2009 Omlet cube and run for sale

[Snoxy]

HELP please

 

Do any of you use either fresh wood chips or large tree trunks from a tree surgeon?

 

Thank you.

 

Lou

[Redwing]

I dont but plenty of people do with no problems, they are free or cheap and do the job well

 

The reason I dont use them is that there was a horror story on another forum where someone filled their whole garden several inches deep in them and they were infested with red mite I think they ended up moving their chooks to a different location entirely - I know thats probably a rare case but its put me off completely!

[Snoxy]

Thank you for your reply...OMG that is enough to put me off too

 

I think I will stick to buying the bagged stuff from Wickes...although maybe that could have red mite too

 

Now that I have 12 girls I am anxious about the Winter time...I only had 3 girls last year and the mud was terrible...I guess I will just have to refresh the wood chips more often

 

Lou

Edited June 28, 2010 by Guest

[jellykelly]

I had some free wood chip from a tree surgeon. On the phone he told me that he had about 4 bags worth. "Great" I said - "pop it over in the morning". Come the morning there is the beep,beep,beep sound of a truck reversing and around two tonnes of the stuff is dumped on my rear drive.

Thank heavens for freecycle and the people that use it. I managed to give away the extra amount that I didn't use. The stuff I did use was fine and the chickens were happy to do their 'chickeny things' with it.

[abwsco]

We have done without any problems. My friend also did and the only problem she had was that they didn't move the piles of it quickly enough and it was on the verge of setting itself on fire. She also had no problem with red mite. I think the person on p p was just very unlucky!

[gazzagerkin]

been using free chippings from works tree gang since last autumn with no problems

[Redwing]

I think the person on p p was just very unlucky!

 

They were extremely unlucky yes I agree

[Guest]

How do we find the logs and wood chip ?

[Jools]

The poor person on P P was extremely unlucky. The stuff you buy from DIY places will be composted woodchip, ready to go on the garden, whereas the tree surgeon's will be freshly chipped - and infinitely cheaper than buying it in bags, provided you can accommodate the volume! If you go that route, then the heap can get very hot inside as it breaks down, but then so do compost heaps and even haystacks. I've had several loads delivered in the past few years, mainly for their winter area, and it's been invaluable.

 

Most contractors will be happy to drop a load off if they're working nearby as it's a waste product to them (unless they're able to sell it as a bio-fuel as we did), so have a look in Yellow Pages or the Arboricultural Association's website here.

[susanb]

we had to have a chestnut tree taken down - we kept all the chippings and they are great. My OH made perches from some branches too, and we have a couple of logs which we put in for them to climb on! I will have to investigate getting more when the pile runs out!

[Snoxy]

Brilliant info...thank you

[Bertrum]

We get ours from our local Forestry Commission. They ask for a donation so you can pay as little or as much as you think it is worth and know that they will plant more to replace the ones they cut down.

http://www.forestry.gov.uk/