7/23/2023 0 Comments Wood chicken run![]() ![]() Don't have your own pine needles? Buy some! Leaves can make a good layer on top of a concrete base in the run. ![]() Adding more layers, particularly dried leaves (so creating a deep litter) can help. They're not the best when wet, and will tend to sink into the ground especially if there's only a thin covering.They're chemically treated and your chickens will do perfectly well with the natural product. Some brands offer coloured and scented chips.Look for the larger chunks of wood such as you might sometimes see on children's play areas. Be careful which brand you use – some are dustier than others, and some are said to contain mites.Disdvantages of using wood chips as flooring in the chicken run. If your run is too large to accommodate this, fence off a small part of it – it also makes it easier to add a covering. To be successful and not have the chips disappear into mud, you'll need at least a 5cm (2") depth. They're relatively inexpensive and a natural product which breaks down (although fairly slowly) when added to a compost heap, so they're environmentally friendly.Īlthough chickens prefer other materials as bedding, particularly compost and sand, evidence shows that where wood chips are the only type of bedding they have access to, they'll continue to perform those behaviours like dust bathing and foraging which are necessary to their welfare. Wood chips are a well known natural product for use as bedding both in the coop and run, and make an excellent base for the deep litter method in either. Wood chips can make an inexpensive, natural flooring in the run. The spores can cause severe respiratory problems. Always be on the lookout for mould, though. It is said to dry out more quickly than other bedding.If you have very heavy rainfall, adding it to a solid base ( see above) and covering the part of the run you use hemp in makes sense.Like most beddings, hemp doesn't deal well with being wet although it does absorb moisture for longer than anything else.It's sold compressed, so a little goes a long way.It's super-absorbent and the best flooring when it comes to drying out poop.It composts down well and is environmentally friendly.The alternative is to invest in 100% hemp bedding – which is what Aubiose is. The poultry equivalent from the same company is "AubiChick".īoth of these are expensive and available mainly in the UK. The most well known form of this bedding is commercially called "Aubiose", which is horse bedding. To learn more please see my disclosure policy. I only recommend products I have purchased or would purchase myself and which I believe would benefit you. If you purchase a product through links on the rest of this page, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Both foraging and dust-bathing are critical to chicken welfare ( 1 ), so whatever flooring you use, your flock should have access to a place to scratch around and a dust bath – even if that means adding a dust bath inside the coop to keep it dry.Īnd bear in mind that it may be possible to fence off one part of a large run and create an appropriate flooring just in that area, for a limited time.įor example, block off one corner of the run during the wettest part of the winter until the warmer weather of summer arrives.Flooring that suits a small run perfectly will potentially be too expensive for a larger space. Beyond that, the decision has to be based largely on your own situation.The "best" is whatever meets both those requirements. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |