Fertilizing a Lawn with Chicken Safety in Mind

[SueBaby]

It's getting to be about the time that we'll need to fertilize our lawn. The girls are on it daily in the afternoon & evening. This will be our first time fertilizing now that we have chickens.

I called a local farm supply store and they recommended a Dr. Earth product. I'm wondering if anyone out there has experience with this? Our lawn is about 10,000 square feet, so we need to be efficient in terms of effort and price. At a minimum, The Dr. Earth stuff would cost us $80. Yikes.

Yes, the girls do poop all over, but they tend to favor some parts of the lawn over others, so what they give is not going to be enough. We are using the deep litter method in their coop/run so we won't have available composted manure until the spring. And how would be spread that over 10,000 square feet anyway? My husband says any kind of compost will clog up our drop spreader.

I'd love to hear your suggestions.

 

[Capvin]

I put Scotts regular lawn fertilizer(NOT weed and feed) with my drop spreader. I also have a small orange grove that I regularly put citrus fertilizer. My chickens peck all over the yard and they especially dig and peck under the citrus trees. It seems they go after the trees where there is fertilizer and so far they have shown no ill effects. I fertilize my lawn about every two months and then water in in and after that the chickens go on it and I have not had any problems.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

I called a local farm supply store and they recommended a Dr. Earth product

The Dr. Earth stuff would cost us $80. Yikes

Dr Earth is a high end "organic" product sold only in overpriced specialty stores.

When you ignore the sales hype and the "feel good" organic rhetoric, and ONLY look at the chemical composition, it's STILL just Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium

The plants won't know the difference in that and the cheapest generic fertlizer from another store.

Chemically they have to be the same to work, and that is what really matters.

3 40 lb bags will cover your 10,000 sq ft, and you should be able to do it for a lot less then $80, even in CA​

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

My grass is green. The grass is thick enough that I do not have to deal with broadleaf weeds. So my yard is free from from weed killer, pesticide and insecticide applications. Been doing it for the last 15 years.

I bet it would stay that way without the treatment.
You're not removing any nutirents unless you always bag when you mow.

120 lbs on 12,000 sq ft of yard...I would never consider using that much in a year even if I was using bagged fertilizer let alone 3x that amount.

Then you're not adding enough to benefit the grass

Fertilizer to grass is like feed to the chickens.

If they need a pound, they can't get by on an ounce

If you're giving them an ounce, and they still thrive, they are getting what they need somewhere else, and the ounce isn't making any difference

It's just chemistry and physics​

 

[laseterlass]

Regardless of what you use I would hold them off the lawn for a few days.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

What makes you think you have to fertilize a lawn? Ours grows fast enough as it is.

If you must, then there are pelletized poultry manures that are available that will spread with a drop spreader.

 

[hallerlake]

Overseed with clover. Clover is a nitrogen fixer. it fertilizes the lawn every time you mow, and chickens LOVE it.

 

[Clay Valley Farmer]

Just put the chickens in a tractor, move it about the lawn, lawn is fetilized, chickens safe.

The idea of putting hundreds of dollars of chemical fertilizer on a lawn so it grows faster and needs more cutting is lost on this redneck farmer.

 

[mdbokc]

Bear Foot,

No, if I don't spray that solution on the yard and do nothing, the grass will thin and weeds will start to take hold. And you are correct in that I mulch the grass every time it is mowed...which is not insignificant.

Jerry Baker, Master Gardener, (easily found with a search) is my guru on this. He has not steered me wrong on anything to date. His approach is about synergy of ingredients, not the application of raw product.

You say I am not adding enough to benefit the grass. I have to disagree. If I miss or extend the spray intervals too far apart, the grass suffers. It greens right back up within a couple of days of the application to a deep green. I encourage you to try it rather than dismiss it outright. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Here is my yard and the photo doesn't do it justice....especially after this year's record heat and drought. The "chemistry and physics" is synergy of the items used in the spray.

 

[BY Bob]

The same way a dog fertilizes the lawn.

My lawn has never looked better. No dandelions or clover. Constantly aerated. Fertilized. Unlike dog poo which poisons grass, chicken poo has made my yard lush and green.

I think I have the ideal hen to square foot ratio in my yard.