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- #11
- May 16, 2010
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Thanks for that wonderful answer. I think the bushes just berried, I had not noticed the berries before the chickens died. The bushes are not near the run and the chickens have to jump a chain link fence to get to them. They do this often b/c the dogs food is there too and they try to eat it before the dogs can finish it (small breed dogs). We have had unusually dry weather here and pretty hot for a few days. They do have access to my compost heap (or what used to be a heap, they pretty much leveled it with their scratching) and sometimes the scraps I put out there have sat for a day inside, waiting on me to get it out there. I guess mold could grow there. I wondered about apple seeds after reading over the "seeds toxic to birds" list I found. I do throw cores in the pile but I don't think there would be enough for all the birds to be sick. I wondered if they had gotten into something liquid since it has been so dry. They wander all around the yard (10 acres) and the water I put for them is in their run so if they were thirsty they might have drank something (can't think of what) from my husband's building. I keep coming back to those juniper berries and I wonder if they would be attracted to them. There is a blueberry bush inside the same fence that was a favorite for them last year when I first began free ranging them. We 7-dust the garden but that has been happening since Feb with no problem.
As you can see, I have wracked my brain and really have no good answers. Hope to figure something out b/c I like the idea of "free range" .
As you can see, I have wracked my brain and really have no good answers. Hope to figure something out b/c I like the idea of "free range" .