Mud abatement using leaf litter?

[Sally PB]

They're really nice quality and much fluffier than store bought ones.

Steer clear of store bought chips or mulch, IMO. They have often been treated with chemicals or dyed. Not to mention the cost.

 

[MGG]

Steer clear of store bought chips or mulch, IMO. They have often been treated with chemicals or dyed. Not to mention the cost.

I always bought mine from TSC before and they were pretty rough and coarse.
And definitely, I was paying $5 for a bag of them from there. That adds up quick.

 

[Penpal]

Caveat. Do not take walnut wood chips. They are more acidic and can cause problems with chicken feet.

 

[HorseyHokie]

So i'm trying to manage my coop run on the cheap. I put down cedar shavings that a carpenter friend gave me and of course that has been a great temporary fix, but now I am looking ahead and trying to avoid buying anything for mud abatement in the run. Does anyone have any reason why I can't take the maple leaves in my yard, crunch them up a little bit, and use that in the run? It seems like a genius way to get rid of the leaves in my yard. Am I nuts?

Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't Cedar and Walnut wood chips toxic to Chickens? That would be my first concern about using anything offered from tree services and cabinet shops. I love the idea of free though!!

 

[LER23]

Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't Cedar and Walnut wood chips toxic to Chickens? That would be my first concern about using anything offered from tree services and cabinet shops. I love the idea of free though!!

I said cedar, but I meant fir. Sorry, and yes, cedar is toxic.

 

[LER23]

Is there any way to add a roof to the run? On half of my run, I have a heavy duty (silver/black) tarp from TSC. This will be its 3rd winter, and it's holding up well. One reason is it's tied down securely with zip ties and doesn't flap in the wind.

I put up a hoop house, made for gardening but works ok for chickens, to give them a dry area out of the coop where they can hang out and take dust baths. Next spring I plan on giving them a larger, and more permanent, area. There will probably always be some wet areas. One of the reasons the hoop house works well is that the plastic goes all the way down to the ground; it blocks the wind driven rain we get during the winter.

 

[LER23]

Ditto Dat^^^!!

I know about Chip Drop, and it is available in my area but not practical on my street in a downtown neighborhood :-(. You did make me think about how Chip drop could work if I enlist neighbors. Enough of us needing chips, and a guarantee that there would not be cedar, might make Chip Drop work. I will be canvassing neighbors. Thanks for getting me to revisit that resource.

 

[aart]

I always bought mine from TSC before and they were pretty rough and coarse.

This is coarse, and best for chicken runs.

and yes, cedar is toxic.

Not all cedar is 'toxic'.
The aromatic kind of cedar shavings are not good for an enclosed area(coop) with chickens,
they can be fine in a run in moderate amounts.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't Cedar and Walnut wood chips toxic to Chickens?

Not all cedar is 'toxic'.
The aromatic kind of cedar shavings are not good for an enclosed area(coop) with chickens,
they can be fine in a run in moderate amounts.

Black Walnut is specifically bad for horses and... sheep (I don't recall exactly)? It causes hoof problems. We don't have any walnut trees but as a precaution I'd avoid using it for chickens.

With cedar, there's different types of cedar so depending on what's available to you it may be fine to use. I have Western cedar chips in my chip mix (it would be literally impossible to get wood chips around here without cedar mixed in, as it's simply part of the environment) and I use aged chips in both coop and run. Little to no cedar aroma at all. I feel very comfortable about using it in my set up. Western cedar is lower aroma than Eastern red cedar (which is more aromatic and the type of cedar associated with hope chests and insect repellents).

I would probably avoid using cedar shavings (the increased surface area allows for more offgassing), 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), especially if it's an aromatic variety of cedar. My coop is well over recommended ventilation plus has a high ceiling for added air volume.

Many coop builds have cedar and I don't think people ever consider that. My current coop has cedar trim, my old one (which is now a chick brooder) is 100% cedar.

Obviously if you're not comfortable with it, don't use it, but I've been mixing in cedar for the last several years and there's been no sign of respiratory issues in my flock.

 

[saysfaa]

... I have tons of leaves, and they are free. My concern is whether they will be bad for the chickens...

Maple leaves are not bad for the chickens. Per much research and then using them extensively in my coop for two years.