Crushed autumn leaves for bedding?

[FMEO]

Are dropped crushed autumn leaves good for bedding? Seems to good to be true

 

[hammyanne]

I use them for my covered run! I think many other members do this as well

 

[Debbie292d]

Hiya, and welcome to BYC!

I know some that do deep litter in their coops use them, but to solely use them, I imagine it would work to a certain extent. Downfalls I think would be when they poop on them, they aren't absorbant and would probably start matting together. You'd wind up with humidity buildup.

In a run, they'd be great as chickens could scratch them around.

We're glad you're here!

 

[Bsmac]

Hello! Welcome to BYC! I have used them and I think they are ok but, our leaves have tons of pine needles mixed in. After I started using them I had two cases of impacted crop that ended badly... I think leaves are ok but personally I would not use pine needles. I have heard of other using pine needles just not worth the risk. I have not had any crop impactions since I stopped using them. Bagged flake pine shavings from TSC work very well! That`s my 2 cents worth!

 

[fldiver97]

I used them in the covered run over winter, not so much for bedding but for the chickens to scratch around in. By spring the leaves were all but completely worked into the ground

 

[saysfaa]

They work very well in the coop as deep bedding. Poops dry quickly in them, even in a damp climate. They don't mat.

No need to crush them. It doesn't hurt to crush them.

The only downside I've noticed in four years of using them full time is they will mold if you pack them super, super tight into yard bags before they are dry enough. That happened the first year I did only the leaves because I didn't realize I wouldn't need as many as leaves as I thought I would then. I tried to store as many as I could - a few bags more than I could easily fit in the a available storage space.

The first year I used them at all, I mixed as many textures as I could: shavings, grass, stalks from the garden, the leaves, etc.. I like that a little better than all leaves but not enough to buy shavings or store the other kinds of materials.

I don't know if all kinds of leaves work as well as the mostly maple leaves I used.

 

[chrissynemetz]

Hi again!
I've used leaves mixed with shavings before without any issues.

 

[BoundlessLove]

Welcome to Backyard Chickens!

 

[janiedoe]

Welcome to BYC!

 

[Snowbelt]

My runs have a mixture of leaves and wood chips. Whenever one of the neighbors has a tree removed, I let the tree removal company dump their chips behind my barn. I have a few tons of chips in huge piles that I use in the runs and for mulching my blueberries and gardens. The chickens love it when I dump a few loads in the runs, and scratch around in them for days and eat all the insects and larvae. When it is scratched into oblivion, I dump a few more loads. I haven't used leaves and chips in the coop, but if they are dry enough, I have no doubt it would work.