Wood chips?

[Aji Dulce]

Possible problems if I use wood chips in coop and run, with deep litter method?

 

[Latestarter]

Greetings and welcome to BYC. I used wood chips extensively, mixed with lots of green stuff and leaves and such for my DL in both coop and run. Lots of good info, knowledge, and experience shared in the threads. Browse around and make yourself at home.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

Great pepper.

There was a long thread a while back about someone who used wood chips and had some problems with mold. Maybe someone remembers and can link to that thread.

 

[MrsMistyReal]

Welcome aboard to BYC family gr8 people tons of information and loads of fun enjoy shake your tail feathers, someone just posted about using wood chips let me see if they'll contact you

 

[lazy gardener]

More info please. Is your coop soil floor or wood floor? If soil floor, and if chips are aged a bit, and you have adequate ventilation, you should be good to go. Adequate drainage is important if soil floor.

If wood floor, still same advice. But, you won't get the decomposition that you will get if you have a soil floor. I generally use softer materials in my DLM in coop with wood floor, but use wood chips in run as my energy level allows!

 

[Sassysouth]

There shouldn’t be a problem with mold if bought fresh and they haven’t been wet. That is all I use on my coop floor and typically don’t keep water in my coop.

 

[lazy gardener]

OP is talking about wood chips, not shavings.

 

[Aji Dulce]

Greetings and welcome to BYC. I used wood chips extensively, mixed with lots of green stuff and leaves and such for my DL in both coop and run. Lots of good info, knowledge, and experience shared in the threads. Browse around and make yourself at home.

What’s your DL?
I know there is a lot of good information here for sure! Didn’t know about mixing in green leaves. I’m relieved, thanks.

 

[Latestarter]

Started with wood chips and shavings, added green stuff like grass clippings, weeds, hay, some dirt, sticks, twigs, hedge clippings, whatever was available. Leaves in the winter. just whatever is available. To compost, you need some moisture, and too dry you get lots of dust.Too wet you get mold and ammonia odors. It' a balance. You want the "good" bugs and bacteria as that's what does the composting.

 

[Aji Dulce]

More info please. Is your coop soil floor or wood floor? If soil floor, and if chips are aged a bit, and you have adequate ventilation, you should be good to go. Adequate drainage is important if soil floor.

If wood floor, still same advice. But, you won't get the decomposition that you will get if you have a soil floor. I generally use softer materials in my DLM in coop with wood floor, but use wood chips in run as my energy level allows!

When we built the coop & run we first put down hardware cloth in the run and 2” sand. We want to put wood chips over that. The coop is elevated so chix can go under the coop and have more run area.
So perhaps the deep litter method is not best with woodchips and we can change it regularly if recommended.