Wood mulch ok for the coop floor?

[leafinator1999]

The power company came out today and cut a tree down that was too close to the power lines. They left me a large pile of mulch. I can use it for other things but I thought about using it for flooring. It was cut down live today so, is it ok to use in the coop? If so, do I need to let it age at all first? I'm not sure what kind of tree it was but I do know it wasn't pine.

Edit: If I remember correctly the supervisor of the guys that cut it down thought it was a sweet gum tree but he wasn't sure.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

You can probably use it but likely it's a hardwood so be extremely careful it doesn't get wet. Hardwood can grow harmful fungus that causes respiratory issues.

It might be better to use in the run or some other well ventilated space.

You could have had it cut to lengths and inoculated with oyster or shitake mushroom plugs.

 

[leafinator1999]

Great to know. I have a very large run and about a 1/3 of it is a muddy mess due to chickens scratching and a large amount of rain over the past couple weeks. As I'm able I'll start putting it in the run over the muddy areas. I'd like to plant some cherry tomatoes vines there in the spring for the chickens so this will help that.