[AmandaH]

Can you get wood chip at the garden centre?  

[karlooben]

u should be able to get all kinds at garden centres but it can work out to be expensive .

[AmandaH]

Sorry to go on about such a small thing but - what is the difference between bark chip and wood chip?  I know they look different - wood chip just looks like, er, chipped wood but bark chip looks like it's been around a bit...

Karlooben - do you think my best bet would be to get onto the local tree surgeons and ask nicely if I can have some of their wood chip?

[AmandaH]

Oh, and does it matter whether the wood chip is hard wood or soft wood?

[henrietta5]

Hi - We have a fixed enclosure in addition to the garden space, but out of necessity the hens are often in the enclosure.  The original grass became non existent in about 3 days so we just went to homebase and bought the '3 bags of bark chips for a tenner' , well actually it was about 6 bags... Anyway it looks good, the hens love it, I rake it over once a week and it wasn't (and isn't)  expensive to top up/replace.  I sprinkle grass seed through it from time to time and when it starts to germinate the hens have something to nibble at.  I also put in a largish flower pot full of sand that they like to jump about in.  Seem to have had no problems from any of it so far.  Hope that helps

[mikethetrike]

Thank you Henrietta for that last piece of advice( and all you others of course), that sounds a really good way forward with regards to my original question. I haven't got as far as getting a coop yet but I'm trying to keep all these great hints in my head for the great day!

[karlooben]

if you get wood bark from a tree surgeon then u will probably be paying £10 - £20 for a truck load i do that an takes me about 1 hour or more to shovel it in the run but good job i dont need to spread it the girls do that .

i normally class wood bark as chops trees etc an wood chip as wood shavings which is normally used as horse bedding an that would not be suitable to use at all unless your run never gets wet .

[bee]

I was advised on here to put hard wood chip on the base, then top it with soft wood chip. I did that a week ago and the chickens love it. Bought both types at B and Q but plan to get more from the tree removal guys in a week or so - just didn't want to wait that long. A week later it smells really fresh still and provides them with lots of entertainment. I was told I could rake it off after a few weeks and add it to the compost.

[AmandaH]

Brilliant bee, thanks for that - I shall be off to B&Q!

And apologies mike for kind-of hijacking your question, even if it was similar...  

[mikethetrike]

No probs Amanda,I need the advice too!

[grumpydad]

my tree surgeon supplies the chippings for free, but it is by the truckload, but ask someone local, the most the can say is no, you wont have lost anything.
martyn

[hillfooter]

For an external run you can use dry leaves, wood chips (preferably not shavings), bark, or what is called forest mulch which are tree shreddings provided it doesn't contain yew or laburnam shreddings which are toxic, sterile compost, peat etc.  However don't use these materials for litter in a house where in an enclosed area mould spores can concentrate.  In an outside well ventillated area mould spores should not be a problem but keep the area as sanitary as possible by not letting it get into a sodden smelly mess, removed droppings regularly. rake the area and use disinfectant powders if necessary.  Personally I'd be careful about using lime on an area the chickens scat about in.

You can use these materials on top of dry earth gravel or concrete which is easy to keep clean.

Regards

[the ancient one]

In this area there is access to lots of fir/pine bark not so easy to get wood chips. Is there any safe and cheap way of sterilizing the bark before putting it into the run or as hillfooter says should it be ok to use in the "fresh" air.
Do have a garden shredder, would it be ok to put some quick growing branches (willow, hazel, etc) through this to make some wood chips? A friend planted a row of willows to screen the chicken run, only to find them stripped by the hens later in the day with no ill effects - no excuse for a headache for them!

[grumpydad]

the white hard woods are generally ok, willow, birch and beech, these are generally used for our kitchen untensils, and have less tanins, do not use laburnum or yew they are toxic, oak has a lot of tanin in it
softwoods generally have a lot of sap and can be sticky
martyn

[hillfooter]

If you have access to pine straw (needles) then that's good in your run.  The problem with bark and hrdwood chips/ shavings for that matter is that they are susceptable to mould growth and mould being a fungus produce spores which if breathed in high concentrations can produce a serious respiratory disease with pneumonia type symptoms.  However it's not common and you certainly will be aware of the mould and clouds of spores if these developed and any reasonable cleaning regime wouldn't let such conditions develop.  In a natural environment birds are constantly exposed to such spores but they aren't a problem as the concentrations are low.  As well as spores moulds (like other fungi) can produce mycotoxins which if ingested can be seriously toxic sometimes causing nervous system disorders.  This is more likely to be a problem in mouldy feed though hardwood shavings which chickens might eat can be sources.  For these reasons it is recommended that only softwood shavings (or chopped straw is used in houses and not allowed to become wet.

You can source shavings chopped straw and other bedding materials from equestrian suppliers as well as animal feed merchants just look in the yellow pages.  That way you can be sure and get dust extracted softwood shavings (snowflakes) which are much better that waste from a saw mill.

Regards