Tree safety issue?

[Dynamissa]

Firstly, sorry I have no idea where to put this… hopefully this works.

Anyhow! We realized after we got our flock that we have red maple trees in our back yard, one is right over the run and coop. I’ve read that red maple is toxic?

They’ve eaten the samaras without incident, but they are starting to scratch up the little roots off the bigger ones… if they eat them is that a problem? I’m not sure how to cover it - I have a board on top of it right now, they’ve had these little roots scratched up for a while but I just lost my favorite pullet out of the blue yesterday morning and my anxiety is in overdrive attempting to eliminate every possible threat (even though we’ve been dealing with these roots since day 1) I’m not sure how to surmount roots though without major excavation.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

This is a pretty informative read (below.) I have Maples all around and hanging over my coop/run. While I don't have Red Maples I've noticed that the chicken's don't eat the leaves. They will scratch up roots of anything but they're not eating what they instinctively know is not good in the many acres of forest that they have access to. Can you put a wire barrier around the roots that you're worried about? That's what I have to do with pretty anything that I don't want them to kill....
https://thehomesteadinghippy.com/ch...ple leaves are not safe for chickens. Whether

 

[Dynamissa]

This is a pretty informative read (below.) I have Maples all around and hanging over my coop/run. While I don't have Red Maples I've noticed that the chicken's don't eat the leaves. They will scratch up roots of anything but they're not eating what they instinctively know is not good in the many acres of forest that they have access to. Can you put a wire barrier around the roots that you're worried about? That's what I have to do with pretty anything that I don't want them to kill....
https://thehomesteadinghippy.com/chickens-eating-maple-leaves/#:~:text=No, raw maple leaves are not safe for chickens. Whether

Interesting thank you!

They’re roots where they enjoy digging their own dust bath. They’re the little spidery roots, and as they erode the dirt away they’re unearthing more and more. Maybe river stone or something and more dirt on top?

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Interesting thank you!

They’re roots where they enjoy digging their own dust bath. They’re the little spidery roots, and as they erode the dirt away they’re unearthing more and more. Maybe river stone or something and more dirt on top?

That's a good call. You could add a mix of course sand and fill dirt. My soil is sand as I'm on Riverfront. They do the same, make dust bath holes inside roots and everywhere. They seem too really prefer the super fine, soft sand/soil.