Lawn maintenance question

[RaniaH]

Hello, every spring I use weed and feed on my lawn in my backyard. Now that I have chickens, I'm not sure if it would be a wise thing to do. Does anyone know of a safe and organic way I can fertilize my lawn with out causing any harm to my chickens?

Thanks in advance.
Rania

 

[Judy]

Chicken poop! Or manure tea, which is what it sounds like, animal poop soaked in water.

I would not put out a product like weed and feed unless you can keep the chickens off the area til the next good rain, at least. Even then, the safety of the weeder product is questionable. There is a lot of debate on the web about the safety of Roundup. Also, if you put out a granular product where the chickens are, they will eat it.

 

[RaniaH]

I would never use round up. I'm too afraid that it will cause harm to the chickens and the stray cats that come in my yard. After I posted this question I read that organic compost will fertilize as well. With the chicken poop. Should I put it on my lawn and water it?

 

[Mattemma]

There is lawn fertilizer made from corn.Give that a try or check out go natural options.

 

[TheChickMan]

i see no reason why a cheap bag of 12-12-12 fertilizer would not do the job. just make sure to throw it out a day or so before your next rain. i do it too my yard every year and ive never had a chicken hurt. and roundup wont hurt a chicken either unless they drink it like water. its just a super powerful fertilizer that over stimulates a plant causing it to die. trust me im a farmer if these things werent good for my family or fields and animals i would not use them.

 

[OmAnNom]

i see no reason why a cheap bag of 12-12-12 fertilizer would not do the job. just make sure to throw it out a day or so before your next rain. i do it too my yard every year and ive never had a chicken hurt. and roundup wont hurt a chicken either unless they drink it like water. its just a super powerful fertilizer that over stimulates a plant causing it to die. trust me im a farmer if these things werent good for my family or fields and animals i would not use them.

I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be rude, but this is the worst advice I have ever read.

Chemical fertilizers, pesticides and weed killers are destroying our plant, creating super-bugs and super-weeds, increasing the rate of cancer, contributing to global warming and are CERTIANLY dangerous for you and your chickens.

Edit to add: Please, PLEASE use the vast resources available to you via the Internet to research this. You will be shocked at what you discover...

 

[TheChickMan]

OmAnNom, and any one else who would like to help us all out. From reading our two anwsers I realize we come from two totally sides of this argument. Lets try to reach a middle ground. I farm on a large scale, and every year I use "commercial fertilizer "as some would call it. I also use roundup to control my weeds and if you use it correctly not a single thing happens. I was scared the first time I sprayed pesticides and herbicides on my fields at first also but it works. And I have searched the internet and found no bad research found that says roundup and other chemicals are bad. Chemicals allow us farmers to no till, a practice I'm sure many of us are aware of. It we didnt spray chemicals we would have to constantly carve our soils with tillage implements that destroy our soil structure ... and kill earthworms. And for the remarks about it causing cancer I have never found any hard evidence proving that. They had to increase recommended dosing rates by 40 times the prescribed amount to find measurable birth defects in rats!!! If people expect "factory farmers, which something like 90% of farms are FAMILY OWNED and expect us to feed our growing population in the next 50 years we must continue to do the best we can for our soil to produce that amount of food needed. I am not hating on compost or organic fertilizer but it is not cost effective. I spread manure every fall because it helps my soil, and is a free resource i have and I agree with you that it does amazing things to our soil.But what I am saying is roundup and commercial fertilizers do not hurt like you are saying that they are. Thank you for listening.

 

[RaniaH]

My yard is probably about 2500 sqft 800 or 900 of that is lawn and I have planet boxes where I have my veggie garden. When I first moved into my house I used round up and had pesticides sprayed on the outside of my house. Shortly after that my two cats developed asthma and I've had a headache for days. The pesticides and the use of round up must have given me the headache and affected my cats. Since than I just used weed and feed on my lawn. As for pest control I bought preying mantids and lady bugs. Now that I have my girls, I want to be cautious. I worry about their health as well as my own. I'm going to stick with my plan I using organic compost on my lawn in my backyard and my front.

Thank you all for for feedback.

 

[chickenwings]

I have a lawn but I do nothing to it except occasional watering..usually from the kiddie pool (I have a nearly closed loop water system .. well draws from wetlands and water return to the wetlands after passing through the septic system). If I had to add fertilizer to my lawn on top of watering, I would find another solution.. native planting, xeriscaping, etc.

Round up is actually relatively safe, it targets an enzyme that is not found in animals. To minimize exposure, I buy a box of diabetic needles from the pharmacy (they are OTC) and inject the glyphosate directly into the tissue of target plants.

 

[RaniaH]

Thank you chickenwings! Believe it or not, I don't get much wees growing around my garden or plants, so pulling them is not a problem. Plus it allows me to spend some quality time with the girls