Slugs, an acquired taste?

[lisahaschickens]

My chickens LOVE slugs AND earthworms... love love love. However, they didn't start that way. I would say just give them some time.

All that said, chickens cannot be in the garden - they'll eat all the fruits, veggies, plants, etc. People dream of having chickens that eat weeds and bad bugs but leave the veggie plants and good bugs. But, it's a pipe dream. To a chicken, a bug is a bug (bug=yummy) and a plant is a plant (plant=yummy). They eat it all. I have my garden totally covered with bird netting and I still have to watch my chickens because they try to jump into the netting and eat my plants through it.

I don't know about ducks, but I would guess they could do some garden damage too... but again I have no clue.

I suggest the product "Sluggo." It gets rid of slugs and snails and is organic and people- and pet-friendly. Totally safe and environmentally friendly, and effective. I have some on order for myself right now because slugs are devouring my seedlings in the garden.

 

[lindseythefork]

If they're only two weeks old, i wouldn't worry about it. Once they get bigger they will probably eat anything and everything.

if you REALLY want something to take of slugs/snails, then you need a duck!

 

[amk3000]

Quote:
I actually bought Sluggo last year (after reading the description in the Fedco Seeds catalog) but didn't have the heart to use it. Even if it was organic (which my garden was). I don't know why, but I'm perfectly comfortable with something higher up the food chain using a slug as food, but I'm not okay with poisoning them. Hence, the chickens.

 

[Caleb x49]

get a duck. but clip his wings cause if you don't they fly away... i learned from experience

 

[annanicole18]

i think its a slim problem for them for awhile mine dont even like worms if they are slimy they will learn in time and you will have to fight with them not to eat toads....

 

[lisahaschickens]

hmmm... if they die from the Sluggo, they will compost back in the earth or be safe food for some other critter or bug. The chickens will demolish your garden and so will the slugs. Maybe try ducks, as people say, but I think without using something like Sluggo, you will continue to have slug problems. The dead slugs won't go to waste and you're not hurting an endangered species and you're not harming the environment. I think it's a win, win situation myself.

 

[Dances with Ducks]

There are a lot of garden veggies ducks will eat, you can try to supervise them but it's not easy, don't just let them free range in your garden while it's growing. Your lettuce won't survive, strawberries, tomatoes, and the foliage of any curcubits will get eaten. Their big webbed feet wil trample any new seedlings and they will sit down on top of your spinach. Until you have finished your above ground harvest it's easiest to keep them out of the garden. But when your veggies are mostly picked let them go and the next year you may not find any slugs at all!
I love my ducks!

 

[firedove]

spreading food grade Diatomatious Earth in a thin sprinkling over your garden will kill any bugs present, but not your garden. It is completely organic, the only drawback is that it will kill beneficial bugs as indiscriminately as bad one. It is safe though for your chickens and pets, yourself and anyone else who eats you garden fruits and veggies. I think the best thing to do for your garden's sake is keep the chickens out.

 

[Rolsjo]

My husband's co-worker had an ingenious idea for her garden/chicken/bug problem. She put a chicken wire fence around the garden. Then she put another fence about 2 feet further out around that fence and put the chickens between the two. She calls it her "chicken moat" and claims she no longer has problem bugs in her garden.

Clever, clever, clever!

 

[Big Chicken Little]

A good method for removing slugs from the garden is putting beer in a small dish around where they seem to populate. They love beer and drowned in it... you will find a lot in the AM. The good thing is it is safe but if you have a dog running loose they like beer and slugs