[evie2]

My 5 chooks have done a first rate job of clearing the ground for our new veg garden.

I've put play bark down and wondered if I can dig it in when I move them or is it best to remove it altogether

[arugula]

Being bark it'll break down eventually, but probably not quickly enough (veg garden for next year?) so you might want to remove it but not that thoroughly will be necessary, if you know what I mean.

[Kleftiwallah]

Why did you put it down in the first place?  "Play bark"  sounds expensive, would 'ordinary bark' have done the job?   Cheers,  Tony.

[bigben]

I would have thought that bark soaked in chiken poo should not take as long as normal bark to break down. Tough stuff like wood chips can mess up soil chemistry if dug in early. It "borrows" nitrogen from the soil to help it break down in the short term. A friend of mine ended up putting a couple of raised beds out of action for a season by digging in a lot of wood chip he had from having a tree shredded. Everything he tried to grow on it went yellowish suggesting lack of nitrogen.
I expect your bark will not be so bad if it has had the extra nitrogen dumped on it already. If in doubt add it to your compost bin for a year.

[evie2]

Yep, know what you mean Lorna.  The hens'll stay there until the turn of the year, when they move I'll cover the ground until we're ready to build the raised beds (only 12 inches high) and plant up

Kleft, I put play bark down because it's treated so doesn't have any harmful bacteria in it and with all the rain the ground was getting quite muddy.
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That's what I do with the bedding I use for the chooks and rabbits Ben, I changed from sawdust to Bliss because it rots down much better.