Hi, new member, interested in having chickens to control ticks to help me go sailing. What?
In the rolling hills of the eastern foothills of the Shenandoah Mountains, part of the Appalachian Mountains, that long mountain range along the US East Coast. Secondarily, it will be good for the grandkids, age 4+ to adults, to have fun with, teach the dogs to live with and protect the chickens. And get some eggs. And get rid of the ticks. A bazillion ticks here. My boat is on a trailer in the back yard and the past several years as I walk back and forth, or as I do the slightest dang outdoor thing, that evening I will have ticks, my record is 12 assorted ticks in one day. The thing is, I wonder if chickens will work because although I believe they will eat the buggers, first thing I let them out of the chicken house to wander around the yard they will, I assume, wander too far, like into the woods or into fields where the "grasses" are 3 feet high. I guess I wouldn't care as long as they came back to the coop at the end of the day. And then, predators. Predators in daytime outdoors, vs predators at night inside their coop, coyote, fox, raccoon, weasel, I hope not skunk, and hawk and eagle. I hope to get others in the household to perform some of the caretaking, but can everyone go away a few days and leave the chickens unattended? Tons of practical questions. On 2 acres of house/lawn bordered by tallgrass field and deciduous forest, A very old open shed available as henhouse.
All that, and I'm retired and I'm a magnet for ticks everywhere except where grass is cut short. I got a tick already, April 3.
So the connection: chickens - ticks - boats - and fresh eggs for unrefrigerated voyages. I get ticks walking through the grass in the back yard to work on my boat on a trailer.
There's the connection: sailing and chickens!
Budster Kayakeur April 8, 2026
In the rolling hills of the eastern foothills of the Shenandoah Mountains, part of the Appalachian Mountains, that long mountain range along the US East Coast. Secondarily, it will be good for the grandkids, age 4+ to adults, to have fun with, teach the dogs to live with and protect the chickens. And get some eggs. And get rid of the ticks. A bazillion ticks here. My boat is on a trailer in the back yard and the past several years as I walk back and forth, or as I do the slightest dang outdoor thing, that evening I will have ticks, my record is 12 assorted ticks in one day. The thing is, I wonder if chickens will work because although I believe they will eat the buggers, first thing I let them out of the chicken house to wander around the yard they will, I assume, wander too far, like into the woods or into fields where the "grasses" are 3 feet high. I guess I wouldn't care as long as they came back to the coop at the end of the day. And then, predators. Predators in daytime outdoors, vs predators at night inside their coop, coyote, fox, raccoon, weasel, I hope not skunk, and hawk and eagle. I hope to get others in the household to perform some of the caretaking, but can everyone go away a few days and leave the chickens unattended? Tons of practical questions. On 2 acres of house/lawn bordered by tallgrass field and deciduous forest, A very old open shed available as henhouse.
All that, and I'm retired and I'm a magnet for ticks everywhere except where grass is cut short. I got a tick already, April 3.
So the connection: chickens - ticks - boats - and fresh eggs for unrefrigerated voyages. I get ticks walking through the grass in the back yard to work on my boat on a trailer.
There's the connection: sailing and chickens!
Budster Kayakeur April 8, 2026
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Glad you joined.
to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC!
