Cedar Shavings

[Guest]

I have been reading up on homing pigeons on the net.They were talking about cedar shavings causing respiratory problems in birds. Does anyone
know if they have talk about cedar shavings on here before and if it can cause problems in martins.
Don

[robndebby]

Don,

We used cedar shavings last year to keep bugs, etc., out of the nests as we had a horrible mite infestation the year before. We put very few cedar shavings in the bottom, hardly enough to cover the floor, then top it off with a thick layer of white pine needles. We had 85 babies last year and we saw none of the problems you're questioning. Maybe someone else has had different results and let you know.

Happy Martining!

[Nanette]

Hi Ford8n,
I don't know about birds but when we had our rabbit, the vet told us not to use cedar shavings for bedding because there is some sort of toxin in them which could harm the rabbit. I'd just rather be safe than sorry.

[CUL Lou~Mich]

Don. Yes, there has been talk of this previously. NO, I do not know of any scientific studies, nor have I heard definately either way. I know I put nearly half a bag in a Flicker house, a couple years ago. Only thing I know is it did NOT do the EUST any good. Seems as though they all (four) died of lead poisoning while tossing the chips out. Although on second thought, that may have been caused by something else. ha ha. Seriously, it's been talked about, but I've seen nothing in any form of studies, nor results. CUL Lou