There has been a lot of discussion lately about cedar and chickens. We have searched to find chicken and cedar studies by universities or other authorities but have been unable to find any. For years our literature has recommended not using cedar chips as bedding, as the volatiles given off from the cedar oil  can put your birds off feed and  may be toxic in a confined area.

We have found a document produced by the US Department of Agriculture that shows that cedar oil is toxic to insects but weathered cedar looses it oil and is no longer toxic to insects (see bottom of page 60).