Is this soil safe to be around the birds?

[hop_skip_anda_heartbeat]

I found that there has been quite a bit of water pooling around the edges of the chicken run due to a lot of uncommon rainfall in the area. I wanted to buildup around the edges and plant some shrubbery for the ladies to have some diversity in their run. I have quite a bit of left over soil from working on the garden....would this be safe for the ladies to dig around in?

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Sta-Green-32-Quart-Potting-Soil-Mix/3354572

If not, what kind of soil do you recommend I could get for the run? I don't have any space in the yard that I could pull from naturally unfortunately...

Thanks in advance!

 

[flyin-lowe]

Am I reading right that you are wanting to plant stuff in the run? If so I can't imagine you will find much that will hold up to the hens......

 

[hop_skip_anda_heartbeat]

Am I reading right that you are wanting to plant stuff in the run? If so I can't imagine you will find much that will hold up to the hens......

Hi--yes! hahah I know they can be destructive little dinosaurs, but I was planning on putting in some large rose bushes and tall grasses. Things that they could rummage in and feel less exposed while inside. I was also going to put stone at the immediate plant bases to help with some of the direct uprooting attacks. I've seen that chickens tend to do alright with larger brush (only attacking leaves that are about head level, but leaving the tops alone).

 

[rosemarythyme]

I would avoid anything labeled potting mix, as that will have fertilizers and perlite mixed in.

Some bagged topsoils might be ok, the super cheap stuff that's meant for filler - again you need to read the bag and see what's in it. Like this might be ok: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Greensmix-1-cu-ft-Top-Soil/999992032

My chickens like rolling around in this stuff which is lousy as garden soil since it's glorified mini mulch but works as filler: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Kellogg...oil-for-Flowers-and-Vegetables-6850/205617876