Ants - do they bother the chickens?

[write2caroline]

Do ants or fire ants bother the chickens or are they nutty and delicious?

Every time I put food done I find ants in the feeder dish.

Any hints on how to get rid of them and not harm the chicks - 5 weeks old now and living in the coop.

Or should I not be concerned

Inquiring Chicken newbie question
Cal
Jax FL

 

[Eggs4Sale]

Some people swear be DE. I had some ants the other day when I was watering some plants. They were carrying their young to some new drier place. I sprinkled the DE on them (food grade only) and they at the very least went around the DE. So maybe if you put a wide band of DE around the water, they'll stay away. My chickens don't pay any attention to ants. They don't eat them, unfortunately. I see ants carrying away chicken feed.

If the chcikens scratch up the band of DE, maybe you could put a large tray of it under the water??? I say just liberally sprinkle the stuff, see what happens. A lot of feed stores carry DE (diatomaceous earth) but it must be food grade, and preferably without ash, just 100% pure DE, a white powder.

 

[cockadoodle]

This is what I use

Amdro ant block. Just don't lay it down where the chickens will eat it. I was having a problem with ants eating all the mouse bait in my mouse trap, I put some of this in the mouse trap and every ant in my yard is dead or dying. It took 8 days to wipe out one really entrenched nest. I don't use it like they show in the youtube video, I find an ant trail, follow it back to the nest and pour a teaspoon on the ant hill., doesn't take much. There are tons of other options from grits, to boiling water to god knows what else. I don't usually like chemicals, but didn't want to spend my whole summer dealing with ants this year.

Mark