- Thread starter
- #11
BankFam
Chirping
Regardless, we plan on using a chicken tractor for any future grazing to have a little more control over where they are and what they are eating. I am just so curious about what was killing them.
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
My husband just said he cleaned up all the trash, so I don't know.That's possible. We have 5 acres and I haven't combed through the whole thing to make sure it's cleared of trash since we moved in. We've seen some beer cans and such.
Ours eat on our leech field no issues. Our geese love that area because the grass grows fast.It's a possibility but I don't know how they would have gotten exposed to it. We had some locked in the shed and we only ever used it IN the shed because that's where the rodent problem is and I'm pretty sure the mice ate all of it before we started free-ranging. We no longer use it and we don't use chemicals anywhere else on the property.
What if they were grazing on the leech field?
The only real chance to know exactly what it was is to have a necropsy with labs done.I am just so curious about what was killing them.
Impacted crops occur most often when your bird has eaten too much large and fibrous food, such as long grass.Awe, I feel so bad for you to get discouraged about them enjoying your property. It's really not that common and I bet you will find the source of the problem as you continue to investigate. It's easy to make temporary, daytime fencing to limit where they range (easier than a tractor.) I have 5 acres too, and I have a few chicken wire rolls with stakes that I stapled on + some "panels" that I built with fencing wire and horizonal fence boards. I basically divide my property in half to let them range where I want them based on season. But also to keep them from wandering to far where we dont have fencing (the River side. I don't know what they could encounter beyond our property and I've heard that neighbors have poison out.... Don't beat yourself up, you're just trying to do the right thing, they SO enjoy free-ranging.
It’s no problem for a chicken to pick up pieces of safety glas to digest their food instead of the usual grit.I opened the crop up of one of my chickens that died unexpectedly and its gizzard was filled with pieces of broken safety glass. I found that it was laying internally, too, so I'm not 100% sure why it died.
If the mice died of rat poison or were weakened by it, it is possible that the chickens found a few and ate them. Chickens love to eat meat. And the rat poison accumulates.It's a possibility but I don't know how they would have gotten exposed to it. We had some locked in the shed and we only ever used it IN the shed because that's where the rodent problem is and I'm pretty sure the mice ate all of it before we started free-ranging. We no longer use it and we don't use chemicals anywhere else on the property.
The grass is usually no problem as long as they eat the tender tips but yanking tall grass out of the ground and feeding the chickens isn't a good idea.I cut mine up with scissors when I pick them grass. Your place is absolutely heavenly! I know your chickens are very happy!But... This is SO much grass, etc. This is winter and they mowed down the "saw grass," it's just so much grass...I did my temporary fencing to keep them out of my garden but they have acres and acres of grass and woods and no problems........
View attachment 3780144