Alfalfa in the chicken yard

A few years ago I had some crummy weedy wood chips. I put the giant pile in the chicken yard and made the chickens very happy. Then they made me very happy by spreading the word chips all over. Over the last few years any time I needed soil I would take it from the chicken yard. It was lovely stuff.
It's now completely decomposed. The other day I wanted some soil to add to the bottom of a pot. I went with my bucket, and came out empty handed. The soil was like concrete.
I don't have any compromised wood chips. I do have some good wood chips, but I need them for other spaces. I'm going to ask for more, but in the meantime I was thinking about buying a Bale of alfalfa. Straw would be cheaper, but I was thinking if I wet down the alfalfa I would probably get sprouts, and it would not only be entertainment, and ground cover, but also a little snack now and then.
I was wondering if anyone has tried this? I can buy pine wood chips relatively cheap from my work, and straw is pretty inexpensive for me. I just thought with the higher nitrogen, and possibility of sprouting that it might be the better option.  What do you think?

I don't have any good input into this but wanted to see if you did try it and if so how did it work out for you?

Alfalfa tends to rot when it gets wet, much more than straw does. The seeds in straw may sprout quicker and more reliably than those in alfalfa.

From buying alfalfa, I seem to remember that it is cut before or at the flowering stage so there should be few if any seeds in a bale.  Then the crop gets watered and then there is a second cut - more if the season allows it.  It also goes to mold quite quickly.

Thank you so much for the great info. I didn't try it, and I'm glad , thought we get pretty much no rain in the summer.
I mulched my veggie garden with wheat straw, and did get sprouts. It didn't bother me, just more mulch. So maybe I will try that someday.
I was able to get lots of pine shavings for free. I'm going to open the package and leave them for the chickens to spread around. Right now the chicken yard is a mess. The lid on the trash can can easily be popped off, and the hens love to put all the feed bags out and spread them around. Also there are all the bricks and cement chunks I pulled out of the coop when I put hardware cloth on the bottom of the coop. It's a mess! I hated the nesting boxes, so I didn't put it back into the coop ( so every day is an egg hunt). So that's what I have been working on. There's always more to do then I have time for. I hope to finish the nesting boxes tomorrow, and maybe get it installed tomorrow or the next day. I work full time, the garden needs regular watering, have to feed the chickens, then there's this, that and the other thing. Such as life, at least mine.
Thanks