[ceri green]

yesterday i was digging over my veggie patch readying it for winter. the hens were all standing the other side of the fence watching me with longing and dribbling (they know that a garden fork means WORMS)....i wanted to let them through to scratch around themselves but didnt dare because this year i used slug pellets and didnt want to risk them picking up an undissolved one or anything!. next year i intend to NOT use sulg pellets ( i was was always uneasy about it anyway), but allow the chooks to be pest control operatives. My question is.. are the hens more likely to ignore the slugs and eat the veggies etc that i am trying to protect???
what do those of you who let their hens on the veggie patch do about slug and snail control?
here it seems to be the slug capital of the world! when i find slugs and snail on the plants i chuck them out into the field, but more and more appear in its place!

any suggestions please?

[Bodger]

A bucket of salty water and drop them straight in.
My ducks adored snails but were always none too willing with slugs.

[ceri green]

does that kill them then? and then what do i do with them? do chickens like pickled slug      

thanks anyway.....but sounds a bit labour intensive lol... i was hoping for a solution that meant slugs never darkened my veg plot agin!      

[Carlitos Crow]

Something that *does* keep slugs away from garden plants are strips of old carpet.  True, it doesn't really look all that nice, but if the carpet is tacked or rolled with the upper side facing outwards along the garden bed, the slugs can't get into the bed, as they cannot crawl properly over the fibers.

[happy chick]

That's a really good question, Ceri, because we've found a hedgehog in our garden a coupla times and have numerous frogs or toads(can't tell which!)!!
I've been thinking that from now on absolutely no more blue pellets even though they're supposed to be ok(ish). Maybe we could all trial some nematodes next season??

[richyrich7]

Maybe we could all trial some nematodes next season??

They are supposed to be really good, but are we all then depriving hedgehogs their dinner  :?

[ceri green]

errrrr ?  :?



(very quietly trying not to display too much ignorance)

[happy chick]

Ceri, try this; i think it explains it slightly better than I can;

http://www.greengardener.co.uk/slug.htm

Hadnt thought of poor little hedgehog being deprived of his slugs, Richy.  Now I really don't know what to do.  Oh well I'll just bear in mind Plato and that in knowing one realises how little they know.  If you catch my drift...... :?

[ceri green]

thanks for that HC, looks good and some of the other products do too such as the copper tape for pots.
Have you ( or anyone else reading this) used it?

[ceri green]

got so carried away then that i forgot that part of my original question was..... will the chickens prfer the plants i'm trying to protect to the slugs and snails   . are there any veg plants that they will NOT eat in the early stages?

[happy chick]

No, I personally haven't.  I've thought about it though.  Maybe we should ask John if he can arrange a special discount from one of the big gardening suppliers so that all of us can have a mass trial of nematodes next season?? Should we pose this question in the GYO forum??

[ceri green]

sounds a good idea  

[richyrich7]

got so carried away then that i forgot that part of my original question was..... will the chickens prfer the plants i'm trying to protect to the slugs and snails   . are there any veg plants that they will NOT eat in the early stages?

Nope if they are like mine, they will ignore the snails completely eat the seedlings then scoff the slugs and make a dust bath in your nursery bed that you had the seedlings in  

[chooknewbie]

lmao @ richy... they seem to love cucumber also...cannot believe my babies actually ate my cucumbers and just left me with the smallest hint that there had ever been a cucumber hanging on that stalk!  it must have given them good exercise though as they were quite a way off the ground and nothing to stand on!!!!

[Foxy]

I used nemetodes and they did work although expensive and you have to make sure you replace them regulary as only last about 6 weeks. I forgot and they came back with a vengeance! :shock: