wood ash, is that safe?

[ms4runr]

I don't know what it does to chickens, but it isn't good for your smokestack/chimney. Leaves heavy creosote residue, which leads to the fire dept. seeing you in your jammies in the middle of the night. Been there, done that, did not get the T-shirt- but did have to move immediately, house gone!
I use just barely enough newspaper to get it started the first day, but that's it. I learned the hard way!

Thanks for the warning! I do not burn paper trash in my fireplace, but do use lots newspaper frequently to get fire started almost every day. Will be sure to check the chimney asap!
As for the ash, this is fantastic! It would seem to be awfully 'dirty' for a bath, like sticking to their body and feathers, but I will use it in thier coop only for the winter and mix with something else. Any suggestions? I have sand, mulch and some wet dirt (with lots of clay) that I could dry by the fire.

 

[Baker Farm]

Is it good to sprinkle ash in the bedding inside the coop to keep bugs at bay? And I've on,y had my hens a couple weeks, so before the ash had no use other than the occasional time melting ice on the driveway.

 

[ravenfandar]

My chicks are 3 weeks old. They'll be going outside in about 3 weeks or so. I have a wooden wine box that I was going to put fireplace ash into for them. How old should they be before I introduce them to fireplace ash dust baths?

 

[crazyhen]

The wood ashes of hardwood are very acidic and make excellent dusting material but I mix with sand about equal parts. Too much of a good thing is never too good.

I also mix permethrin or sevin occ. if I see a mite etc. The chickens seem to appreciate the extra help and dusty mess.

They shake off the dusty residue quickly.

 

[joe12pack]

Ok after reading about how effective wood ash is I am on a mission to find some. I live in an urban area though and do not want to be burning anything as the fire department will be out here in a jiffy.

Is it possible to BUY wood ash? I searched the net but have found no sources of wood ash. My chickens are covered in mites and ticks and they are getting in my hair and driving me mad.

 

[cjearle]

See if you can find someone with a fireplace and ask for the ashes.

 

[crazyhen]

If you already have bugs you need to treat them. The ashes are excellent to help them not to get them only. If you have all those parasites you will lose your hens from blood loss if not treated. I use permethrin in a high dosage. Also I have used Sevin in the past. Treat the fowl and also the coops after a cleanout. Once you get bugs you will have to retreat in two wks at least twice since the eggs continue to hatch. Its a battle.

 

[pdirt]

One thing I've not found the full answer for has to do with the lye in wood ash. I read somewhere that if you mix wood ash and water, you get lye. If this is true, is it safe place ash somewhere that may get wet and the birds may choose to bathe in it? I mean will they get burnt by the lye?

So far I've just been dumping it in the dryest section of their (covered by a leaky roof) run. The floor of the run has about 14 inches of straw/leaves/shavings, with a dirt floor. I scoop all the bedding away and dump the ash on the dirt floor, then cover it back up with bedding. They seem to find the spot just fine on their own!

BTW, our ashes are mostly pine and fir with a little bit of cottonwood.

 

[jenneverett]

Ok after reading about how effective wood ash is I am on a mission to find some. I live in an urban area though and do not want to be burning anything as the fire department will be out here in a jiffy. 

Is it possible to BUY wood ash? I searched the net but have found no sources of wood ash. My chickens are covered in mites and ticks and they are getting in my hair and driving me mad. 

scrolling through the ash forum and thought about places that BBQ they usually burn wood to smoke the BBQ. Check it out.

 

[zebra2u]

Can I just throw my ash into the pen? I was thinking of digging a hollow and putting the ash in there for them. And wisdom on how to do this would be greatly appreciated. And thank you for the wisdom in advance!!
Viola