Borax safe for chickens?

[Muffie]

Hi I used borax 3 Tablespoons in 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup water. The chickens were eating it today had to chase them away. They eat everything. I noticed one had diarrhea . They seemed ok settled in coop. If I find any dead will let you know. I would put in jar with lid with holes from now on

 

[bizzyeemojo]

I am getting ready for my first chickens and was wondering the same thing.
I have used Borax and sugar (in lidded plastic containers with holes punched in them) effectively to get rid of ants. It takes some time to get their numbers down but they can be lured away from areas they are not wanted pretty quickly.
How harmful it is for to chickens to eat the ants? I do know good soil should have some boron in it. So, for now, I am going to make the assumption that, if you lure the ants away and keep the coop and all areas hens will graze free of leaves and debris ants love to nest in, the hens will be ok.
Once a week I pass Cornell University of Agriculture. I will stop in and pose this question.
In the meantime, if there are any chicken loving vets reading this thread I'd love for you to weigh in!
One last thing, ants play a role in decomposition so don't be too eager to completely eliminate them.

 

[bizzyeemojo]

The chickens like the sugar. Keep the solution away from the birds. Believe me, the ants will find it!

 

[bizzyeemojo]

I was unable to go to Cornell today but did a little research.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1786007
Evidently if you are not allowing your chicks to eat the Borax all should be well.
I get my first chicks next week and I am soooo excited!
Love this site!

 

[Earthmamafl]

So my compost pile got infested with red ants. I turned around for a second and saw one of the chickens running towards the pile I got there about the same time, I saw that she was packing at a small chunk of boric I shued her away. I' not even sure if the actual boric got in her mouth. If she was just pecking, but if a very small amount got in her mouth, does anyone know if it will kill her... Or will it pass in her system and maybe just give her an upset stomach???

 

[paneubert]

Borax is not called Borax because it has boric acid. It is called that because it has boron.

Well.....not really. You are right about it not literally BEING boric acid, but it is not that simple.

Borax and boric acid are not the same compound; borax is a salt of boric acid. Borax is sodium borate, while boric acid is hydrogen borate.

 

[Chick-a-de]

I think I would put it in a jar with holes in the lid or something so the chickens can't get it.

genius!

 

[Lisa Sims]

I am trying to get rid of some ants and earwigs outdoors with a homemade borax and sugar mixture. (You soak it up into cotton balls and leave them outside for the insects and it kills them.) But I'm wondering if this is safe to use around chickens. Anyone know?

Thank you!

I think it's safe. I take a small pinch of 20 Mule Team in water once a day as a supplement (good for bones and good antidote for fluoride detox). I believe it's main action in killing insects is as a dessicant like DE. Dessicant that dehydrate insects do not necessarily hurt higher life forms. On the other hand, boric acid probably would be toxic.

 

[Dnorton]

Reviving an old thread
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1786007/

This is about boric acid, not borax, but seems to suggest small amounts have little effect. Keep in mind though that what your hens eat, you eat if you eat their eggs.

 

[TexasNette]

I would think that the chickens would eat the cotton ball. I know they will eat styrofoam (sp?) packing peanuts in a hurry and a cotton ball looks very similar. I use food grade diatomaceous earth and poultry dust inside my coops and 5% sevin dust outside the coop.

As for the Borax... I don't know if it is safe for chickens but I do know that you can use it in carpets inside your home for fleas (I learned that on byc) It did not bother my inside pets or my family.

Aren’t packing peanuts corn starch??