What they like and what we like - not always the same thing!

[Gullygarden]

I turned my 8 week old girls out in the pretty green run this morning. Where I would have been enjoying the sunshine and the green grass, they zeroed in on the slugs, spiders, etc. that were under the tarp of the old chicken tractor that is in the run too....They also helped remove bugs from the compost pile I have in there. Here they are doing that:

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Yum they say.......bugs



Sunshine and grass will be there but those bugs - they could crawl/hop/fly away, so they best be got quickly

 

[Gullygarden]

Yes! and nothing is a better treat than a nice big roach!
I use no spray in my house just so if I ever catch one, I can take it to them!

 

[so lucky]

Hang a Japanese beetle trap up, on the fence of their pen, that way they can grab the beetles that crash and fall to the ground, high on pheremones. You can either feed the chickens the tasty treats as they are caught, or pop them in a freezer in a bag, for winter feeding, either way, the chickens will love you.

 

[Gullygarden]

What a good idea about the traps. What kind do you use? Pictures?

 

[so lucky]

Sorry, Gullygarden, but I am camera/computer challenged. I don't have a picture. But there are several kinds of pheremone traps. It is basically a container of pheremone, about the size of an icecube. A bag (with fins, sort of) hangs from it, with lots of yellow to aid in attracting the beetles. Once the bug falls into the bag, it can't figure out how to fly out. They gather in the bottom of the bag. Some traps have a zipper bottom so you can empty them out easily. Buy the trap at any garden center, maybe Wal-mart.