Wood chips in run?

[Eggcellent8]

All the grass has died in our run and it just looks like a dump from all of the rocks and food scraps (mainly watermelon and cantaloupe rinds) that we feed the chickens. We have a pile of wood chips that we get for our garden and I was wondering if we could use that in the chicken run? We get them from different local tree companies for free. So, they are not the fancy ones that you would put in a flower bed. Would these work in our run? Or are there problems with this idea that I am not thinking of? The only potential problem that I thought of would be that some of the trees in the pile might be treated with pestisides. Also, I noticed that sometimes in our garden, a weird fungus thing will grow on the chips.

Thanks!

 

[teach1rusl]

Yeah...wood chips do tend to mold and hold fungi...that's one reason I probably wouldn't opt for that. Sand is pretty daggone cheap if you buy it by the truck load rather than bags of playsand or whatever. I think around here it's maybe $15 a ton tops??? It drains rain well, is very easy to clean (raking poop out is like scooping a litter box), and the chickens enjoy dustbathing in it. That's what I'd go for....

 

[chfite]

Where I built one of my coops was covered with wood mulch. The chickens destroyed the mulch in weeks. Put sand in the run and that seems to be a much better, durable topping. It drains well, does not decay, scraps and poop are turned under to decompose by the routine action of the chickens.

Chris

 

[Eggcellent8]

Thanks for the replies! It seems like sand is where it's at. I had a bad initial experience with it at first when I used it in our coop. The coop has concrete floors, so moisture and liquids would not drain. Yeah, it was nasty. I guess it works a lot better in runs.

Anyway, how deep would you put the sand?

Thanks again!

 

[maidenwolfx80]

I do straw, havent had a problem with it, I keep it turned and the chickens of course help when I throw out scratch

 

[Rock Home Isle]

All the grass has died in our run and it just looks like a dump from all of the rocks and food scraps (mainly watermelon and cantaloupe rinds) that we feed the chickens. We have a pile of wood chips that we get for our garden and I was wondering if we could use that in the chicken run? We get them from different local tree companies for free. So, they are not the fancy ones that you would put in a flower bed. Would these work in our run? Or are there problems with this idea that I am not thinking of? The only potential problem that I thought of would be that some of the trees in the pile might be treated with pestisides. Also, I noticed that sometimes in our garden, a weird fungus thing will grow on the chips.

Thanks!

In the summer I use wood shavings as needed, and in the fall I use leaf litter after I mow up the leaves off the lawn. Both of these carbon sources make great mulch in the run. In the spring, after the hens have worked this stuff all winter it makes the best compost for the garden.

 

[teach1rusl]

Thanks for the replies! It seems like sand is where it's at. I had a bad initial experience with it at first when I used it in our coop. The coop has concrete floors, so moisture and liquids would not drain. Yeah, it was nasty. I guess it works a lot better in runs.
Anyway, how deep would you put the sand?
Thanks again!

Oh yeah...I would only use it in the run. Shoot for several inches, and make sure it's a larger, coarse sand (the stuff I buy actually has a little pea gravel mixed in. I had to add 2x4s around the bottom of my run to hold the sand in. Once a year I buy just a little more and toss on top, because you do lose some as you rake poop. A landscape or gravel company will have it by the truckload...