fire ants?

Something I read today from http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/poultryoverview2.html:

Fire ants on pasture can be a concern in the South, especially for field pens. However, one producer actually used layers to control the problem: "We put a cage of our Rhode Island Reds on our mounds and they dig them out and eat them with great gusto. The next day we move our cages and there's a hole where the ants used to be and they've never returned".(40) ATTRA has a publication on Sustainable Fire Ant Control.

(taken from: http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/poultryoverview2.html)​
 
I am not sure about red fire ants but when I called my girls attention to a carpender's ant home on the bottom of a cypress stump table they came and started eating the little buggers until no more could be seen or scratched up although the lizzards trying to eat the ants were a distraction several times. lol
 
You can pour some full strength plain white vinegar on the mound (safe for chickens, too). But vinegar will also kill any plants it gets on, so watch out for that.
 
Hey hanselong, I am very interested in reading that article. The link you sent is not working and I can't find the page through searching. We have a horrible fire ant problem here. I wonder how the chickens keep from getting bitten by the ants.
 
Quote:
The second link listed works, but it doesn't go into great detail about chicken vs. fire ant. It's nice to know that it's worth a try though!
 
I have an ant hill in an old stump in the coop...I have not seen the hens eating the ants like they do the mosquitos and june bugs but they did try to destroy the hill by digging around it all and covering the stump in dirt. Thought that was kinda neat. So far I have not seen as much ants there.
 
@KathyK: Sorry for not responding sooner.

The following link should work:
http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/poultryoverview2.html

As frittata pointed out, the article doesn't go into a great detail about chicken vs. fire ant.

However, I did a search on the forum and found a few thread where BYC members' chickens took care of fire ants:
[1] https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=60924&p=1
[2] https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=320537
[3] https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=330219

[1] A person noted that their chickens didn't do anything with the ants in their run. However, when this person held back on the feed, the chickens attacked the ants and demolished them.

[2] "I had (emphisis on HAD) a fire ant problem big time. Then I got chickens (not for the ants) and between them and me pouring DE (not the food grade) on the hills... no more ants. I have one mound left and it is up in the front where the chickens don't play. I used to have about 25. I only put DE on two... so do the math. The chickens took care of them. YAY!" (tnchickenut, 04/04/2010)

[3] People were distinguishing "red ants" from "fire ants" and saying that chickens might not do well against fire ants.
 
Thanks for the links, hanselong. Sounds like a mixed bag of experiences. Like most things. I will have to watch carefully how the birds deal with fire ants. I think I will try the organic drench, also.
 
I put Corn meal on any ant area and the ants eat the corn meal and it swells up and they die or the chikens eat the corn meal and the ants.
I do need to corn meal the yard again just before I let out the chickens. They have so much fun.
 

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