Arizona Chickens

[CaroleW]

We have the same problem. Our goats won’t even eat them enough to make a dent. We have about 2 acres with waist high weeds and I am trying to figure out what to do to get rid of them as they pose a high fire hazard once they die on their own. I don’t want the husband to spray roundup as he has done in the past when we didn’t have chickens. HELP!

In the past I've mowed them first then tarp them with any kind of plastic you have and weigh down with sandbags (tires, rims, rocks, t-posts layed on top, old logs, pieces of concrete, jugs of water, pots of dirt...) and leave as long as you can. I've also done this without mowing first but you have to lay them down somehow. It's not an overnite solution but if you keep doing it consistently (year over year) you can subdue some of those weeds.

 

[KToddy]

No lawn out here in the desert. Just weeds. It all depends on how much rain we get in winter. Here is what the weeds are looking like now. No big deal, right?
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Looks easy enough to deal with... one would think. But multiply that over an acre+ and it becomes too much to do by hand. Unfortunately, if left alone, like we did a couple years back, it grows to look like this.. (photo from 2020)

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And then to this... (also 2020) and with it come flies galore. It's one of those strange things of living out here. It also makes us wary of rattlesnakes hiding in there.

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Most years it isn't an issue because of the lack of rain. But we know now we have to keep it under control when we do get the rains. When it got this prolific, we did use a weed wacker and even a lawn mower to get it down. After that, we started using weed killer while the weeds were still small (like they are now) to prevent it getting so bad.

But now we have chickens. Yesterday they found a rare dandelion and ate it down. Yay! I don't think they are too keen on the type of weeds we have the most of though. I was really, really hoping they would eat them up.

Oh, I should mention too that I usually put Preen (a pre-emergent) down if it's rainy. But I have not used it in the backyard for fear the girls would just eat it up. So that's probably exacerbating the issue.

Not sure what we'll do. Though it feels a little better to vent.

SAME here!!! Have you thought of (or tried) the vinegar based weed killer at the Depot?- probably a DIY recipe online… I am going to test it. I wonder if anyone has experience with it.

 

[KToddy]

In the past I've mowed them first then tarp them with any kind of plastic you have and weigh down with sandbags (tires, rims, rocks, t-posts layed on top, old logs, pieces of concrete, jugs of water, pots of dirt...) and leave as long as you can. I've also done this without mowing first but you have to lay them down somehow. It's not an overnite solution but if you keep doing it consistently (year over year) you can subdue some of those weeds.

Our ground is not flat enough to mow them.. and there are big rocks too

 

[CaroleW]

Be careful feeding any weeds with seedheads (foxtail like seedheads that are kind of hidden at a certain age). I'm pretty sure that I had a Lakenvelder hen keel over with one stuck in her throat a couple weeks ago. I didn't have time to do necropsy but her crop was just air filled when I felt it and punctured it with knife to see what came out.

I'm no longer taking any grass to my flocks (since I see the hidden seedheads)- only the mustard weeds. I'll feed grass only if it is short and for sure no hidden seedheads.

 

[BlueBaby]

We have the same problem. Our goats won’t even eat them enough to make a dent. We have about 2 acres with waist high weeds and I am trying to figure out what to do to get rid of them as they pose a high fire hazard once they die on their own. I don’t want the husband to spray roundup as he has done in the past when we didn’t have chickens. HELP!

We had a bunch of weed's that grow by the driveway. My husband bought some bags of that rock salt and put it on them being careful not to get too close to out mesquite tree. Then he watered it with a hose to help it dissolve into the ground in that area. It killed the weed's and they didn't come back for quite a while, but after all this rain this year, now they are coming back and he will need to do it again. If you do this method, be careful not to get it too close to any plants that you don't want to die.

 

[CaroleW]

Our ground is not flat enough to mow them.. and there are big rocks too

Weed whip what you can (or don't) and tarp using the abundant rocks if possible. I've learned everyone's land/circumstances are different so I take all the advice I can get and use whatever applies or that I can adapt. Hopefully someone has some advice you can use in this game we play to subdue and steward our environment.

--EDIT-- what about old carpet on top? once it is down water it and you don't need as many weights if it stays damp. The key is to exclude light and gathering more seeds. If it can catch the widblown seeds you can probably at a certain point roll all those new weeds up in the carpet.

 

[NuggetMama]

From what I was told, never feed them onion's. Save those for yourself. Onion's can be frozen in ziplock baggies for later use.

OOO okay! Yeah i have a crap ton of green onions on the window sill in a cup. LOL I'm just like what do I do with all of this. Some of them are over 2 years old !

 

[NuggetMama]

I recently revived an abandoned herb garden I used to keep for my rabbits. I'm going to let it get overrun with mint since my chickens like mint. It's surrounded with chicken wire. So once established, I can open it up during their free range time and let them have at it.

OOO I will have to do that too! I had a lot of mint at one point where i was living but unfortunately the people I was living with thought it was a weed and dug it all out then tossed it in the trash. I was SO upset. Ugh. But now that you say that i can do it all over again! Grab a bunch of mint and oregano and just let it go!

 

[BlueBaby]

OOO okay! Yeah i have a crap ton of green onions on the window sill in a cup. LOL I'm just like what do I do with all of this. Some of them are over 2 years old !

I hope that you were talking about after you grow them. I got a deal before on a 50-pound gunny sack full of onion's years ago, and split it with another person so that we both had 25-pound's. I peeled and chopped mine up and put them in in ziplock baggies in amount's that you would normally use in your like casserole or chili recipes. Then when you need that amount just take one out of the freezer.

 

[NuggetMama]

Another question, what do ya'll use for ants. I have an amazing suggestion from @BlueBaby , and I plan on getting it too. But for right now until i can get it what do you use? We have so many ant hills that i never knew about and I have them in the house already. They are going after our Tortoise food and the dishes, and the cat food as well as any crumbs i miss when i'm cleaning... I'm afraid of them getting to the pet chickens that are in the garage and house.