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fire ants?

post #1 of 21
5/23/10 at 5:10pm
Thread Starter 

I don't have any chickens (yet), so please bear with me if I ask dumb questions!  One of the many reasons that I'm considering getting some chickens is that fire ants are starting to invade my kitchen garden.  Will chickens eat the little buggers?  Is that okay?  Thanks for your help.

Jamie
momma, gardener, teacher, potential chicken momma
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Jamie
momma, gardener, teacher, potential chicken momma
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post #2 of 21
5/23/10 at 5:14pm

My chickens avoid them at ALL costs !  I was hoping they would help by eating them. . . . hit

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post #3 of 21
5/23/10 at 5:14pm

I would not allow small chicks to get into them and not sure about large chickens.  DE works good on them in my garden.

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post #4 of 21
5/23/10 at 5:20pm
Thread Starter 

Boo-Boo's Mama :

I would not allow small chicks to get into them and not sure about large chickens.  DE works good on them in my garden.


What is DE?  We eat a lot from the garden, so I was hoping to avoid chemically treating for them.  I heard that ducks like fire ants?  I'll have to check into that...

Jamie
momma, gardener, teacher, potential chicken momma
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Jamie
momma, gardener, teacher, potential chicken momma
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post #5 of 21
5/23/10 at 5:20pm

I've never had any of my chickens eat any kind of ant

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post #6 of 21
5/23/10 at 5:53pm
Thread Starter 

Darn!  Looks like I need armadillos, not fowl!  I wonder if they lay eggs?  wink  It seems fire ants can be bad news for chicken domiciles also.  Luckily, I only have one small mound right now.  It appears that physically removing and disposing of them is best at this stage.  Thanks for your help guys!

Jamie
momma, gardener, teacher, potential chicken momma
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Jamie
momma, gardener, teacher, potential chicken momma
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post #7 of 21
5/23/10 at 7:56pm

What is DE?


Diatomaceous Earth

Basically a finely powdered type of rock that cuts and dehydrates insects
Its organic

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post #8 of 21
5/23/10 at 8:04pm

guineas worked fairly good

13 buff o's(cletus,momma,uno),9 golden comets(hailey,gale,lydia),12 barred rocks(cogburn),16 white rocks,5 new hampshires,6 royal purple guineas,2 chocolate pearl guineas,2 gray pearl guineas,1 slate guinea,1 slate x gray pearl guinea(bubbles),4 narragansett turkeys(jake,jen,jenny,jennifer),2 dogs(capone,chester),2 cats(belle,pumpkin)
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13 buff o's(cletus,momma,uno),9 golden comets(hailey,gale,lydia),12 barred rocks(cogburn),16 white rocks,5 new hampshires,6 royal purple guineas,2 chocolate pearl guineas,2 gray pearl guineas,1 slate guinea,1 slate x gray pearl guinea(bubbles),4 narragansett turkeys(jake,jen,jenny,jennifer),2 dogs(capone,chester),2 cats(belle,pumpkin)
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post #9 of 21
5/24/10 at 4:24am
Thread Starter 

Cletus, thanks, I didn't really know what a guinea was.  They seem like cool little birds but I'm on a suburban lot.  I think their noise and flight capabilities might be too much for me.  Thank you!

Jamie
momma, gardener, teacher, potential chicken momma
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Jamie
momma, gardener, teacher, potential chicken momma
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post #10 of 21
5/24/10 at 3:56pm

if you pour a little feed on the anthill the chickens will get the hint smile we have fire ants all over the place here (sunbury,nc).got the guineas for that and other bugs but apparently it is a learned behavior.poured some feed on the anthill and the guineas and chickens went right for it with the chickens busting the hill open with their scratching smile


Edited by cletus the rooster - 5/24/10 at 4:01pm
13 buff o's(cletus,momma,uno),9 golden comets(hailey,gale,lydia),12 barred rocks(cogburn),16 white rocks,5 new hampshires,6 royal purple guineas,2 chocolate pearl guineas,2 gray pearl guineas,1 slate guinea,1 slate x gray pearl guinea(bubbles),4 narragansett turkeys(jake,jen,jenny,jennifer),2 dogs(capone,chester),2 cats(belle,pumpkin)
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13 buff o's(cletus,momma,uno),9 golden comets(hailey,gale,lydia),12 barred rocks(cogburn),16 white rocks,5 new hampshires,6 royal purple guineas,2 chocolate pearl guineas,2 gray pearl guineas,1 slate guinea,1 slate x gray pearl guinea(bubbles),4 narragansett turkeys(jake,jen,jenny,jennifer),2 dogs(capone,chester),2 cats(belle,pumpkin)
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