Warmer weather has brought forth the bugs – including ticks, it seems. We would have included a pic of the one we spotted, but we squished it before it could escape. They don’t move very quickly, but they’re small and dark-colored enough that if they dropped into the grass, you wouldn’t be able to find the tick again.
Of course, the chickens and ducks were nowhere near when the tick was discovered. They had just feasted on worms, grubs, and other bugs that were unearthed when we turned over logs in an old woodpile and a big piece of plywood that had been out for a while (and if earthworms really are an indicator of soil health, ours seems to be respectable). Theoretically, though, chickens and ducks will eat ticks. Continue reading “Spring Brings Ticks, Too”
The bugs are here. Tiny gnats, big flies, spiders, moths, even small grasshoppers – the bugs have reappeared after winter’s retreat. Well, maybe winter hasn’t fully retreated yet – there’s snow in the forecast for next Sunday…but it’s also supposed to be 48 degrees. The emergence of bugs means the chickens and ducks will eat as many creeping, crawling creatures as they can catch, and be less reliant on their premade feed. The ducks are worm, tick, and fly-eating machines, too. It’s in their nature: ducks and chickens are omnivorous, and bugs are a great protein source.
We’ve been putting the teen chickens out daily in the tractor, but the weather has been crummy lately and the ground is saturated. It actually snowed quite a bit yesterday and that made the ground messy. Today is gray and damp, so the teens are stuck inside in their brooder based on the formula chicks + mud = muddy, wet, cold, and unhappy chicks.