Cedar Chicken Coop...Yes or No

[kybeagle]

I very much appreciate all the responses on the cedar coop. As I said, there is a fellow close to me that makes them and they look very nice and he can make what ever size you want. I figured the cedar would hold up longer than any other kind of wood but I surely don't want to put some chicks into it and take a chance of harming them.

 

[bayareapilot]

I know a man that makes a coop out of Red Cedar, I know I read here not to use cedar chips but what about a coop made out of cedar?

It will be just fine...!

 

[Pondboss]

Remember that there are different types of cedar. If I'm not mistaken, Eastern Cedar has a much higher oil content than Western Red Cedar. If you do use the Western Red Cedar, and are still concerned, give the inside of the coop multiple coats of shellac to seal in the fumes.

 

[tfalls3]

would cedar posts for the framing of the run be ok? we live in Florida where it gets hot but the posts have been out side for a year and have been weathered to not even resemble cedar anymore.

 

[notachickennut]

I'm gonna go with txchickie here:
~~One of the solid walls in my coop/run is rough cedar boards. It is FINE!

We built the exterior walls of our chicken coop with rough sawn cedar boards, chickens are just fine.

 

[AtholCoop]

Cedar building materials are just fine. You all gotta stop confusing cedar building materials with cedar litter. Two completely different things.

 

[JDShaver]

Western Red Cedar, typically grown in the Pacific Northwest is actually one of the best options for coop material, the only thing better is probably Redwood, but that is cost prohibative to use. The cedar shavings everyone is concerned about are produced from white cedar, typically grown in the Northeastern US and the two are completely different trees. White cedar is a much more fragrant and oily wood and not a good choice of material for a coop.