Dog fennel for chicken run floor

[Grace Kaniowsky]

Hello everyone! So tropical storm Debby just showed me I need to build up my chicken run floor. I was hoping that there might be options growing in my yard already that could be cut up and placed in there. I have a ton of the dog fennel weeds growing and thought they would work but I wanted to make sure that they wouldn’t harm my chickens. I tried searching the internet first with no luck.

 

[aart]

What did Debby show you...flooding puddles?

Best to use something more solid to build up ground level than green plant matter.

 

[Debbie292d]

Hello everyone! So tropical storm Debby just showed me I need to build up my chicken run floor. I was hoping that there might be options growing in my yard already that could be cut up and placed in there. I have a ton of the dog fennel weeds growing and thought they would work but I wanted to make sure that they wouldn’t harm my chickens. I tried searching the internet first with no luck.

Dog fennel isn't harmful but it stinks a bit. Like @aart said, you should look to raising the run floor with something more solid, and substantial. Green weeds of any kind are just going to rot and retain moisture.

For a temporary fix: we put down pavers in an area so they can get out of the mud. You could set a few long 2x4s or similar boards on bricks on both sides for them to jump up on.

For a more permanent fix: you could order a couple of yards of gravel or sand, depending on the size of the run. If feasible, you could order dirt and make the run 6" higher or whatever you need it to be, then plant it or cover it with gravel or sand. I'd see which way was the cheapest and go that route as anything is better than mud.

 

[FrostRanger]

Dog fennel ik is toxic to humans, Idk about chickens, but chickens are pretty good about not eating poisonous plants. Maybe I'm weird, but I actually like the scent

That said, it's not the best, but if that's all you have, it'll have to do, best would be lots of mulch but if you don't have that, do what you have to