Lawn weed and feed which is chicken safe?

[Jimster]

Is there any lawn weed killer which is safe to use around chickens?? I'm guessing something liqued would be safer???

[Suechooks]

If you've got hens I'd forget the lawn!

[HeyWayne]

If you've got hens I'd forget the lawn!

That's what I thought - and I don't even have chickens.

[MaureenHall]

I wouldn't think of putting down any chemicals for anything if you've got chickens - the risk just isn't worth it

[Snadger]

You don't need 'weed & feed'........the chooks will do that!

[lynda66]

the stuff to kill the weeds in weed and feed persists in the grass, which is why you shouldn't add it to your compost for at least 2 mowings .... i wouldn't think it would do the chooks any good if you can't even compost it ... and i have a lawn mine haven't wrecked it yet

[MaureenHall]

Give them chance Lynda - they will sooner or later!

[lynda66]

nah they prefer destroying my seedlings grrrrrrrrrr they might once there arent so many toys round the garden once i've made it all neat and tidy lol .... anyway they are usually too busy trying to get in the house or wandering round the kitchen to bother much with the lawn

[sesa]

Just use fertilizer, the grass will choke out most of the weeds without any nasty stuff building up in your soil

[MaureenHall]

Just use fertilizer, the grass will choke out most of the weeds without any nasty stuff building up in your soil

The chooks will fertilise the ground too. Nope, definitely NO CHEMICALS around where the chickens will be allowed (none anywhere in my garden anyway)

[Scouse]

I would not put weed & feed anywere near my chickens!!!

[MaureenHall]

Weed and feed definite no-no!!! Besides, if you let the chooks on your lawn, they'll cut it for you, feed it for you and chew the weeds down so you can't see them (you probably won't see much grass after a while either!)

[ajpaterson]

Hmmn, I somehow found myself putting an end of line B&Q bag of weed and feed on our lawn last night as the clover is taking over. I was completely not thinking that we're planning on letting our new hens out of their run on occasions and onto the grass. It says it's safe for composting mown grass straight away (compost for 6 months), but not to use as a mulch until after 4 cuts. Should I therefore wait 4 cuts before letting the chickens out? Presumably it's not the number of cuts that actually makes the difference, but the actual length it grows which needs cut off??

[MaureenHall]

I'd definitely wait about 4 weeks just in case they're thinking that people cut their grass once a week

[ajpaterson]

Well it's only two weeks since I (very stupidly) wed and fed, but I'm now weighing up letting them out early as our Amber hen is now ruling the roost and has pecked the bottom off our Speckled (who no longer comes out of her house for fear of more blood being drawn - the poor thing's back side looks awful) and this morning within an hour of letting them out the Amber had drawn blood on the top of our Light Sussex. If it don't give them more space soon I'm thinking some of the pecked ones will just call it a day. Both have now been 'anti peck' sprayed so maybe things will change, or someone else will get attacked, plus I'm hanging more 'activity' food (eg whole cabbage rather than just easy to peck leaves) to give them more to do. Am away this weekend but I reckon if on Monday I scarify the moss out and give the grass a short cut then it might be okay - hopefully they will then trim our overgrown herb bed in preference to the grass! And I can try and give them their fill of greens in the run before letting them out so they're less likely to eat the grass (maybe??).