Ground cover for run

[aart]

I've noticed a couple of people here recommend "aged" wood chips for the run. We live in the woods and have lots of branches that fall over the winter. We chip them up in the spring and use the wood mulch to cover paths and such. Works great so far. I was planning to use these wood chips in the run and coop as well.

My question is: If the branches have been down awhile and I chip them up, is that considered aged? Or do I have to chip them and then wait a bit before adding them to the coop? The latter would require storing them somewhere, either in a container or a pile. Given our climate, I suspect that would cause them to mold and mildew so I was hoping I could put the chips right into the run, where raking and chicken scratching would turn them regularly.

Chips would be maple, alder and pine. I know not to use cedar chips with animals. I prefer this to buying wood chips, because 1) they are free and need to go somewhere and 2) I know for a fact that they aren't treated or contaminated with anything.

Those should be fine.
It's when the trees are cut live and chipped right away that the biggest risk of toxic mold blooms exist, especially in the summer when all the leaves are included.

 

[rosemarythyme]

My question is: If the branches have been down awhile and I chip them up, is that considered aged? Or do I have to chip them and then wait a bit before adding them to the coop? The latter would require storing them somewhere, either in a container or a pile. Given our climate, I suspect that would cause them to mold and mildew so I was hoping I could put the chips right into the run, where raking and chicken scratching would turn them regularly.

I agree with the others, seasoned branches should be fine. In my case, I had freshly cut branches chipped, so I did leave them to sit out for several months before using them. Though I haven't had issue with my wood chip pile getting too funky... I always skim chips off the top as they're fairly dried out, and any fungus growth on the next layer will then get exposed and dry out as well.

 

[aart]

I agree with the others, seasoned branches should be fine. In my case, I had freshly cut branches chipped, so I did leave them to sit out for several months before using them. Though I haven't had issue with my wood chip pile getting too funky... I always skim chips off the top as they're fairly dried out, and any fungus growth on the next layer will then get exposed and dry out as well.

.....and not all fungal growth is bad.

 

[khind]

One word of warning, though. Beware of anything that may have termites or poison ivy in or on them. Termites, well, don't trust your chickens to get every one of the eggs. And poison ivy? I learned - the hard way - that even dead, dried poison ivy vines have enough oil in them to make you very, VERY itchy!

Is it easy enough to check for termite eggs? I'm guessing the wood would look eaten or would have tunnels through it (if not live termites on it). Would you just give a fallen branch a good shake before inspecting it?
And I live in the Oklahoma woods, and we have lots of poison ivy : /

 

[MROO]

Is it easy enough to check for termite eggs? I'm guessing the wood would look eaten or would have tunnels through it (if not live termites on it). Would you just give a fallen branch a good shake before inspecting it?
And I live in the Oklahoma woods, and we have lots of poison ivy : /

If you don't see signs of termites, you shouldn't have any eggs.
Years ago, an old neighbor gave her birds a log full of "bugs" so they could have a treat ... and found out later that they were termites, not ants! At the time, we were told that termites ate only the same type of wood they were found in, but she didn't trust the advice and exterminated her entire coop and run anyway. We steam cleaned & bleached for days!

 

[khind]

If you don't see signs of termites, you shouldn't have any eggs.
Years ago, an old neighbor gave her birds a log full of "bugs" so they could have a treat ... and found out later that they were termites, not ants! At the time, we were told that termites ate only the same type of wood they were found in, but she didn't trust the advice and exterminated her entire coop and run anyway. We steam cleaned & bleached for days!

Woah!

 

[khind]

I live in the woods and our dirt is soft so we put driveway stone down and then nice dry sand over that. Drains and dries quick after rain and the poo breaks down when you hose and rake the sand. Occasionally we add fresh sand to it. The photo below was from today and we have snow banks on the outside of the run. Even with the plastic the melting snow runs in but as you can see, the stone helps drain the water so the run stays dry.

View attachment 1730035

By "driveway stone" do you mean gravel?

 

[Lori S]

I have three runs that are (mostly) grass that attach to a formerly mobile coop. I rotate the girls to prevent over grazing. I recently reseeded a run and kept them off it for a month. Before I put them back in, I stretched out garden fencing and pinned it over the new grass to minimize scratching until it's established. I've had moderate success with this before. I have only four hens right now and the runs are maybe 15'x25'. BTW, I did deep litter in my little coop. Cleaning twice a year works well for me. I'm small-time, but have had chickens for seven years now.

 

[Lori S]

I'm not familiar with all the dealing of DL. We live in the forest in Oregon and get a ton of rain. To me that seems like the makings of some brutal wet soggy litter. I'm a complete newbie and thought you need to try to keep the run dry as not to harbor disease.

 

[Lori S]

Oh yes. I vividly remember the winter i moved the girls into the shelter of the barn, only to discover the whole area had standing water after a rain or snow-melt! Wet is not healthy.