Weeding safe for chickens.

[Pol]

Hi
Can anyone tell me if there is a weedkiller that we can use that is safe for chickens?
We have moved to a garden we are trying to manage as organically as possible. BUT we have huge area of big shingle as a driveway etc and it is going green under all the weeds! I have tried to dig out but it is a bit like painting the Fourth Bridge and to be honest I have too many other things that I should and would rather be doing. So it seems we will have to give in and try the chemical way just on the shingle. But we also have chickens that range free so obviously I want to be sure we are not going to put them in any danger. Hence my question - are there any weedkillers that will tackle most weeds and not be a danger to chickens (oh and a cat).
Any suggestions gratefully received!
Thanks
Polly.

[peter]

If they range free all the time and presumably consume green matter while doing so, then I would say no weedkiller would be safe.

Do you have the means to confine them short term and / or prevent them accessing sprayed areas?

If so then you should be able to use a glyphosate based weed killer, but personally I would want to keep the hens away until the weeds had gone brown.


Suggest you go to a builders merchant and buy a plumbers gas torch with a roofers wand/burner attachment, plus a cylinde of propane (red bottle) I have just got a replacement bottle and the refill at £17 for 12kg compares favourably with weedkiller.

Not sure about initial price for the bottle, but reckon £30 to £40 inc gas, and Machine Mart on http://www.machinemart.co.uk/product.as ... 2037&g=105 do a torch with long pipe and 10m hose at £46.94 ince VAT.

Again keep the hens away, unless you want chicken flambe.

[John]

Hello POL
My hens are free to roam around the bottom of the garden. I use Weedol occasionally in this area and the hens simply ignore the treated weeds. In my experience they are amazingly picky eaters and only eat what they know and like. My neighbours' cats haven't come to any harm either! I suppose the 'official' line would have to be that animals should be exclude from the treated area.
You could try posting on one of the poultry forums like Practical Poultry or PekinBantams - someone there might be able to give you more help.

John

[Beccy]

You could also look for a 'flame weeder', same idea as Peter's, but designed for weeding, and the one I have was rather cheaper than what Peter has suggested.

[Streps]

I got one of those flame weeders from Lidl and it was only £6.99 with a small canister. Or how about using salt?

[Chantal]

I think salt would be bad for chickens if they pecked it up and also for cats if it was on their paws and they licked them. I may be wrong but it seems logical.

[peter]

Pol said "we have huge area of big shingle as a driveway"

I weighted my answer accordingly.

You can get bigger or smaller propane cannisters to go with what I suggested, up to the huge six foot tall ones seen at caravan parks, or pikey sites.

I suspect the Lidl one is more suited to sorting the weeds growing in the cracks of the patio paving.


It is about fifteen years since I bought mine, which gets used several times each and every year. twisted fire-starter.

Now I've remembered the brand "Bullfinch" at http://www.bullfinch-gas.co.uk/ , phone for distributors on 0845 1209639 though they are probably more than the sub £20 I paid each for basic torch and weeder/roofer extension burner.

[Pol]

Thanks for all the replies. It is a very large area and there is no practical way we could keep the chickens off. So I will wait till OH comes home and ask him to investigate the possiblity of pyrotechnics. I'm sure he will love the excuse to play!

[oldherbaceous]

Thats not me coming home by the way.

Kind regards Old Herbaceous.

Theres no fool like an old fool.

P.S If you have a conifer hedge next to your drive, and your using a flame gun be very careful as they catch alight very easily.

[Streps]

Pol said "we have huge area of big shingle as a driveway"

I weighted my answer accordingly.

You can get bigger or smaller propane cannisters to go with what I suggested, up to the huge six foot tall ones seen at caravan parks, or pikey sites.

I suspect the Lidl one is more suited to sorting the weeds growing in the cracks of the patio paving.

I was just answering and trying to help, same as you were.

Thought it might be worth trying a Lidl one before splashing out on a bigger model.

Hope you get sorted Pol.

[peter]

Streps, no offence intended, hopefully all posters are trying to help.

What I was trying to point out, perhaps not as tactfully as I could have done is that I have seen the diddy ones and on a drive, the gas would run out after a few yards.