Chickens eating charred wood bits and lots of bees... is this ok?

[simpleliving]

Hi everyone-

We have a firepit where we have burned branches and trees that have falled and I noticed the birds go crazy in that pile - it is great dirt underneath and seems to be lots of bugs so I thought nothing of it until I realized they seemed to be eating the charred bits too. Is this going to hurt them? It is not charcoal - just charred wood.

Also, we had a yellowjacket nest removed the other day - not with poisons - the guy just poured soapy water on them and then pulled the nest out of the ground. He said the chickens would love the larvae and washed the soap off of the hive and larvae and left it on the ground for them. When I checked back, they had eaten everything, all the dead yellowjackets, larvae and hive as well! Is this ok? This was a couple of days ago and they seem fine, but will we be ok to eat the eggs? There won't be an abundance of bee venom in them will there? My husband has a moderate allergy to bees, so I am a little concerned and we don't know if our daughters have allergies yet or not.

Thanks!

Holli

 

[One Acre Wonder Farm]

It sounds ok to me. My chickens eat all kinds of stuff while ranging, frankly I don't even want to know half of what they eat! I'd probably

As long as none of them show any signs of illness, I'm sure they'll be fine. Chickens are pretty tough!

 

[Riven]

I don't know what to say about the bees, but I wouldn't worry about it. It should affect the chickens before affecting the eggs then you.

As for the charcoal, charcoal &burnt toast even are commonly used to help patients/animals that have been poisoned because it absorbs toxins out of the body, so there should be no harm in them eating that, probably be good for them in moderation!

 

[txchickie]

Ours love to hang out in the ashes of the burn pile (we haven't burned in months, LOL--no one freak out). They mostly like to dustbathe in the ashes, but I am sure there's some munching going on, too!

 

[Oopoo]

I did some sluthing and ash/wood coal is full of nutrients so the chicks are gonna eat what they need and that's good