Is mulch a safe choice for your chickens? Choosing a bedding option for your chicken coop or chicken run can feel overwhelming. With so many choices on the market and the viral “designer” chicken coop trends on social media, there are lots of opinions from chicken keepers about what is best for your chicken flocks. Read my list of the best chicken bedding options and best ground cover for your coop!
Is Mulch Safe for Chickens?
Yes, in short, organic mulches are safe for chickens! There are several common types of mulch. Mulch is defined as a material that is spread over the surface of soil as a covering. There are organic and inorganic mulches. Organic mulch is made up of organic matter like wood chips, shredded bark pieces, pine needles, chopped leaves, paper shavings, or straw. Organic matter will break down over time. Inorganic mulch is typically made of plastic or rubber, which does not break down.
However, some landscaping mulches contain dyes or other chemicals to preserve their aesthetics longer. While it may not kill your chickens, this mulch is probably not safe for chickens. Personally, I would steer clear of these options. If you plan on composting your spent chicken coop bedding for use in a vegetable garden, you probably don’t want those dyes or chemicals ending up in your compost pile and messing with the organic matter in your black gold!
Bedding Options in the Chicken Coop or Run
- Mulch (natural wood chip mulches without dyes or chemicals)
- Pine shavings
- Grass Clippings
- Pine Needles
- Chopped Leaves
- Straw
When it comes down to it, don’t over think this decision. After all, we are talking about what your chickens will be pooping on… Eventually, it will all get added to the compost pile anyway! Remember, different people prefer different things! The most important thing is that chickens need a clean and dry environment to avoid illness, especially respiratory illness. Chicken manure is high in ammonia and moist conditions in a chicken coop can lead to major respiratory problems.
Mulch
Now that we know Mulch is safe for chickens, let’s discuss the benefits. Mulch is probably one of the better options for bedding in the chicken run. Wood chips don’t break down super fast and will hold up longer. This is great for the outdoor run as it will be exposed to the elements. Additionally, natural wood chip mulch is likely to contain tiny bugs that are best kept outdoors. Your flock will love scratching around for the bugs, especially if they are not free range chickens.
Wood chip mulch will help with drainage outdoors. Chickens do not like having wet feet. With wood chips in the chicken run, water will be able to drain through them. With that being said, wood chip mulch is not very absorbent and no one wants a muddy run. The chicken manure will likely sit on top of the mulch, rather than absorb into it. For this reason, I suggest combining mulch with something absorbent like shavings or straw.
Another benefit could be cost savings if you are able to use wood chips or chipped mulch from your own property! There are also wood chip delivery services where you can have a load of wood chips dropped at your property free of charge. Check out getchipdrop.com to see if you can get free wood chippings!
Cypress Mulch
Cypress mulch can be a fantastic mulch bedding option for chickens. However, it is more expensive and harder to find. If you have the resources to get it, there is no good reason why you shouldn’t. Cypress is naturally pest and fungus resistant, good for insulation, has a pleasant smell, and works well at wicking away moisture. All these attributes make it a good choice for bedding especially if you have a small flock and don’t need much.
Pine Shavings
Pine shavings are my personal preference for bedding inside the chicken coop. They are super absorbent and have a wonderful light pine scent that aids in reducing odor inside the coop, making them the best option for me. Aspen shavings are comparable to the pine shavings and are safe for the flock making them a great choice, as well.
The deep litter method is fairly popular for easy coop management. It entails layering pine shavings on to the chicken coop floor to absorb chicken manure. Instead of removing the shavings every few weeks, you continue to layer in more pine shavings. This allows the lower layers to compost in place. Overall this method does not require much effort and helps keep the odor down.
Being in Ohio, it is important to protect the flock during the cold winter months. We commonly reach negative temperatures and, while chickens are fairly resilient, it is important to insulate the coop as much as possible. Pine shavings do a fantastic job with insulation.
Pine shavings are also extremely accessible. We pick up big packages of pine shavings from our local feed store for around $6. One package covers our coop floor sparsely (about 250 sqft). I prefer to use 2 full packages to get a good, thick layer on the ground. I typically add 1 package of pine shavings every 3-4 weeks. We clean out the coop entirely 2-3 times per year. Overall, extremely cost effective for a virtually odor free coop maintenance material!
Cedar Shavings
Cedar shavings or cedar mulch is not a good bedding option and I would suggest against it. Odors released from cedar are not good for chickens’ respiratory health. Extended exposure to the scent of cedar can cause respiratory illness or other respiratory problems down the road.
Grass Clippings
I have made the mistake of putting freshly mowed grass clippings into my chicken run. They were too wet and began to pack down, creating molding layers. The smell was outrageous. However, dried grass clippings will work well as a bedding option. Not to mention, you can typically acquire this bedding for free if you have a yard.
Dried grass clippings will break down fairly quickly and will compost nicely. I would suggest a fairly frequent clean out with this bedding material because if any areas get left unturned, even the dried clippings can mold if exposed to moisture (like chicken manure).
I would suggest leaving dried grass clippings outside the coop for air circulation. Putting anything on the coop floor that could become moldy is not a great idea.
Pine Needles
Pine needles could potentially be a good source of bedding for chickens. If you have an abundance on your property, you could definitely save money by using them. Pine needles, however, are not great at absorbing moisture. For this reason I would suggest combining them with another bedding material that does have good moisture wicking abilities.
Pine needles, in combination with chopped leaves or pine shavings, could be a great option. Otherwise, if not combining the pine needles with something else, I would suggest cleaning them out regularly to avoid mold or other bacteria from building up and potentially causing health problems for your flock.
Chopped Leaves
Chopped leaves are a great organic material and free source of bedding for chickens, when they are completely dry. Chickens love to scratch through all the leaves looking for any bugs they can find.
It is important to note that chopped leaves will function differently as bedding than whole leaves. Whole leaves will not absorb moisture and wetness will sit on top of the leaves. Wet leaves lead to a slippery surface on the coop floor and poor respiratory conditions for the flock if mold grows. Chopped leaves will be able to absorb moisture and break down in a healthy way.
Chop leaves by using a lawn mower or a chipper. This will give you the best consistency. Lay them out in the sun (preferably somewhere dry like a driveway or tarp), and turn them a few times to ensure they dry out evenly before use in the chicken coop.
Straw
Straw is our personal favorite choice for added insulation in the winter months. We lay a thick layer of straw on top of our pine shavings. The chickens love to scratch through the straw and mix it in with the pine shavings.
Straw is very low in dust, which makes it good for inside the chicken coop. However, it can get messy if your chickens are muddy or have any other wet dirtiness on their feet. I find that layering some pine shavings on top make a great addition and will help but it is best practice to clean it out regularly.
Important Note: Straw and hay are different. Straw is a by-product of cereal stalks. Hay is a grass, grown for the purpose of feeding animals. Hay has a high moisture content and tends to mold if used as bedding. Read more about Straw here in this fantastic resource.
What is Your Favorite Bedding Material for Chickens?
Let me know in the comments below what material you prefer to use in your coop or run. I am also open to more ideas and love the idea of utilizing free resources from my property. Knowing mulch is safe for my chickens gives me confidence to try other natural resources!
Check out this post if you are worried about a material choice. Meredith from The Backyard Chicken Project discusses poor choices for bedding, as well as more good options as bedding. If you don’t see your material choice on that list, do a little research online to see if its a good idea, or drop it in the comments and I will be happy to give you my thoughts!
If you are curious about what else you need in a chicken coop for the health and well-being of your flock, check out this post. I discuss everything you need to set up your coop!
I hope you enjoyed this peek into Life at Metzger Acres!
Great information, thank you for sharing!
Great information, will keep this in mind for when we get chickens next year!
I’ve always told my husband that if we could afford lots of land one day, chickens would be one of the first things I’d love to have! Super informative!