rake out old fruit?

[kevlar]

hmmm well if was going to attract ants wouldn't the chickens eat those too?

 

[AngelzFyre]

Quote:
Usually no, and if it happens to be red ants then they can bite them so many times that they can even kill your chickens or chicks.

In the summer time I'd never leave any old fruit or old grain. Too many molds and toxins to multiply like wildfire in the heat.

Even in the cooler temps, I don't give mine anything I wouldn't eat....and I don't eat rotting/old food. That's just me...and what's worked for me and my chickens.

 

[Fierlin1182]

Yes, my chickens tend to keep right away from ants.
They free range though, so I usually leave the fruit scraps where they are and they will eventually dry up or rot away themselves. There's plenty of space so smell is not a problem, and the hens know to stay away from any nasty-looking insects

 

[kevlar]

I see well Im kinda new to this so thats some good info. I dont feed anything I would not eat to my birds either (except meal worms) but they do eat wasps and all the other bugs they can find so I thought they would eat ants too

 

[cottagechick]

Quote:
Usually no, and if it happens to be red ants then they can bite them so many times that they can even kill your chickens or chicks.

In the summer time I'd never leave any old fruit or old grain. Too many molds and toxins to multiply like wildfire in the heat.

Even in the cooler temps, I don't give mine anything I wouldn't eat....and I don't eat rotting/old food. That's just me...and what's worked for me and my chickens.

HMMM...that puts me in a bind...because I wouldn't eat chicken pellets...

 

[AngelzFyre]

LOL! I wouldn't either...but you know what I mean. I wouldn't feed them anything "extra" as treats that I wouldn't eat.

Mostly meaning I wouldn't eat old fruit or moldy fruit or ants

.

Mine eat wasps, flies, worms and all sorts of bugs..but not ants. Dunno why!

Maybe ya'll are tellin me not to be soooo literal?<G> I got it..and a great laugh! Thanks!

 

[Fierlin1182]

We thought they'd eat ants at first, put them down next to a massive nest we found before we were going to pour the ant kill down there, but they ignored the things completely

 

[Kudzu]

My run stinks and has flies if I leave old fruit in it.

 

[MissJenny]

Fruit can very quickly grow mold which can kill your birds -- I remove it not as a cleanliness issue, but rather a as a life and death one.