The lawn care crew is here and they want to sprinkle lime in the grass where the chickens roam

[Carolyn252]

Should Iet them put the lime down or not? The chickens eat the grass all day long. Will it hurt them if the grass blades are covered in lime? The lime is the powdery stuff, not pebbles of lime.

I read a few threads about lime to try to find the answer to my question, but those thread were concerned with whether or not the lime would burn the chickens' feet. I want to know if it will hurt them if they eat the lime-covered grass.

I could just tell the crew to stay out of the chicken's lawn.

Or should I let them use the lime and then water it in? If so, how long should I wait after watering, to let the chickens out of their coop and out onto the wet grass? Or should I water and then keep them cooped until tomorrow?

It's a gorgeous sunny day today.

-Carolyn252

 

[Carolyn252]

Should Iet them put the lime down or not? The chickens eat the grass all day long. Will it hurt them if the grass blades are covered in lime? The lime is the powdery stuff, not pebbles of lime.

I read a few threads about lime to try to find the answer to my question, but those thread were concerned with whether or not the lime would burn the chickens' feet. I want to know if it will hurt them if they eat the lime-covered grass.

I could just tell the crew to stay out of the chicken's lawn.

Or should I let them use the lime and then water it in? If so, how long should I wait after watering, to let the chickens out of their coop and out onto the wet grass? Or should I water and then keep them cooped until tomorrow?

It's a gorgeous sunny day today.

-Carolyn252

Anybody know the answer to this?

 

[BusyBlonde]

I found this with a quick search on the forums - I wouldn't let them put the powdered lime on the lawn if your chickens are pastured/free-ranged.

It depends on the lime you use. Hydrated lime, also called slake lime is harmful. This is the common white powder lime you find for lawn care and is the burned then hydrated lime used for mortar. Then there is a crushed agricultural lime that is grey, this is the crushed fines of a pure source such as chalk, limestone or dolimite. This product is fine with chickens, they can eat it as a calcium source instead of shells and is also beneficial to soil though not to the degree of hydrated lime.