Watch out for Cedar Shavings!

[The Chicken Lady]

Quote:
Just wanted to say

, and that I'm glad to see that your first experience with chickens is not going to be your last.

I think all of us, at times, have made mistakes with our chickens. It's just part of the learning process.

Happy posting (and yes, I'm looking forward to seeing your Barred Rock pics!).

 

[Tailfeathers]

I have used and do use cedar shavings & have had no problem. I can't recall for sure if I used straight cedar with my chicks but I'm thinking I probably used a 50/50 mix with cedar and pine.

I use it in the coop and in their nests as I'm convinced that cedar helps keep the bugs away. I've had no problems. I've never lost a chick (well, except for the time when I pulled a real boneheaded move and took the brooder outside for the chicks to get some sun and forgot to not let my Beagle run loose while I mowed the lawn! I lost all those chicks. :-( )

Anyways, I have no doubt that my chicks have been exposed to not only the fumes from cedar but probably more since they get the shavings in their water container and then those get sucked up inside the container as they drink.

I've heard and read things about not using cedar but I've never come across anything that I would consider as solid evidence that cedar is harmful to chicks or adult birds. My recommendation would be to use no more than 50% cedar with pine mixed in for chicks if you do decide to use it. Chicks can be so much more susceptible to having something go wrong, I wouldn't risk using more than 50% cedar. With the adults, well, I was watching them pick thru there own manure just the other day so I doubt that cedar is going to do them anymore harm than that!

God Bless,

 

[luvmygirlsinAK]

I have been having a problem with pine shavings-we even tried white shavings for horses without cedar in it. The first time we had a problem, we thought it might be the DE. Wrong The next time we didn't use DE at all, and we still had problems. We've been buying the shavings from Wal-Mart. The first 12 or so bags were fine that we got from WM even with DE, and now we're having a hard time breathing when we change it out. (The birds seem fine!) I hated using straw, it makes such a mess, so we keep changing out the bedding more frequently than we should have to.

We are currently wondering though if it doesn't have something to do with the ventilation. When we bought the first batch we only had 8 chickens. We increased our little flock overnight awhile back to 24. At nearly the same time, it got really cold here (right now it is _45 F.) so all methods of ventilation are no good at all right now (although the handle on the door, which we deliberately bought a more expensive one so it wouldn't break in the cold weather just broke this evening, so now the door is cracked open otherwise we would not be able to get in or out-so there is ventilation-unfortunately, that is really going to raise the heating bill until we can get it fixed tomorrow!) The danger at this point is that it might allow too much frost to build up and freeze the door in it's current position. I just managed to call my husband at work and he's going to bring another one home, and try to install it tonight yet, unfortunately in this ungodly awful cold!

I'm shocked that it broke in the first place-it is really heavy duty!!!

Anyway, we shall see if the door being cracked like that until 11:30 tonight helps with being able to breath in there, or not!!! I hope the chickies will be o.k. until then!!!

Edited to add:
Anyone here ever used a dehumidifier in a coop before, it is something we are considering, thinking that may solve the problem with the shavings issue.

 

[Dandelion007]

I'm sure you will find all you need for your chicken enjoyment right here.

 

[peggyb43]

I'm sorry for your loss...all us "newbies" make mistakes.
The last time I bought wood shavings, my Tractor Store was out of the usual, so I bought cedar...I liked the smell. My girls are 20 weeks old (no eggs yet, but hopeful) and in an enclosed coop with a winter tarp over the ventilation windows. I hadn't heard about cedar not being okay, and my hens seem to be fine.

I am new at this and trying the deep litter method, so have layers of wheat straw as well as the cedar. I hope this keeps working. So far, so good.

This is a great site with friendly and helpful folks. Thanks!

 

[Akane]

Cedar should not be used around anything living. Even if you don't see immediate results they have tested increased liver enzymes in rats and rabbits and eventually liver damage. It shortens the lifespan of the animals. I wouldn't even put it in dog houses. There are safer things to repel flies and why would you have flies in a dog house anyway? Dogs don't soil their dens. There's nothing to attract them there.

Pine does also have the same oils as cedar just in a lower amount. Kiln dried pine is much safer if your not using it in a well ventilated area. It also helps to cut the bags open when you first get them and wait a few days to change the pen or cage. If they are really strong you can dump half out into a rubbermaid container to air out. When I first fill the horse stalls in the fall I do it weeks before I'll put them up so all the new shavings air out. Especially if I have foals around or horses that prefer to sleep laying down.

 

[Tailfeathers]

Quote:
Would you mind doing myself and others a favor and tell us who "they" are that have done these tests? Could you paste some links from the internet or point us to those sources?

It's not that I don't believe you but rather I certainly would like to have that evidence before I echo your comments to others and before I stop using cedar myself. I grew up in a home that had lots of cedar. Cedar chests that clothes were stored in. I myself have had lamps and tables made of cedar and I've burned a whole lot of cedar in the fireplace.

All I know is that I've never experienced any problems with cedar, it sure smells and looks good, and it seems to keep the bugs away.

So if you wouldn't mind providing me with your sources of information, I sure would appreciate it.

God Bless,

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

I learned about the dangers of Cedar when I first got here on BYC. It's a great thing to keep reminding the new ones on though. Never hurts to be safe rather than sorry! Especially something that easy to change.

 

[Akane]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3411916
http://www.ratfanclub.org/litters.html
http://www.bio.davidson.edu/Courses/anphys/1999/Cook/Text.htm
http://www.rabbit.org/care/shavings.html

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Cherry. I have no idea what the problem is but he can't use it.

I cant say for sure about the wood itself, but I do know that cherry leaves are toxic to many animals if eaten, so it could be the wood carries the same toxins​