# Wood chips



## Qvrfullmidwife (Oct 25, 2007)

We have a mountain of wood chips in the front yard...somehow my dh got all of the easement trimming crews in the county to dump their wood shavings on our property.

Problem is, the area that we have a mountain (I am talking five ft tall) of wood chips is the area that we planned to expand the main goat pen to.

We can move the wood chips before enclosing the area...but it will be a pain in the tush and it will take longer to be able to move the goats out of their swamp to this higher ground.

Work wise I'd rather not move the wood chips right away, just slowly as we need them. Plus, hey, the goats will enjoy playing on Mt Waller County.

BUT I do not want to risk them eating something toxic.

Input?


----------



## nightskyfarm (Sep 7, 2009)

There could be a variety of species of wood in those chips and some could be toxic. Also, with moisture the pile will mold which is also not good. You would be temping The Fates. I would fence around the pile. Jennifer


----------



## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

We don't have a lot of toxic anything in our area, I would kind of doubt you do either. If anything I would be more worried about the amounts of ground leaves and soft bark they could eat initially, rather than it being toxic, more of an overload. Can you let them out there for short periods of time after you have refreshed their hay? My girls dove into the straw like they were starving even though they have not only grass but alfalfa hay in their feeders and alfalfa pellets! Go figure! A pile of woodchips wouldn't be a pile around my Shoofly, she is our bulldozer, if you put a bale of straw on the ground she jumps onto it with her brisket and dives into it shoving it all over the pen, it's hysterical to watch, and she actually does a very good job of the initial moving of all the straw! Vicki


----------



## Qvrfullmidwife (Oct 25, 2007)

Plus dh reminded me that we are not talking about trimming near the ground where we could possibly be talking about something like oleander being in the mix--this was all up high, as in clearing the electrical lines high....so pine, cypress, oak, etc but nothing that I am too worried about.


----------



## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

My goats would probably eat the whole pile. They eat the shavings out of the bags when I put them fresh into their stalls. I guess it must be okay because none have ever gotten sick from it. Now, there was one time when I decided to use wood PELLETS in the barn. I was bedding a stall for our rehab horse and wanted a fine sawdust because it's more cushiony than shavings or straw. 

First thing was to put the pellets in the stall, and then lightly wet them down. I'm not sure I got any water on any of the pellets at all. By the time I got back with the hose, the goats had eaten most of them. 

I decided not to try and use wood pellets again.


----------



## LLB101 (Sep 29, 2009)

mine went to the same school as Vicki's - a pile o' wood chips is an invitation! They are also super helpful with a fresh bale of shavings, will nibble some, but paw and jump and have them spread out in no time.


----------

