[darby]

Could not get of to a worse start...not only will my hens die from Laburnum poisoning because i unknowingly built the run under a huge Laburnum tree , it turns out after advisement that the new run i have just built.could also harm them because i have covered the entire area with bark chippings....what next.....!!!

[darby]

So i meant to ask,has anyone else used bark chippings without any problems..?

[karlooben]

oh no thats so bad i feel sorry for you . mine are on bark chippings well actually its a mixture of bark etc etc an mine are all fine , .

[poultrygeist]

Hi darby. Welcome 

I've merged your 2 topics so we don't get confused. 

Don't worry abotu bark chippings. There's a lot of "what ifs" and potentials for disaster but you'll find that most people use them.
If you have a roof over your run, they'll last a while. Best thing is to rake them out every few weeks and replace them. That way, they stay fairly fresh.

ROb

[rogerthefish]

 
Hello Darby,
I have just started to keepp chickens and they have been on contact with bark chippings for several weeks and are doing fine.
Roger

[AndyRVTR]

Mine have been on bark chippings and no problems at all...

[Kate and her Ducks]

Mine have been on bark chippings for 2 years and no problems. Bad luck on the laburnum, hind sight is a wonderful thing and  we all learn from our mistakes.

[Aunt Sally]

4 years here - what's wrong with bark chippings ?

[bedifferent]

My chooks have been on bark chipps for ever and they love em. No probs.

I think there is sposed to be some theoretical risk of poisening them due to whatever the chipps are treated with.

How dangerous to chooks is laburnum? My chooks have been wandering around in the garden with my laburnum dropping bits and bobs all over the shop.

[Hensington]

The problem is that bark sometimes can harbour  toxic mould spores. As you can see from previous replies the reality seems to be that a lot of folk keep chooks on bark without problems.

[poultrygeist]

We've debated poinsonous plants with chickens before and it seems that they know what to leave alone as long as the first nibble doesn't do for them 

Most poisons are very bitter so they are left alone. But there's always one who's a bit slow on the uptake and can chomp away until it's too late 

Rob

[Kate and her Ducks]

Good luck Darby. Welcome to an obsession!

[Bruced]

there's always one who's a bit slow on the uptake and can chomp away until it's too late 

Rob

Natural selection at work...

[poultrygeist]

there's always one who's a bit slow on the uptake and can chomp away until it's too late 

Rob

Natural selection at work...

Indeed    Hopefully, they'll have adapted to not eating the wrong things by now. Although laburnum may not be native to the jungles of asia 

Rob

[Bruced]

Mine seem to be OK when surrounded by Rhododendron, Azalea, rhubarb and bracken, all of which I know aren't good for them, plus pieris, crinodendron and pernittia, whcih I suspect are also poisonous. They haven't been near any of them but my forsythia is looking significantly less luscious than it was