At the bare beginnings

[Loopyoldcoop]

We are going all organic with a recycling twist. Hi folks, I am new to this and have gathered up a second hand fairly good condition coop, chicken wire, wood, part of an old shed, wormery and other bits and bobs. We already have a raised veg patch and composted for the past four years. The next step is the chickens once I've built the run (I will obviously post some progress pictures). I have a small conifer tree at the edge where I will be building our enclosed chicken run. Would it be OK to trim it back and leave it as part of the run or do chickens not like them or are they harmful to them? Tried to search for info on it but can't find a thing. Can anyone give advise? Ta

 

[Ridgerunner]

A conifer should not harm them. You should not use cedar shavings in a brooder or confined space like a coop; the fumes can harm their respiratory system, but that tree is not in a confined space and it is not sliced up into tiny shavings with a lot of surface area to give off a lot of fumes. It will be fine out of doors like that. I don’t even know if it is cedar or something else.

There are a couple of possible issues with a tree in the run you might want to think about. Will it give a route for predators to enter your run? Will the chickens possibly perch in it and use it as a means to escape?

On the other hand, it may provide great shade for them.

 

[Loopyoldcoop]

Thank you for your comment, it is very helpful