chickens as pest control

[naturababe]

two pest control questions:

1) i have seen chickens referenced as pest control for farms and gardens. do chickens actually eat just the bugs and not the plants or veggies? i assumed that a chicken would mow down a garden if it got the chance.

2) how good are chickens at eating ticks? we have a lot of deer ticks and i'd love the chickens to eat them all up. I know guinea fowl are better, but i don't think i want guinea fowl.

oh, i'm adding a third

3) are the chickens going to be covered in ticks themselves?

 

[InsaneBreeder]

I can only answer your first question: the chickens will eat anything edible they can get to. Bugs, pests, fruits, flowers, and vegetables are all on the menu.

 

[onthespot]

my marans killed a baby rat the other day.

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

I had some chickens in the garden once, and they did eat alot of the bugs but they do eat some of the veggies as well.

They do eat alot of grass but mostly bugs. ( My chickens are kind of lazy! LOL )
The rest of the answers I dunno?

 

[Tala]

Yes your chickens will eat up the garden. Even plants that they don't eat up they will probably dig up or scratch to death.

My neighbors used to have an uncounted number of completely free range chickens, plus horses, goats, dogs, cats, etc.
And they NEVER had a tick problem.
I think chickens eat ticks just fine.

Since their dogs and horses didn't get ticks, I highly doubt that the chickens themselves will get ticks either, but I have no hard evidence.

 

[lilblessings5]

Since my chickens have been running around I noticed we don't have any of those little orange lady bugs ( not really lady bugs- i think they are a beetle but look just like a lady bug only different colored)

My chickens love veggies and I had to fence off my rubarb as it was coming out of the ground this spring cause they wouldn't leave it alone so I'm pretty sure they would eat the heck out of my garden.
I've heard of people planting a garden just for their chickens to munch on.

 

[dawg53]

Chickens are walking stomachs,they pretty much eat anything and everything. My hens were dragging a toad around the yard the other day and I had to catch the hen that had the toad to get it away from her. Once I got the toad from her, all the chickens wanted a piece of it but I threw it in the garbage can. Last summer it was almost the same thing except it was a small garden snake. It was funny watching all the chickens chasing one chicken running all over the place. I have a bug free yard too.

 

[Sooner]

Chickens will get rid of ticks just as well as guinea's. I went from spending a fourtune on sprays & granual's to none. The only place I have to spray is the back yard where the dogs are because the chickens can't get back there.

They will eat (or scratch to death) the garden & any flowers you have in pots that they can get to.

 

[ErieSpurs]

Quote:
This is one of the reason Guineas are favored. They tend to pick things from surfaces, instead of digging or plowing through them.

If you are just using for pest control, I would recommend using smaller breed chickens or bantams. A 22oz chicken eats bugs just as good as a 9lb chicken, but they don't squash plants as easy.

If the noise from Guinea fowl is whats steering you away from them, mine are actually quieter than my bantam Polish. They rarely make a sound all day long, unless they spot something out of order - such as a stranger or predator. I only have 2 guineas and I assume that is one of the reasons why they are so quiet. A larger flock is probably more vocal. Good Luck.

 

[naturababe]

i thought about guineas, maybe i will just get one or two and keep them in with the chickens. would they be ok with that if i have enough room?