The chickens won't even give me a chance to rake leaves!!!

[kuntrychick]

I've been raking leaves A LOT! I've already put PILES of leaves in their pen/run & they LOVE scratching in them!

This week I've been trying to work on raking the enclosed yard they stay in. Well, I wanted to keep these leaves separate from the other leaves I've collected because I'm sure there's dog poop in there (our big outside dog stays out there in that enclosed yard).

Well, I've got several piles of leaves in there I was planning on gathering them all up & burning, but the chickens keep scratching in the piles & scattering them out again!

They want to scratch in my piles of leaves even though I gave them piles of their own!

Along with all the leaves still haven't fell from the trees. So, it's a never-ending thing!

Will the possible dog poop contaminated leaves hurt the chickens?

Am I putting too much work into it trying to separate those leaves from other leaves I've collected in the yard for composting? Can those also be composted?

Should I just leaves those piles of leaves out there another week or two for the chickens to have fun in? BTW: my dogs are loving the leaves too!

 

[Pele]

Lol I wouldn't worry so much about seperating the leaves. I guarantee you that your chickens have gotten into a lot more unsanitary stuff than dog-poop

it's up to you if you want to just leave them piles to play with for another few weeks. My own personal suggestion would be to do that, set out your lawn chair, get a glass of a good late harvest vintage, and enjoy the show while you relax

 

[silky ma]

I would run a lawn mower over the piles and let the girls have at it. You can also spread the piles under bushes for fertilizer for next years growth.

 

[Imp]

No dog here, but when I rake leaves I have to put a tarp over the extra piles and weigh them down with rocks/bricks etc. Otherwise I am just reraking.

Imp- I invented a new word "reraking"

 

[wyododge]

If it makes you feel better... My chickens were eating the corn out of cow poop last week when we had them in the corrals... My dog eats cow and chicken poop... one big happy circle.

 

[DraigAthar]

Joel Salatin preaches the virtues of letting his chickens eat the fly larvae out of cow pats (free protein for the chickens while they scatter the poo all over, fertilizing the pastures in the process!) so I doubt a little dog poo is going to hurt them.

Amy