Wood Chips Sourcing & Mites

[Iluveggers]

The girls have eaten down all the grass in the run, so I am ready to put down something on the floor. I throw shavings in when I clean the coop, but would like to add wood chips. Can wood chips shredded from my trees carry mites? We are having some unsafe branches trimmed next month and were told they would chip the wood for us right then. But I don’t want to introduce a problem we don’t have, if there is a chance of bringing mites in. Would it be safer to buy wood chips from the farm store?

Thanks. I am all about using what we have but I also want to continue having a healthy flock.

 

[DobieLover]

Poultry mites are generally carried in by wild birds. I wouldn't worry too much about having mites on your trees that are going to affect your birds. I get free wood chips from a local highway department and I've been doing it for over 4 years and I've never had a problem with mites.

 

[3KillerBs]

Unless you're talking about bagged mulch, the wood chips you buy are stored in a big pile outside. Maybe they've got a roof over them, maybe not, but they're just as exposed to wild birds as your own trees are.

 

[Iluveggers]

Poultry mites are generally carried in by wild birds. I wouldn't worry too much about having mites on your trees that are going to affect your birds. I get free wood chips from a local highway department and I've been doing it for over 4 years and I've never had a problem with mites.

Unless you're talking about bagged mulch, the wood chips you buy are stored in a big pile outside. Maybe they've got a roof over them, maybe not, but they're just as exposed to wild birds as your own trees are.

Thank you both! I am just being careful so I don’t cause a problem that is avoidable. I figured a few people on BYC would have the answers!

 

[aart]

Do you have a place to store the possibly large amount of chipped branches?
Best not to pile a bunch of freshly chipped green wood into the run,
there can be fungus growing on the branches that when piled with wet chips can bloom to toxic levels.

 

[Iluveggers]

Do you have a place to store the possibly large amount of chipped branches?
Best not to pile a bunch of freshly chipped green wood into the run,
there can be fungus growing on the branches that when piled with wet chips can bloom to toxic levels.

I was curious about that as well. Can I keep them in a pile under a tarp? Do they need to lay flat to dry out? I could also put them in the garage for a week or so…how long should the chips sit?

 

[aart]

I was curious about that as well. Can I keep them in a pile under a tarp? Do they need to lay flat to dry out? I could also put them in the garage for a week or so…how long should the chips sit?

Best to keep them in a pile uncovered.
Scrape the outer layer off the pile to spread an inch or two in the run every couple weeks or longer depending on what is needed.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Best to keep them in a pile uncovered.
Scrape the outer layer off the pile to spread an inch or two in the run every couple weeks or longer depending on what is needed.

x2. Chips should be left uncovered.

Ideally you want to age them for roughly 6 months-1 year before use, but if that's not possible, I'd aim to skim chips from the surface of the pile, and build up layers in the run over time, to minimize risk of dangerous amounts of mold growth.

 

[aart]

Ideally you want to age them for roughly 6 months-1 year before use

That might be a bit long.......depends on the content of moist stuff in there and the site conditions.

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

Best to keep them in a pile uncovered.
Scrape the outer layer off the pile to spread an inch or two in the run every couple weeks or longer depending on what is needed.

X2
An inch or two is key with green chips otherwise fungus and other nasties may grow.