I'm jealous! Woodchip is great stuff once it's mostly broken down and I'd give my right arm for a few tons at the moment!

On a similar note, is chicken muck acidic or limey? I thought lime, but can't remember. Our local chicken farmer employs me to sort out his hedges and orchard every year and has kindly said I can help myself to the straw and wood shaving heap he has from the hens free range sheds and paddocks. It's not the stinky pure chicken muck that normal farms would have, more a sort of mix that pet hens kept on a small scale would produce - mainly bedding. I was considering getting a few trailer loads and mixing it with our horse muck to compost over a year or so and use when potting the young trees up. Does that sound sensible to everyone?

Could any spare go straight under the newish (5 year old) hazel and quickthorn hedges?