How many chickens would it take to control grasshoppers in the summer

[skybluskyblue]

I have two acres and at least 10 grasshoppers per sqft [it seems] in the height of summer. Any ideas? Right now i have 2 Australorps and i have not figured out how to use all the eggs yet--but i can manage more eggs and i can care for the chickens for at least 5 hours per day.

 

[rottdog]

you will need more chickens....alot more. but then you don't want them to eat all of them as you wont have any for the next years feeding

 

[skybluskyblue]

Just a reduction in their numbers would be fine. Some of the breeding adult grasshoppers get to be 3 inches long and they are very colorful --blue, purple, red, green n black.

Just give me a number estimate for what it would take to reduce the number of grasshoppers--i want to grow a garden--plus i like to see chickens hunting them--it's fun!

 

[Country Heart]

Chickens running around eating grasshoppers all day - sounds like Chicken Heaven! However many you end up with, I'm sure they will be very happy.

 

[suzettex5]

I've heard Guinea fowl are even better at eating bugs than chickens. Maybe you could consider them for just the season and then sell them once the bugs are gone? They dont lay toooo much, and they are fairly low maintenance (from what I've read and heard), so they could be a good answer for your bug problem. You can sell any eggs you find (I hear its tough to get free ranged guienas to lay in boxes, but I could be wrong), or you can just let them brood chicks, which you can also sell (once ya catch em!). They like to roost in trees, so ya dont HAVE to use your coop space, and they are fairly safe from ground predators in the trees. IDK, just thought Id toss that out there- I know Id get at least a dozen if I was having that kind of bug issue. Something to think about....

As for chickens, you need, oh, at least 30 or 40, or maybe more, but, I LOVE my chooks and can never have enough, so my estimate may be tad high!

By the way, you can always boil any extra eggs and then mash them up, shells and all, and feed them right back to your chickens if too many eggs is a concern.

 

[shelleyd2008]

I'm on about 10 acres. I have 15 guineas (the superman of the bug-getters), 15 ducks, and over 150 chickens. Plus I have a rat terrier that just loves to catch grasshoppers...guess she likes the 'crunch'

This doesn't count the geese, turkeys, peafowl, and quail, who occasionally get a bug or two.

So I'd say it's impossible to control grasshoppers since they still seem to be all over the place...even with all these birds.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
90% of a guinea's diet is insects, so they are very efficient bug-eaters.

 

[BrattishTaz]

I don't know where you are located but we have the big colorful grasshoppers here in FL. They are black with yellow stripes when they are young but then shed and have a lot of yellow with shades of orange and red and black. My chickens won't eat them and neither will the wild birds. Lizards will not even try to eat them. They are supposed to have a really nasty taste.

 

[suzettex5]

Quote:
I'm sorry I didnt give you an actual estimate as far as how many chickens you might need. Thats a tough one since we dont know how big your coop is or how your set up works for predator protection.

I wonder if a chciken will even eat a bug thats 3 inches?? Mine wont eat baby mice or even really big worms or tiny snakes or anything 'cool' like that. Oh and my chickens are BIG 17 pound Jersey Giants, so, tecnically, they COULD eat those things, they just wont.

dang it!

Are you planning on fencing in your garden? If not, the chickens are gonna use it as their personal salad bar until there is just bare dirt and chicken poo!

 

[skybluskyblue]

great ides guys!
i will post the picture of the grasshopper and the coop later-- my chickens peck them to death and gobble them up--i guess they taste good

my coop looks like it can hold 20-30 chickens as far as roosting space but --it would be a lot of clean up

---the coop area has a fenced in yard then i let them out during the day and shut them in at night--they get grumpy if i do not let them out to get the grass and new spring weeds every day now.

i can fence in a garden if i need to --the tomatoes do ok w the chickens i have now once the plants get bigger even if i do not fence them in

i will look into guinea fowl --sounds intriguing


thanks!

julia