cyprus shavings! I have just been using the same shavings that I use in the barn for my horses. I just liked the smell & the fact that cedar repels bugs but I guess that's out.

 

[vehve]

Shavings will put out a lot more of the fumes due to the humongously massive difference in surface area compared to the same amount of material in lumber form. I have no idea about the actual toxins in cedar, since it's not a material I'm familiar with, but this just as a short lesson in physics to those wondering about the difference.

 

[Suespetchickens]

Would someone give me the scoop on the cedar shavings for chickens? I have never used them, but a friend used some in the spring and her bantam frizzle rooster's skin turned beet red and he begin loosing his feathers. He looked like a red, featherless, small chicken. At first she thought that mites had turned his skin red and she treated him for that and he did lose some of the redness in some areas of his body. He is finally getting some of his feathers back, even in the red areas. She did get rid of the cedar shavings once she read that they were not good for chickens. Who says cedar is bad for chickens? Please someone with experience let me know. I have never used cedar shavings for my chickens because of what I had previously read.
Thanks.
Suespetchickens.