Rose thorns

[fiberart57]

I am a new chicken owner and have a lot of roses in my yard which means that there are a lot of little rose branches with thorns and the roses themselves. For years I"ve cut my rose trimmings into small pieces and composted them but the thorns are tough. Since my intention is to let the chickens roam about the yard when they're big enough and there was a recent thread about bumble foot I'm now worried that they will cut their feet (or something else) on the roses and get bumble foot.

Do I have reason for concern? Are their feet fairly tough or am I facing a constant battle of cut feet? I've cleared out the beds as well as I can but getting them all is impossible, not to mention I still have the plants themselves.

(Sorry if this is the wrong catagory to post this question. )

Mary

 

[Portia]

Those dinosaur feet of theirs are pretty darn tough. Mine roam through the roses and berry brambles like the were plush carpeting. Although I'm sure there are exceptions, I've never had any problems whatsoever with my chickens and thorns. Dog feet, however are another story and I frequently have to extract a thorn from a pad...but that's another matter altogether. Just remember, chickens are not nearly as fragile as you think, even my week olds go traipsing across thorny and treacherous ground without a hitch. So relax and enjoy them.
BTW if you live in Japanese beetle territory....they are like M&Ms to the chickens! The flock keeps my roses (and all my other plants) clean and flowering beautifully.

 

[speckledhen]

I have had to treat bumblefoot numerous times. Yes, they can get things in their feet, which, truly, are not as tough as you think. I have lots of cowvine here (also called greenbriar) and it's a real curse, long vines with awful thorns. I also have roses and try to remove cuttings from the ground. I've even heard of bumblefoot being caused by someone's bird getting a piece of oystershell in the foot. I'd be sure the clippings aren't laying on the ground.