Bark chippings ok?

[JENx]

We are new to chickens and currently have 3 who have 'dirt' in their run and are free rage all during the day.

They love the patch of garden which has bark chippings down so we bought some for the run.

But i have been told by a friend of ours who keeps chickens and is a vet that it can have fungus in it that can give them respiritory problems.

I can't find anything on here that says it shouldn't be used and i can't stop them enjoying it in the garden!

Thanks!

 

[Bosque]

I am new to chicken too, but do not see why you could not use bark chips. If there is any cedar shavings in the mix, I would not use the multch. Cedar is an irritant to chickens.
In my run, I use a layer of DE, then a layer of animal bedding and pine chips on top. So far, there has been no smell nor pests.

 

[txchickie]

I think it would be fine, too.


And as for cedar, I add several handfuls of cedar to my pine shavings for smell effect. Our coop is made out of cedar boards, and our bantams choose to roost in a large cedar tree at night. If there is some cedar in the bark chips, I bet it will be just fine for the run with as much airflow as they get.

 

[CMV]

it's usually fine as long as there's no cedar in it. The problem with bark chips is that they are not very absorbent and so can be problematic for the long haul.