Part 0800.0005

[eliza_faery]

I know this might sound dumb. But what's the difference between woodchip, bark chipping and garden mulch? Any ideas which would be the best one for the run flooring? Also how do you clean it?

[Ain't Nobody Here]

No such thing as a dumb question .

 

I've never used woodchip or bark so can't comment on them. I've always used horse bedding which is brilliant in a chicken run and composts down really well. There are lots of different ones - Easibed, Hemcore, Aubiose are a few that spring to mind.

 

I just rake up the top couple of inches every few months and put it in the compost bin. I pick up any obvious poos on a daily basis.

[sjp]

I use easibed or coushion bed both are wood based poo pick most days change it about every 2-3 months depending on the weather

I've also got an area in the garden that is barked thats been down about 3 years (went down before I got the girls) so its well rotted they love digging in it for all the insect life they find

[Patricia W]

I think - woodchip is chipped wood, bark is made from the, er, um, - bark,

 

and garden mulch can be anything that suppresses weeds and feeds plants!

 

Woodchip is supposed to be better for chooks as some think bark can harbour spores. And if you use in in a run it gets soggy and horrible in a short time.

 

I use Aubiouse these days in the run and its wonderful as long as you keep it dry. I have bark in my borders and around my plants and the chickens love digging in it ( and they love turning over my compost heap).

 

I think you need to consider where you want to use any of the above and choose the one that suits the purpose.

 

Tricia

[Redwing]

Wood chip is true chipped wood and can be chunky or shreds

 

Bark is normally shredded bark and is softer than the woodchip

 

Garden mulch can be wood chips or bark or can be a combination of the two in a very rough form

 

Of these three woodchip is the choice for a run

 

Bark can harbour spores and gets slimey and slippery and mulch can contain all sorts

[Chicktastic]

I have soft wood chippings from B&Q in my run. My run is on soil and I used 1 large bag. The chooks have done the spreading out for me and they love scratting about with it!!! I was worrried that it would get soggy but it seems to be working really well for them!!!

 

It has only been down for a couple of weeks though, so things could change

[Olly]

The only other thing is that woodchip will take longer to compost, aubiose breaks down very quickly.

[ISCA]

Does anyone use a mixture of aubiose and woodchip? Just wondered if this would give the benefit of good absorbency from the former and a more interesting scratching surface from the latter?

 

I am still undecided as to what to use in my covered fixed run.

[Redwing]

Does anyone use a mixture of aubiose and woodchip? Just wondered if this would give the benefit of good absorbency from the former and a more interesting scratching surface from the latter?

 

I am still undecided as to what to use in my covered fixed run.

 

 

I use woodchip and add Aubiose from time to time to dry it out a bit, the combination is very good (as long as the run is covered) it looks a bit more like a forest floor would - more earthy once the woodchips start to break down, my lot love it

[ISCA]

Sounds good. I shall give it a try I think.

[BarbaraJ]

I use woodchip in their outside fenced in FR area and Aubiose in the WIR