Ice melter

[2dancingrats]

Is there any type of ice melter, besides the sun, safe to use in the vicinity of chickens? Lots of ice by my barn door, but afraid the hens may snack on anything I put down.

 

[coonhoundmama87]

We heat with wood so I've usually got warm ashes I can throw down in some spots. That helps. If I absolutely have to I'll use rock salt in small quantities and monitor that nobody eats it.

 

[pdirt]

We use wood ash, too. Doesn't melt ice like salt does, but it does give good traction on ice and the birds won't eat it. I wouldn't use salt around chickens, IMO.

We also use an ice scraper. It's a long handled tool with a dull metal blade at the end. Similar to the scraper tool carpet installers use to scrape off the old staples from the subfloor. I can chip away at ice stuck on pavement, works quite well.

 

[aart]

I keep my gates and doors clear of snow so they don't ever ice up....I'm a little obsessed about it.
I even keep the path over the grass to the coop shoveled due to mobility issues.
Sand works good for traction where it's slippery and much cleaner than ashes.

 

[RonP]

Sand works well.

No salt ever...

 

[2dancingrats]

Warm ashes sounds like a great idea. We have a sliding barn door and the feed is in there. Can't keep it clear because we aren't home most of the day. When it snows and freezes, the ice build up lifts the door slightly off the track. Just enough to make it almost impossible to open. We usually dig & scrape (and swear a lot) until we get it free. Warm ash just may be the answer. Thank you.

 

[2dancingrats]

I was afraid of salt myself. Looks too much like a treat (just like everything else, if you're a chicken)

 

[2dancingrats]

Good idea, but I work all day... so not actually feasible. Maybe when I retire

 

[pdirt]

Ashes don't even need to be warm. Cold ashes work very well. Just remove your shoes before entering your house, lest you track in sooty footprints, if you care about that sort of thing.

 

[2dancingrats]

Thank you. My husband went into freak-out mode at the idea of using ashes. I still like it though.