Using dried leaves

[JDonn127]

The leaves have begun falling from the trees here in Pennsylvania…. I plan on using them in the run. Since I don’t have many trees on my property I have asked neighbors to save some for me. My question is ….. Is it better to use whole leaves or should I grind them up first?

 

[summertimeislife]

I would suggest (leaf)ing them whole, this way the chickens can look for bugs under the leaves.

 

[RoyalChick]

I use leaves for my bedding - it is all I use - I leave them whole and cart them in to the Chicken Palace in bags. The chickens love them and will tear into a heap and spread them around and find loads of bugs.
You have to decide about damp - I am lucky in that I am on a dirt floor with oodles of ventilation - so I toss them in even if they are wet or frozen - but with a smaller space I would probably want some dry ones.
I do keep a couple of bags of leaves in the garage so I always have a supply of dry ones if I need them.
Eventually your chickens will shred them up so much they basically disappear - I am on year 3 and haven't yet had to clean out my coop - but may do so this Fall. Or maybe next!

 

[K0k0shka]

Dump them whole. The chickens will shred them in no time. I asked neighbors for leaves last year and did not expect how generously they’d contribute… I ended up with 30 bags of leaves that I’m still grabbing from They work great year round.

 

[3KillerBs]

I agree. Use them whole. You don't even have to spread them, just dump them in a pile.

The chickens will love shredding them and spreading them.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Whole - they will be broken up pretty quick.

 

[RoyalChick]

I agree. Use them whole. You don't even have to spread them, just dump them in a pile.

The chickens will love shredding them and spreading them.

Love it when the chickens do the work for me!

 

[Sally PB]

I dumped a pile of leaves in the run last fall, and the chickens ran off. For about a minute. Then the rooster started scratching through them, saying, "tuck tuck tuck," which is his tidbitting sound. Then all the girls were there and they had a blast.

When I brought in the second pile, the just moved out of the way, then they all went for it as soon as it was on the ground.

 

[RoyalChick]

I dumped a pile of leaves in the run last fall, and the chickens ran off. For about a minute. Then the rooster started scratching through them, saying, "tuck tuck tuck," which is his tidbitting sound. Then all the girls were there and they had a blast.

When I brought in the second pile, the just moved out of the way, then they all went for it as soon as it was on the ground.

Yeah they are suspicious of new things!
I wish I could train mine to put the leaves in the sacks to begin with but they seem to think that is my job!

 

[suburbanfarmermi]

I am looking forward to having a use for our leaves as this is our first fall with chickens... All summer I have been dumping grass clippings and weeds into the run and it seems to keep them busy. I am planning to scape the top layer off the run and toss into our gardens as we clean garden beds out for the winter.