Wood chips...

[mawmaw_t]

On the weekends, DH works with a friend who has his own Tree business, so we have access to wood chips (free).

My question is: After drying out the wood chips, would they be okay to use for bedding with new chicks & in the coop with the older chickens?

The chips would be a mixture of different kinds of woods, with the exclusion of cedar. Trees like scrub oaks, pine, maple, poplar, ect. & other brush.

I'm pretty sure we would be okay using them, but would like to get other opinions.

Thanks!

 

[hwerner]

Since you are excluding cedar, I don't see any problem with it. You are sooooo lucky, we have to by our wood shavings at 6.00 bag and use about 4-6 every other month to keep barn clean. I'm jealous, lol

 

[LindaN]

The only thing negative I've heard about wood chips is that they could harbor molds and fungus that can make chickens ill.

For my adult hens outside, the run floor is all wood chips and I personally have not had a problem with any of my hens getting sick from molds or fungus. Frankly, they stir up the run so much with their scratching that I can't see how anything could grow in there, even something as small as a mold!

However, you may want to be cautious with immature chicks who likely will not scratch as vigorously as adult hens. As I recall, the hens didn't really start getting serious about scratching a lot until they started laying. Then they became voracious predators of all insect life!

 

[mawmaw_t]

Thanks hwerner & LindaN!

I talked with DH about this, including the mold issue you spoke about Linda, which I never thought about. I was figuring that I would dry them out by laying a thin layer on a tarp in the sun. But none the less, they will absorb moisture & keep it even dried out. He also said the chips from the chipper are going to be too big to use inside the coop, but maybe putting some in the run outside would be okay.

I will definitely wait till they are older to put chips in the run. When we had chickens before (years ago) we never had a run. They just went where they pleased during the day & were locked in the coop at night & used pine shavings on the floor. Of course we lost some to hawks & I don't want that to happen this time, so we are fully enclosing the run. It will actually have a slanted tin(metal of some kind) roof. It's the kind with ridges. Until we have to enlarge the run, then we will cover the addition with wire.

Thanks for the input...don't want no sick chickens.