My roo needs your help!

[darkfur]

get a strong magnet and run it over and over their foraging area (attach it to a stick and use it like a broom) - to help pick up any ferrous metal junk that is lying around. Poor chooky!

 

[GreenGoddess]

Biggest problem i see with that is that most of the misc metal pieces are from drink cans.. A magnet won't attract those..

Same thing with the glass and plastic... All the actual metal is in a big pile and the pieces are much too big for a chicken (or even something like a dog) to eat... But, I'm doing everything I can to prevent it from happening again.. I'll go back outside tomorrow and rake up what i didn't get to today before I let them back out..

Goddess

 

[tdgill]

I would think that another concern would be their feet. How big an area are you dealing with? Ugghhh I hate raking! lol. So glad to hear that your boy is doing better!

 

[GreenGoddess]

So far the only thing they get in their feet is sand spurs.. I can tell because every once in a while they will stop and peck something out of their foot and keep walking.. Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do about them.. I get them in my feet too and actually, I got the tip of one stuck in my finger yesterday when I was picking all the stuff up.. But, I can't keep them caged up all the time either.. Well, I can but I don't like to.. They want to get out of the run so badly that sometimes even when the weather is bad and I go to check for eggs, they will try to dart out the door... As for the space, they have a little over 1/4 of an acre that I try to keep them in.. Anyone know how to get rid of sand spurs, outside of running around with my own bare feet and picking them all up.. OUCH!!!!

Goddess