Best Ground for UncoveredRun?

[HumbleAmerican]

What are these made of?

Typically around here it’s softwood coniferous type (pine, fir, spruce, hemlock) It’s byproduct of our lumber mills.

 

[K0k0shka]

What are these made of?

Playground chips are made from clean untreated wood from a sawmill, and have to meet certain size requirements. Nothing too big or too small, and no twigs, branches, bark, pointy pieces etc. (so they'd be safe for children). Landscaping chips and mulches are usually made from shredder bark and yard waste, so any part of the tree/shrub can be in them, and the pieces vary in size more. And because they are shredded more and contain other parts of the plant as well, not just chunks of solid wood, they decompose faster. Some of them are dyed, but the dyes used are not toxic. Iron oxide (rust) for red, carbon (charcoal) for black, etc. They are often used in gardens around edible plants, so they are safe to use. Safe for chickens, too. The one big drawback of colored mulches is that the color comes off and gets on everything... as any gardener who forgot to put gloves on before handling it knows.

 

[aart]

Nothing too big or too small, and no twigs, branches, bark, pointy pieces etc.

I guess that is why they might decompose more slowly.

 

[K0k0shka]

I guess that is why they might decompose more slowly.

Yep. Playground surfaces need to last, not decompose. But playgrounds are a good example to point to and demonstrate wood chips' wonderful ability to drain and keep the ground dry. Ever seen a wood-chipped playground with puddles in it? I have young kids and we're prowling the playgrounds all the time, in all seasons and weather conditions, and the wood chipped areas are always reliably puddle-free, and their surface is the first to dry.

 

[KRS57]

You need carbon. Wood chips are the easiest to source. Google Joel Salatin "Polyface Farm" he has written numerous books, various videos on YouTube. Operates a multi generational farm in the Shenandoah Valley. He has decades of experience and swears by my recommendation.

Will pine chips work? If not, what kind of wood chips?

 

[3KillerBs]

Will pine chips work? If not, what kind of wood chips?

Pretty much any wood will work except for Eastern Red Cedar, which has strong fumes that irritate the birds' respiratory system and black walnut, which *can* be toxic if ingested and which *may* still kill plants even after composting if the jugalone hasn't fully degraded.

 

[KRS57]

Pretty much any wood will work except for Eastern Red Cedar, which has strong fumes that irritate the birds' respiratory system and black walnut, which *can* be toxic if ingested and which *may* still kill plants even after composting if the jugalone hasn't fully degraded.

Thank you for the quick reply! It rains where I live and my run is completely open. Will the pine shavings be okay when it rains? Also, should I turn the chips every couple weeks like I would for a deep liter coop?

 

[3KillerBs]

Thank you for the quick reply! It rains where I live and my run is completely open. Will the pine shavings be okay when it rains? Also, should I turn the chips every couple weeks like I would for a deep liter coop?

Coarse wood chips are better than shavings for an open run. That's the kind of chips you get from a tree-trimming service.

Or, if you can't get those or don't have room to store a truckload, PLAIN, undyed mulch.

Both those are less likely to pack and mat than even coarse-flake shavings, which are so much smaller and thinner.

Also random yard waste such as fallen leaves, pulled garden weeds, and dried grass clippings (too many fresh clippings at once can mold, clippings that are too long can cause crop problems).^

^That said, I use fresh clippings but I always double-mow, which results in shorter clippings, have a large flock to distribute the clippings so no one bird gorges, and have exceedingly well-drained soil so the clippings dry out rather than mold.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

You need carbon. Wood chips are the easiest to source. Google Joel Salatin "Polyface Farm" he has written numerous books, various videos on YouTube. Operates a multi generational farm in the Shenandoah Valley. He has decades of experience and swears by my recommendation.

LOVE Joel Salatin!

 

[SandyRiverChick]

I have a question for you... Where do you feed them? Is Layer feed around the corner? I have found that the worst run smell is not from poo, it's from wet wasted layer feed. I've had to solve for that and smell gone.... That said my soil is mostly sand and I have a layer of playchips on top, I just add to it every spring. Your run doesn't look like it would smell of poo to me if you're letting them out all day but I do understand issues with wetness, I'm in super rainy woods of Oregon.