CCA treated lumber

   / CCA treated lumber #1  

GlennT

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Fredericksburg, TX
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John Deere Model 670
OK, I'm confused. Exactly how toxic is treated lumber? I have a chicken coop built out of the stuff and several generations of chickens have lived there and been happy and seemingly healthy. I have a couple of feed troughs made out of treated lumber and my sheep have eaten out of them and apparently thrived and multiplied. Now I need to build another trough but am reluctant to do so because of the adverse publicity. I can see where wet treated lumber might contaminate feed for livestock, but what about dry, seasoned lumber? If the stuff is painted with a good primer (KILTZ, for example) and a finish coat, wouldn't that reduce or eliminate the problem?

It's a bit confusing because there doesn't seem to be a good substitute for the arsenic-treated lumber.
 
   / CCA treated lumber #2  
In my opinion is that you shouldn't eat the lumber. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

If your animals are not eating the wood, there will be no problem. Painting the wood will prevent any residual Chromium, Copper or Arsenic from washing off the wood.

There are other alternatives to CCA, but they don't work as well, are hard to find, and cost more.
 
   / CCA treated lumber #3  
Do the eggs last longer /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif
 
   / CCA treated lumber #4  
For feed troughs or anything else the animals might start chewing on or come in regular contact with, its probably not a good idea to use pressure treated material or paint. The pressure treated material is designed to resist decay when placed in soil or in other areas where it will be in continuous contact with moisture. For something that is usually dry, pressure treated wood isn't providing any real benefit even though it costs a lot more than regular lumber.

For the feed troughs you might be better off with the some rough cut hardwood if you live in an area where people are sawing farm lumber or use southern yellow pine (SYP) dimensional lumber. If you use any pressure treated wood, use it for the pads at the bottom of the trough.
 
   / CCA treated lumber #5  
I agree with DocHeb, that animals shouldn't eat treated lumber. After all they use arsenic to exterminate bugs. Treated lumbers intention was to preserve the wood wherever it came in contact with the ground. People have a tendency to over use this wood for other applications. If your feeders are in a somewhat dry area you would probably be safe in using standard lumber.

By December 2003 the Wood Treating Industry will be phasing out CCA treated lumber for the residential industry. They will be replacing it with Alkaylyne Copper Quat(ACQ) and Copper Boron Azole (CBA). They project that these new treatments will increase the cost of treated lumber from 15% - 25%. They also say that the economies of scale will bring the cost down in 5 years.
 
   / CCA treated lumber #6  
Many studies over the years have not shown that CCA is harmful, even when submerged (as posts) in delicate fishery waters. The arsenic is chemically bound in the wood, and cannot leach out. And your animals would have to consume several thousand feed bunks to get enough to tickle their bellies. But we all know the way the hype and suspicion gets started and blown up by the media AND those who benefit from getting rid of CCA and introduce their NEW product that is not better, but doesn't contain that "bad" stuff. Its all couched under the disguise that it will be better for us. Progress? Just more "control" of our lives.

The fear mongers are out to get us, and have done so for a good number of years. Its a way for researchers to get more money from our pockets. Sorry I am sounding so negative. I will be sorry to see CCA treated lumber go, as the new stuff will not be as good, or friendly to the traditional galvanized fasteners. You will need to plan to use stainless steel.

It is also too bad that Pentachlorophenol was lost to the same (at least simialr) hype that is throwing out CCA now.
 
   / CCA treated lumber #7  
Safety Note: Working with pressure treat can be a health hazard. Wear a mask when sawing or sanding. You do not want to breathe in any of the dust.

As far as chicken safety and animals eating out of it safely goes, not noticing them falling dead from their perches isn't a good sure recommendation that they aren't acumulating poison. For decades lead based paint was used to paint babies cribs nice bright long lasting colors that were easy to clean and any potential negative effects escaped notice for quite a while.

Maybe some of you have obedience trained stock but the characteristic of wood fences, gates, troughs and such items that seems to be shared is evidence of being chewed.

Patrick
 
   / CCA treated lumber #8  
<font color=blue>or use southern yellow pine (SYP)</font color=blue>

If you can find it, SYP that is "sappy" (it smells like turpentine) is a good choice for exterior strength and longevity. I don't know if the turpentine infiltration would be toxic to animals, but this wood lasts really well in general, and in ground contact environments. It is not so great for interior uses where you want to paint or finish it, because the sap tends to bleed through.
 
   / CCA treated lumber
  • Thread Starter
#9  
Thank you for the information. I think I'll use cedar boards instead of the treated lumber for my feed trough.
 
 
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