Pressure treated wood for Nesting box?

[Poultryprincess]

I know that Pressure treated wood is not safe for Brooders because chicks might peck @ it.
BUT has anyone used Pressure treated wood for Nesting boxes?
I was thinking it would work as a repellant.
Would still cover the box with a few coats of good quality paint.
Your thoughts or experiences appreciated

[Home Grown Poultry]

ok after some quick searches on Google the consensus is no. do not use it. now what was coming up was for wild bird houses but same thing really. lots of chemicals on pressure treated wood to stop it from rotting. they dont advise on painting them either unless your in a hot climate and then only paint the outside white to keep it cool. of course this is for wild bird houses... they advise to use ceder to make them last. iv used pressure treated boards here n there for different things but really only if it was coming in contact with water from time to time.

I mostly build out of reclaimed wood and I never paint it. plain wood is easily cleaned and sterilized and there is no chance of paint chips falling off...

Have you ever seen OC's nest boxes? she has a great design! iv been meaning to copy it for a while now maybe she could post a pic? haha

Cheers!

[SandyM]

My cheap secret. I use $2/ea bottom box for cat litter from dollar store. Plastic. They slide in and out of their slots in the coop, easy clean out and perfect size.

For the silkies who didn't have nesting box slots in their coop, I put a bottom on top of another and cut an entrance whole with an exacto knife and taped it together. They loved it! Snuggly and perfect size for the little breeds. Wouldn't work for my barred rocks. As soon as I did that one after another went broody.

But I'm looking forward to seeing OC's design :)

[Poultryprincess]

I was trying to "ReDesign" my nest boxes. I've changed the coop & the old ones don't fit.
I just remember about 5 years ago when a few hens went broody in the heat of summer.
There was Mite madness & I had to tear everything apart to disinfect the coop.
Was sitting here "pondering" on how I could upgrade ~ but it sounds like a no - go.

THANX for the info ~ I had Googled P.T. also.
I have learned to ignore a lot of what I read as there are so many opinions out there.
Always better to talk to people who have actually made & used Nest boxes.

[Home Grown Poultry]

well I havent had any experience making nest boxes with it so I really dont know. I hear ya on google... thats why I only read the wild bird society info... I have a few rubbermaid nest boxes I made, I chose a small rubbermaid though and it dosent really work for my big birds so im really not using them. but rubbermaids work great for nest boxes, especially cleaning them! I see those kitty litter boxes with the cover and front door and think shesh that is a nest box all ready and way cheaper than a manufactured nest box!

[Bobbi]

We use an old dresser with the drawers removed and wood screwed to the bottom and curtains from old pajama pants stapled to each box... Not pretty, but it works and its free.

[Home Grown Poultry]

I like Free! almost everything I build is free except the screws but I buy those by the contractors box, cheapest way to buy them and they last forever.

cedar has a natural insect repellant, but will it prevent mites? I cant find an answer to that.

[Doug The Chickenman]

For the Ducks I have pressure treated boxes as the ducks are wet and messy. They are then filled with shavings up to the top all around the boxes just keep the eggs from roling away.
For chickens we use plywood or ceader 1X6 fence boards and make then that way.
Silkie just sit on the floor.

[Robbie]

Would whitewashing the wood for nest boxes do anything for mites?

[Doug The Chickenman]

Whitewashing does help as it does seal the cracks up so the mites cant hide as much.
We have some coops that are whitewashed as well as thier next boxes.