[cammi]

I have been trying to get hold of woodchip B&Q stock it but is out of stock everywhere the other DIY shops only sell bark, which i have bought but since read its not geed to use cause of mould.  I have found some dyed/coloured wood chips at a garden center but presume that wouldn't be a good idea.  Im in the Grantham areas if anyone knows where i could lay my hands on some.


My run is a permanent one which is just mud and 'grass' at the moment but after only two weeks i can see i need something to go in it especially in the summer for ease of cleaning to keep the smell down.  I like the idea of using woodchip and its soft and gives a more of a natural look and feel.  Then i read about 20mm gravel and wonder if thats better way to go could i shovel it into a bucket every few months and hose it off, poor some jeyes over it and hey presto new clean gravel??
Thanks

[min200]

Personally I use wood chip for the run and garden.  In fact im in the process of changing it all today and tomorrow!  I buy it from a local tree surgeon who delivers a whole tipper van full for a tenner!!!!!

Now with this batch there is a bit of conifer at one end which I take straight up to the allotment and compost it but the rest is apple, cherry poplar wood so that goes straight onto the garden, chooks flooring and allotment pathways.

Around a year later the garden and pathways need changing so I scrape it up and put it oon the compost pile for a few months (its nearly done composting anyway!) so I get lots of good free compost and easy clean gardens!

The chooks need changing every couple of weeks but I scrape the wood out, dig the ground over, leave it for a day so the chooks have a good rummage and then put some fresh wood in. 

Smells lovely when you change it as well

[ehs284]

20mm gravel is fine. If pushed you can even use gravel/sand mix as used for concrete. The key is to work out your own needs:-
Will the area drain if it rains or you use a hose?
Is there an area for dust bathing?
Are they in the run most of the time or free ranging?
Do you go into the house  from the coop carrying mud?
How much money do you have?
For how long do you intend to keep chooks?
We have chips inside the small covered run where the food is consumed- rarely needs changing.
In the area around this is 20mm gravel so they have clean feet when they go to bed. They do dig in this but it's easy to rake back.  There is also a gravel path from their area to the house to clean our shoes on the way.

[ManicMum]

We did really well with local tree surgeons/woodland workers as they have loads of chippings they are glad to get rid of by the truckload.  The woodman will be able to tell you when their chips are suitable - we wanted them to cover a kids' play area under a climbing frame so wanted hardwood, not the more acidic fir.

 We found that over a couple of years, the chips gradually started rotting down so we left them in place and added another layer of chips.

Now we've "replaced" kids with hens we took up the membrane from under chips - the layer was about 7cm deep and mainly composted, rich in worms!