will weed killer harm free ranging chckens?

[whatsup chickenbutt]

I was going to spray some weed killer around the property, and I will for sure be spraying it in the spring. What should I do about the chickens? I had this problem a little while ago when I had rotting pears all over the ground under the pear tree and it was overtaken by wasps. I wanted to spray them, but afraid it would hurt the chickens. Any thoughts?

 

[BeckyLa]

Yes, it will kill your chickens. You'll have to keep them penned up for a long time after you spray weed killer or insecticide. Sorry.

 

[patandchickens]

If you have rotting pears all under your pear tree the solution would seem to be to get rid of them, ideally before they start rotting. Honest.

No chemical spray is safe for livestock, although they differ in toxicity (how bad and for how long). Don't let people tell you that glyphosate (roundup, etc) is harmless after 24-48 hrs, btw, that's basically in LAB "best case scenario" type testing, not the way it behaves in the real world.

I'd say dig the weeds by hand or put up with them (remember that most lawn weeds stay greener longer in droughts than typical lawn grasses. Also many have purty little flowers, and no I am not really talking about dandelions in particular <g>. Nature abhors a monoculture. Either spray toxic chemicals around til the end of time, which isn't good for you or your animals or the groundwater, or just accept that lawns have biodiversity

Patches of some especially obnoxious weeds (around here, it's things like goutweed, ground ivy, bindweed, thistle) you might want to smother the area under a thick layer of mulched-over cardboard for a year or two and then reseed or resod (herbicides won't do much against that sort of weed anyhow!)

JMO,

Pat

 

[whatsup chickenbutt]

No, the problem is not with the rotting pears, thats when the the thought of weed killer and chickens first came to mind, when I wanted to kill the wasps with bug killer, then I started thinking about the other things we have to spray on our property. The problem is we have to work very hard to keep weeds under control on our property here so weed killer is a must in the spring and summer. Im not talking about a yard, Im talking about 2 acres of poor soil that doesnt grow anything but goatheads. Im afraid Im going to have to put an end to my chickens free ranging days come spring...

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

We spray our air potato vine with round-up and don't let the chickens out until it has dried well. We've had no problems...although I do try to keep all pesticides away from them.

 

[shelleyd2008]

sorry, I'm silly

 

[BethinIrving]

You can buy a bag of corn gluten at the feed store and use it to kill weeds.

 

[whatsup chickenbutt]

good to know. I will look into that.
thanks,

 

[Dustoff79]

The best choice for herbicide use is 10% white vinegar made from grain alcohol. It should be used full strength. I've used 20% in the past but it is stronger than needed and too expensive. Avoid products that are made from 99% glacial acetic acid. This material is a petroleum derivative. Natural vinegars such those made from fermenting apples (ACV) have little herbicidal value.

Herbicide Formula:

1 gallon of 10% vinegar
Add 1 ounce orange oil or d-limonene
Add 1 tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon liquid soap
Do not add water

Shake well before each spraying and spot spray weeds. Keep the spray off desirable plants.
This spray will injure any plants it touches. This natural spray works best on warm to hot days.

For a safe solution to kill wasps, you can use a solution of liquid soap and water

Corn gluten meal will not kill weeds it will prevent them. Corn gluten meal is a natural pre-emergent and fertilizer. It should be broadcast in the spring to prevent grassburs, crabgrass, and other annual weeds that germinate from seed. The key is to broadcast the material before the the weed seed germinate. Corn gluten meal is different than Corn meal.