bark???

[shadegrow]

Lidl are doing tree bark for £1.99 next week (40l). This is cheaper than I am paying for wood shavings. Is bark a safe floor covering? We have straw in the nest boxes for actual bedding which the chooks are using. They don't seem to be lying in the shavings.

[-pat m]

Lidl are doing tree bark for £1.99 next week (40l). This is cheaper than I am paying for wood shavings. Is bark a safe floor covering? We have straw in the nest boxes for actual bedding which the chooks are using. They don't seem to be lying in the shavings.

I would be interested in people’s thoughts as well. I use shavings- loads of the stuff (fortunately free) But it does get very compacted, Although it usually is 6” deep the girls don’t turn it over obviously the prefer the paddock but when they visit the garden the make a bee line for the border and root around in the bark! I thought about using a dressing of bark last summer mixed in with the shavings?

Regards
Pat

[MaureenHall]

I think bark is ok in the run but I personally wouldn't use it inside the coop or nest-boxes. It isn't as absorbent or as soft as shavings or straw

[araminta]

i think it can go mouldy quite quickly especially with any damp weather

[Eyren]

Bark has been OK in my eglu run in the past because it is covered, but I imagine it could get slimy and mouldy otherwise. Mind you, nothing's going to be nice in an open run in this weather

When you say your hens are not lying in the shavings, do you mean out in the run or in the henhouse? I use shredded paper and/or Hemcore (a kind of horse-bedding made out of hemp straw) in the nest box, which my bantams seem happy with - shavings are possibly a bit spiky on their tummies. Out in the run, they won't be lying down or digging dustbaths unless you have a covered area of the run where the ground is dry enough.

[Snadger]

Woodchippings are ok but bark is deemed a no-no! Apparently it has pathogens (get him!) in it which can affect the repiratory system of the chooks!

I know, I know, someone is going to come on and say "I've used bark for ages and it's great" but I'm just stating the answer I was given to the same asked question, on a very knowledgeable chook forum I visit!

[dozey1]

Snadger is right i am afraid, i have been on several chookie sites and they all say the same. Have you tried wood chips for your run? I use easy bed for the coop along with shavings and straw. Goood luck what ever you choose.

[Flummery]

I've noticed when opening the bags of bark chippings I use on my veg garden path, that it often contains white mould and threads of fungus and has a mushroomy smell. These are the things that cause breathing problems in hens. There seem to be so many things they can suffer from in any case, without adding to them. We all know of people who smoked for 60 years and died a peaceful old age but the vast majority would agree that the habit is seriously bad for you. Someone will have used bark with no problems but I think it's a risk too far.

[CoraxAurata]

Definately bark + chooks = bad... As said by others the spores from the bark cause breathing problems....

[Snadger]

I've noticed when opening the bags of bark chippings I use on my veg garden path, that it often contains white mould and threads of fungus and has a mushroomy smell. These are the things that cause breathing problems in hens. There seem to be so many things they can suffer from in any case, without adding to them. We all know of people who smoked for 60 years and died a peaceful old age but the vast majority would agree that the habit is seriously bad for you. Someone will have used bark with no problems but I think it's a risk too far.

A bloke died a couple of months ago when the fungus from a pile of chippings he was shifting got on his lungs and gave him breathing problems. If it will kill humans it will deffo kill chooks!

[frias]

A bloke died a couple of months ago when the fungus from a pile of chippings he was shifting got on his lungs and gave him breathing problems. If it will kill humans it will deffo kill chooks!

Oh s***. Run was so wet and slippery last week we put a bag of bark down in the run just so I could walk safely. OH is going to get it all up again tomorrow.

[Snadger]

Sorry frias I didn't mean to scaremonger! He was shifting woodchippings anyway, just they were mouldy.
Here's a link, I also think it was mentioned on the vine at the time!

Gardeners warned over wood mould | Home and Gardens | Culture

[frias]

That's OK Snadger. Notice how worried I am about girls and not husband who has to move it!

[Flummery]

Ah but his nose is further away than their beaks!