Run Bedding

[meglmcknight]

Hi there! We have a flock of 10 chickens (located in Pennsylvania) that we just built a coop and run for. About half of the run is covered by a roof, the rest is just covered by hardware cloth. We have had our chickens living out there for several weeks now (they are about 13 weeks old) and they, as expected, have destroyed all of the grass in the run. We are trying to figure out what to do for bedding in the run. We get quite a bit of rain, so expect that mud will be a potential problem if not managed carefully. Something that I kept seeing while researching this topic was how great wood chips are for the run, but we can't find anywhere to buy them, and all of the local tree services I called said that they'd only be able to give us an entire truckload (which we don't have a good place to store). I would love to do wood chips if possible, but can't figure out how to acquire them. Any ideas for other bedding options that will work in wet climates? Thanks in advance!

 

[deidreg]

Can you purchase mulch from a local garden center? They can deliver how much you need.

 

[NatJ]

About half of the run is covered by a roof, the rest is just covered by hardware cloth....Something that I kept seeing while researching this topic was how great wood chips are for the run, but we can't find anywhere to buy them, and all of the local tree services I called said that they'd only be able to give us an entire truckload (which we don't have a good place to store).

How big is your run?

You might be able to put an entire truckload of woodchips in the run, and not have to store it anywhere.

 

[DVO50]

I would think that any of your farm stores would carry pine shavings of some sort.

 

[meglmcknight]

Can you purchase mulch from a local garden center? They can deliver how much you need.

I can purchase mulch, for some reason I was under the impression that wood chips and mulch are somewhat different things - do you have a brand you recommend? I want to make sure we are using something that is totally natural/untreated.

How big is your run?

You might be able to put an entire truckload of woodchips in the run, and not have to store it anywhere.

It is about 90 sq ft, I guess I really have no idea how much a "truckload" is as I'm sure it depends on the size of the truck. Maybe I will call again tomorrow and ask them!

 

[meglmcknight]

I would think that any of your farm stores would carry pine shavings of some sort.

I think with how wet it gets out there that just pine shavings would absorb too much water and get goopy if that makes sense, but I may be wrong about that. Any experience with it?

 

[NatJ]

It is about 90 sq ft, I guess I really have no idea how much a "truckload" is as I'm sure it depends on the size of the truck. Maybe I will call again tomorrow and ask them!

If it was me, I might aim for a foot of wood chips all over that run.
That would be 90 cubic feet, or slightly over 3 cubic yards.

And I might put it even deeper, depending on the truck size.

Also consider if you have any other areas that you might like to mulch with wood chips, because you might do them at the same time.

 

[Mrs. K]

A lot depends on the soil. I am very sandy - I add old hay. But that might not work for you.

 

[My Three Chicks]

How big is your run? Maybe I can help with the math. I just transitioned to wood chips about a month ago. I went to a landscape/demo place that grinds down all their own trees so it's completely organic (not treated, no pesticides/fertilizer). They sell by a scoop (from a bobcat). Each scoop is half a cubic yard. We filled the truck bed with 1.5 scoops. So 3/4 a cubic yard.

I have a run that is 9'x24' and I can tell you we got way too much wood chips! We probably only needed half that. So we probably needed a half a truck load.

See pics.

 

[3KillerBs]

If you can buy undyed mulch that is probably a better option than a massive flood of wood chips all at once.

Wood chips need to be aged to prevent the formation of dangerous molds that tend to attack green wood.

Some municipalities have a place where they put the chipped yard waste that they collect from roadside pickup and then let townspeople take it for free or for a modest fee.

Perhaps you might know someone with a larger property who could also use some wood chips so that you could split a load?

Right now, rake up your fallen leaves and add those to the run. Chickens LOVE a nice pile of leaves to scratch through.