Hi all.
I'm currently on the hunt for as much 'compost brown' as I can get my hands on. The ivy I've already shredded (for air removal if nothing else) has been sitting in a pile in a sheltered area for several months. Mostly it's bone-dry hairy stems of a few millimetres to a centimetre or so, with dust-dry leaves on a few of those stems.
It's plain Hedera helix growing native, and not at all related to the dreaded poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans, Rhus radicans), but some people are sensitive to it. This old ivy doesn't have the nose-tickling smell of fresh green material, and while it does have a distinct smell it's more of an ivy scent.
My gut is telling me that it'll be fine in the run, since there'll be so much other (brown) material there, but maybe it should go near the bottom
Has anybody had any bad experiences with chickens playing around in the ivy?
I'm currently on the hunt for as much 'compost brown' as I can get my hands on. The ivy I've already shredded (for air removal if nothing else) has been sitting in a pile in a sheltered area for several months. Mostly it's bone-dry hairy stems of a few millimetres to a centimetre or so, with dust-dry leaves on a few of those stems.
It's plain Hedera helix growing native, and not at all related to the dreaded poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans, Rhus radicans), but some people are sensitive to it. This old ivy doesn't have the nose-tickling smell of fresh green material, and while it does have a distinct smell it's more of an ivy scent.
My gut is telling me that it'll be fine in the run, since there'll be so much other (brown) material there, but maybe it should go near the bottom
Has anybody had any bad experiences with chickens playing around in the ivy?
Last edited:
