do u have a lot of wood 2 chip?

I put leaves in my chicken yard and that helped a lot.Also husband put wood chips on the path.Would they get in the hooves of the animals?Posy Pet

Yes we have ton of pine trees. We live in the pine tree state. LOL It wouldnt get in there hooves as much as everyone says it will make a mess. We have to come up with a solution for paths. Cheap! and workable Thanks Jenny-Living a DREAM one day at a time.

Chips might work for short term, but they also are trying to break down to the basic fiber. So with water added, they are composting as they lay. They actually make the situation worse in the long run, keeping the mud going, losing your firm base of dirt.

Do you have any extra stall mats, you could put on some chips, to use for short term dry spot?

Not sure what machines you have, or could rent. We get a Bobcat type, scrape off the muddy dirt of barnyard or paddock and pile it up. Get down to firm dirt for animals to stand on. Some folks say a wood edging maybe with 2"x10" around a 12ft x 12ft or 12ft x 36ft area. Size depends on how many animals, then fill the inside with crushed stone, for a standing location that dries quickly, does not get muddy. They keep the poop picked up, so stone doesn't get turned into muck and quit draining.

I use the piled up dirt as fill in garden beds, washouts, all over. Horses might play on it, but dirt comes in handy for many uses. Once piled up, dirt seems to dry well, doesn't stay a mucky mess.

The chip spreading in paddocks and barnyards just does not seem to work well. Area gets very slippery when wet not frozen, stays mucky and deep, like spreading barn manure in the mud. Might seem OK in the frozen times, but really delays ground getting solid in the long run. Constant breakdown of the organic material, chips and manure.

Chips can work on paths, just not great in barnyards or mud holes on the farm. You have to start with solid dirt, put down a good gravel base to keep solid footing. And scrape and replace the base, every few years. Using the geotextile fabrics under gravel base, helps prevent base disappearing into muck with use.