Lawn chemicals and chickens

[Toddrick]

Milkweed and ragweed are not listed in the link you cited...nor are dandelions.

I realize that sometimes herbicides/pesticides are necessary for economical food production,
but pretty lawns do not fall under that guise to excuse the poisoning of our planet.

Your argument also does not address the OP's questions and dilemma.

Actually milk weed is listed. Ragweed causes major allergies, so is more of a problem for humans. But there are plenty more dangerous plants, like Hemlock and Nightshade. None of these are likely to grow in your yard if it is mowed regularly, except along the perimeters.

My point is that just because it is a man made chemical doesn't mean it is more dangerous than nature. Animals can tolerate many chemicals because they encounter them all the time in nature.

When I spray 2-4,D it is highly diluted, and spread across a large area. The plants that absorb it into their leaves the most die, so they are not ingested. I assume the grass does not absorb it as well, since it lacks broad leaves, which is why it doesn't die.

I can accept the minimal risk of trace amounts of a chemical only known to be poisonous to broad leaf plants being ingested by my chickens as about .01% of their diet. If you cannot, then don't use it.

 

[Toddrick]

I'm fairly certain 2,4-D is what Chemlawn, and all those other lawn spraying services has been using for decades in neighborhoods throughout the country. It has been in use for over 60 years I think, and extensively tested.

Basically, I think as long as you don't chug the liquid or inhale mass quantities of it, it is very unlikely to cause any issues. I read a study somewhere that said chickens were given a moderate dose [50mg per kg?] in their water daily for their whole lives, and the amount detected in the eggs was very low. If there were a safer chemical that worked, then I assume we would've switched to it a long time ago.

If you prefer to have a yard full of dandelions rather than spraying, then that's your choice. Again, I don't like using chemicals either, but treating once or twice a year isn't the end of the world. You could always compromise and use it as a spot treatment, but unless you have a tiny yard then that could be a lot of work.

I'd be more worried about my chickens eating a poisonous plant than a few blades of grass with traces of herbicide on them.

 

[SilkieNation]

Of course you have a good point. But let's not forget that weeds can contain harmful "chemicals", even deadly poisons in themselves. So a chemical with no known immediate or long term side effects may be the lesser of two evils. I always try to minimize the use of chemicals, but I'm not afraid to use them if things get out of hand.

There are many toxic plants and organisms on this planet - sometimes the balance tips and we experience things like epidemics, or pandemics. This is still very different, IMO, from humans synthesizing and dumping astronomical quantities of all sorts of chemicals into the environment that would otherwise not be there.

 

[SmColorInDaPan]

As I read on a Google Search, it depends on how strong the mix is.This site was helpful. http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/24Dgen.pdf
I am hopeful Service that offered to spray, can use a 24D mix that is less toxic for the cats, Dog & many chickens I have. Heaven knows won't have grass by next spring if something isn't done SOON!

 

[DeeganPope]

The EU did a study on Mecoprop-p affecting livestock and it pretty much passed right through, less than 0.01% was found in the tissue and 0.02% in milk.


"The metabolism in livestock was investigated in lactating goats with 14C-(U-phenyl)-mecoprop-P only at nominal doses of 0.13 and 1.27 mg/kg bw per day, respectively. Mecoprop-P was extensively excreted in urine and faeces and only 0.02% and < 0.01% of the administered radioactivity was recovered, respectively, in milk and tissues. The total residues in fat and muscle were very low (< 0.01 mg eq/kg) and no further metabolites' identification was attempted in those matrices. At the highest dose, the total residues in kidney and liver amounted to 0.097 mg eq/kg and 0.031 mg eq/kg, respectively. In kidney, parent mecoprop-P was recovered under its free and conjugated forms (48% TRR) alongside unknown compounds that globally accounted for 13.2% TRR (0.013 mg eq/kg). Mecoprop-P was not recovered in liver and milk"

 

[DeeganPope]

The EU did a study on Mecoprop-p affecting livestock and it pretty much passed right through, less than 0.01% was found in the tissue and 0.02% in milk.


"The metabolism in livestock was investigated in lactating goats with 14C-(U-phenyl)-mecoprop-P only at nominal doses of 0.13 and 1.27 mg/kg bw per day, respectively. Mecoprop-P was extensively excreted in urine and faeces and only 0.02% and < 0.01% of the administered radioactivity was recovered, respectively, in milk and tissues. The total residues in fat and muscle were very low (< 0.01 mg eq/kg) and no further metabolites' identification was attempted in those matrices. At the highest dose, the total residues in kidney and liver amounted to 0.097 mg eq/kg and 0.031 mg eq/kg, respectively. In kidney, parent mecoprop-P was recovered under its free and conjugated forms (48% TRR) alongside unknown compounds that globally accounted for 13.2% TRR (0.013 mg eq/kg). Mecoprop-P was not recovered in liver and milk"