Moldy leaves in DLM?

[Kathy Golla]

Hi everyone,
I stockpiled fallen leaves in the fall in plastic bags to use in my deep litter in my chicken pen.
I’m noticing when I get into a bag I’m seeing a lot of moldy leaves.
Can I put the moldy leaves in the dlm in the pen? That logically doesn’t seem very smart to me, I’ve read mold causes chicken respiratory issues.
Can i put the moldy leaves in my compost pile...composting is kind of molding isn’t it? Thanks so much.

 

[Grits&Eggs]

i compost all leaves, and we sure get a lot, so moldy shouldn't be a problem. they will break down if kept in the right 2:1 green to brown ratio with a hefty helping of poo and veggie scraps daily

 

[Kathy Golla]

Thanks so much, at least I can use these leaves with confidence in my compost heap and not lose them.
Do you have any experience with leaves for deep litter method in the pen? My spidey sense is going off if I put moldy leaves in the pen. But I figure I know people stockpile leaves in plastic bags over the winter and spring, people have to get moldy leaves in the bags.
I wonder if I dried the leaves in the sun would the mold spores still be dangerous. The hens totally ingest the leaves, eat them.

 

[Grits&Eggs]

I don't but I agree about the respiratory problems - mold will trigger problems and I deep litter only wood shavings, pine needles, mulch, etc.
lol, yes those girls will eat just about everything but sun should kill the spores, or UV light, is there a way to keep a UV on it while in storage? or at least keep them drier?

 

[Kathy Golla]

Hopefully the rain is close to over in California, I could open up a bag and put The leaves I’m planning on using in the sun for a while (?)
@aart any opinion on this conundrum?

 

[rosemarythyme]

I would absolutely put them in compost, but not the chicken run.

I saved up about 16-18 bags of dried leaves saved up this fall, both in those paper bags and feed bags. I have an unused greenhouse and store them in there to keep them dry. I know this part sounds extreme but I plan my leaf bagging around weather, and if it did rain I spread out the collected leaves on the driveway to dry, then bagged once they were as dry as I could get them. Not sure if drying them at this point will help or not, as the mold has already developed on them.

 

[aart]

I collected dry leaves one fall....it was really dry out...in plastic feed bags stored in a shed.
Worked great.
Next year tried same thing, not quite as dry, but they molded in bags.
Dumped them into the woods, no compost piles here.

As far as leaves in the 'dlm'.... too much of any one ingredient can cause problems,
just use moderation and watch conditions.
Have put too many in at once and then it rained, leaves packed and got slimy...was a bear breaking them up.