Leaves for my run?

[Jbum]

we have all the leaves a small city would ever want or need. I am contemplating using the leaves for my run to help with mud and possibly in my coop. Mulched up of course. Has anyone else tried this? If so any luck? It seems to me nice dry mulched leafs should fair well in both areas?

 

[wyoDreamer]

My chickens love when I dump leaves in their run! I do this every fall and it works great. If I could, I would bag extra and add them to the run during the winter months just to give the chickens something to do. When you sprinkle a little BOSS on the leaves, they must scratch around to find it.

 

[Henry&Friends]

I don’t see why not, throw some treats in there for them to scratch for and have a chicken feast!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Leaf litter is a frequent addition to my run. ..I deep litter that space. No need to mulch any of it up, just gather and dump. No need to spread, just pile it in there, they will spread it for you.

 

[wyoDreamer]

They LOVE to spread leaves around!

 

[paneubert]

Yep. Leaves are fun to use. Only concern can be that they can compact and get slimey and low oxygen if they are not fluffed up or dug thru by the birds. Usually not that big of a risk if you have birds who like to dig, or are avoiding something like 8 inches deep of just leaves. I stored about twice this quantity over the winter, and it is now all spread between the coop and the run.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Yep. Leaves are fun to use. Only concern can be that they can compact and get slimey and low oxygen if they are not fluffed up or dug thru by the birds. Usually not that big of a risk if you have birds who like to dig, or are avoiding something like 8 inches deep of just leaves. I stored about twice this quantity over the winter, and it is now all spread between the coop and the run.

Good point of potential problem.
This is the advantage of approaching deep litter as a mixture and not single ingredient.....you avoid compaction by using a variety of size and type of material. My base component is wood chips (not shavings) which range pretty widely in size and shape, add in yard debris, corn husks and corn cobs(these go in in late summer after we have "corn day" and put up a years supply of frozen corn for four households, they pick the bits left clinging on the cobs and the cobs get churned in as large piece materiel for the litter), leaf litter in the fall, hay when I change out nest boxes, etc.....toss in a handful of scratch now and then and between that and their desire to dust bathe and the run stays well churned

 

[rosemarythyme]

Just reiterating some of the points above:
- No need to mulch, the chickens will break down the leaves for you.
- They're great in a run, but not as the only component, because once they get wet, they'll compact down and get slimy/slippery, plus they actually break down too fast to be effective for long. Dried leaves with wood chips and garden trimmings will give you a much better result, especially dealing with mud.

I personally would not use them in the coop, but you may have different results depending on your coop set up. If the coop has a dirt floor, I would not use leaves... you end up with the same issue as noted for the run (compact, slimy, slippery) but it'll be even less likely to ever dry out and will probably start to stink over time.

If the coop is off the ground or has a solid floor, leaves *might* work, but you likely will have to change them out faster than other forms of litter, as they simply break down too quickly.

 

[Jbum]

Thanks for all the input everyone very good info!

 

[aart]

Just reiterating some of the points above:

Great post @rosemarythyme !!