Did I waste my money?

[Parront]

I don't suffer from mental anxiety, but I do chicken anxiety lol.

Some people just use sand, but wet sand is no fun either. Chickens hate wet anything. We have a monsoon season in AZ, and I have not kept chickens in that, being from California. Planning nice piles of pine needles and peat moss in hope of keeping on top of the water!

 

[TooCheep]

Most of mine won't even eat earth worms lmao.

Mine are quite the opposite. I generally let them out for a little bit of free ranging each day. When I let them out after a significant rain (the kind that tends to drive worms to the surface), they are on a mission to gobble up yummy worms.

 

[Mybackyardpeepers]

Mine are quite the opposite. I generally let them out for a little bit of free ranging each day. When I let them out after a significant rain (the kind that tends to drive worms to the surface), they are on a mission to gobble up yummy worms.

You would think they would mostly all love them.

 

[Parront]

You would think they would mostly all love them.

Yours must be really well fed! Not hungry for worms.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Gonna just cut and paste my thoughts on cedar:

I have cedar chips in my chip mix (can't be avoided around here... if you chip fallen branches, you'll have cedar mixed in) and I use aged chips in both coop and run. I brooded my last batch of chicks out in the run too. The chips work just fine for me and I've never had any chicken show any signs of respiratory issues.

I would probably avoid using all cedar, or fresh cedar (well, fresh anything really... pine sap is awful!), or cedar in closed-in environments (i.e. indoor brooder, coop lacking in ventilation). My coop is well over recommended ventilation plus has a high ceiling for added air volume.

The one place I'd absolutely avoid cedar would be around small pet rodents like rats, which are already prone to respiratory ailments.

 

[Mybackyardpeepers]

Yours must be really well fed! Not hungry for worms.

Or just really weird chickens

 

[Mybackyardpeepers]

Gonna just cut and paste my thoughts on cedar:

I have cedar chips in my chip mix (can't be avoided around here... if you chip fallen branches, you'll have cedar mixed in) and I use aged chips in both coop and run. I brooded my last batch of chicks out in the run too. The chips work just fine for me and I've never had any chicken show any signs of respiratory issues.

I would probably avoid using all cedar, or fresh cedar (well, fresh anything really... pine sap is awful!), or cedar in closed-in environments (i.e. indoor brooder, coop lacking in ventilation). My coop is well over recommended ventilation plus has a high ceiling for added air volume.

The one place I'd absolutely avoid cedar would be around small pet rodents like rats, which are already prone to respiratory ailments.

Thank you. They have all been acting fine, except the heat wave today. I am going to still keep an extra close eye for any unusual behavior though.

 

[chazz0861]

Hi all. So yesterday I went out and spent almost $100.00 towards my chickens run. Now I'm questioning if I wasted my money, and may even be harming my babies. The problem is there is so much conflicting information out there. My run is 20x10 half coveted, half uncovered. So here are my questions:
1). I purchased 4 bags of Virgin Cedar Mulch, after reading it can't have any coloring to it so I spreading it all nicely around my covered side of my run then decided to triple check safety. I saw a site that said it is NOT safe around chickens. What is true safe or unsafe, do I need to go out and rake up 4 bags of mulch before I let my girls out for the day?
2). I bought 3 plants to go inside the run for the not covered side for some shade. 2 Nortwind Switch Grass and 1 Adagio Grass plant because the guy advised me they were hardy for my area and I would have to replace them every year. I have read several articles saying ornate grass plants are safe, are mine?
3) Also I have read fern plant are safe too, but are all breeds? There are around 5 different names of ferns here and wanted to get a Queen Fern.
Thank!!!

Cedar is toxic to chickens. Every article I have read states so. Also you check the Hatcheries websites and all say do not use cedar shavings because they are toxic to chickens.

 

[GrannyYank]

Hi all. So yesterday I went out and spent almost $100.00 towards my chickens run. Now I'm questioning if I wasted my money, and may even be harming my babies. The problem is there is so much conflicting information out there. My run is 20x10 half coveted, half uncovered. So here are my questions:
1). I purchased 4 bags of Virgin Cedar Mulch, after reading it can't have any coloring to it so I spreading it all nicely around my covered side of my run then decided to triple check safety. I saw a site that said it is NOT safe around chickens. What is true safe or unsafe, do I need to go out and rake up 4 bags of mulch before I let my girls out for the day?
2). I bought 3 plants to go inside the run for the not covered side for some shade. 2 Nortwind Switch Grass and 1 Adagio Grass plant because the guy advised me they were hardy for my area and I would have to replace them every year. I have read several articles saying ornate grass plants are safe, are mine?
3) Also I have read fern plant are safe too, but are all breeds? There are around 5 different names of ferns here and wanted to get a Queen Fern.
Thank!!!

Every chicken book I’ve read says cedar is toxic, also fine pine shavings and hay are no-nos. Hope this helps.

 

[Crzychknldeezchics]

I believe cedar puts off a smell that is hazardous also i think their are oils in the wood toxic to absorb through their feet. I'll see if anyone else chimes in since its an outdoor run.

It’s the oils of cedar that are poisonous to chickens.