Fertilizing a Lawn with Chicken Safety in Mind

[SueBaby]

Thanks, Barefoot. I assumed (I know I should never assume...) that the organic stuff was soybean meal or something that was an OK-to-ingest form of Nitrogen. Hmmm. Nothing's ever simple is it?

 

[Oregon Blues]

You could always use manure. That works and won't hurt the chickens. Except I wouldn't buy chicken manure if I have chickens.

Me, I use regular granulated fertilizer and water it in. I keep the animals penned up until the fertilizer dissolves and soaks in, which doesn't take long.

 

[Oregon Blues]

You can also buy plain old cleaning ammonia and dilute that with water and spray it on the lawn. Water it in. It won't hurt the birds once it has soaked in and they can't pick up pieces of it like they can with fertilizer.

 

[Yonaton]

The clover suggestion is a good one, as is what Bear Foot said. The birds will simply pick it up and tastes it since it's 'new' and they won't like it and that will be the last you have to worry about it. None of mine have died from it either, not even the wild ducks, heh.

 

[mdbokc]

Bear Foot,

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.

If it does start to look a little pale, I just apply more often. But every two weeks is the most often and that is short lived when necessary.

ETA - I went to this years ago after having multi-hundred dollar vet bills when my Yorkies would be poisoned by either normal chemical fertilizers, weed sprays or pesticide sprays. I shall never return to those methods of yard care.

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. If you are using that type, you can reduce the mfg recommended dosage by half simply by adding a cup of Epsom salts to the mix before you apply. For me, I would consider using 10 pounds a year of bagged fertilizer from Wal-Mart at the most. Most people apply far more than is really needed. That's what my yard garden expert says and his results and methods bear that out.

 

[galanie]

The few times I've decided to fertilize the yard, I just spread compost on. I don't farm grass, if it's green and it's growing that's good enough for me. Doesn't have to look like a carpet, just has to be there and outgrow the weeds, which it does nicely long as I keep it cut. Regular cutting is more important than many people realize, especially in the south where the grass "creeps" and doesn't just grow as individual plants.

 

[JLR]

I too, was curious weather chickens would eat the fertilizer pellets and cause problems. I live in the city and have a wooded lot and a large open grass area. Fertilizer is necessary. My soil is not the best, the yard gets a lot of traffic and unlike some I enjoy mowing and taking care of my yard. I always try to fertilize right before a good rain. I do need thick grass to handle volleyball, baseball, football and kids just playing hard. From previous posts it looks like fertilizer does not harm chickens. Is that the way it is?

 

[BY Bob]

I'm confused, don't the chickens fertilize your lawn? They do mine.

 

[JLR]

I'm confused, don't the chickens fertilize your lawn? They do mine.

I'm confused, don't the chickens fertilize your lawn? They do mine.

The same way a dog fertilizes the lawn.

 

[Henrik Petersson]

Must you use the deep litter method though? The nightsoil could come in handy on the places on the lawn where the chickens won't poop.