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Roksteddie

Chicken-safe weedkiller?

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Hi all,

 

I'm looking for a weedkiller that would be safe to use in the garden. I want to use it specifically on the patio area where the girls aren't supposed to be. However, they do have an occasional habit of getting out of their area and into 'ours' in order to munch on the weeds. I'm worried that if I use weedkiller and the girls manage to get at some of the treated weeds, they could come to some harm. Is it just a case of locking the girls in the run for a specific period? I couldn't get anything concrete about the effects on animals even after reading the labels on the back of several different brands.

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I don't risk it when I spray the front garden the mob don't get access to it until the weeds are dead and inedible normally about 2 weeks can be 3 under normal growing conditions this year due to the lack of rain the stuff I use has taken at least twice as long to work

to check the stuff out that your thinking of using you'll need to get a product data sheet and possible the COSHH data sheet technically the point of sale supplier should have them but domestic retailers don't keep them they'll just point to to the manufactures web site if they even know what your after. the manufactures web site can be hard work searching through to find what your after for non trade chemicals. I tend to google the brand COSHH data sheet. the trade and domestic versions of garden chemicals are the same especially weed killers domestic ones are weaker and sometimes slightly different chemicals are used so the COSHH sheets should be different

personally I let the chickens deal with the weeds in the back garden it's a bit safer risking weedkiller there are few the won't eat but I just pull or hoe them out

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I bought myself a gas weed burner - its good but needs not to be too windy to use it - burns the weeds and also on the patio slabs when I use the pressure washer they are blasted away then. Never used chemical weedkiller in the back garden where the hens have access. But use it in the front to keep the pesky rosebay willowherb down as it has seeded for years

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White vinegar containing over 10% acetic acid. To increase the potency you can add salt and a tiny amount of detergent to make it 'wetter'. Not sure where you would buy it from in UK as ours came from France where it can be bought readily for general cleaning (at 14% strength).

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You can get the strong vinegar from ebay. There is a place in Thatcham that supplies it. Not used them yet though. I've found the vinegar I use for cleaning is good enough. My mother used it first - it killed off the grass and the weeds!!! It looked like a polka dot lawn. I've had great success with dandelions and the vinegar - my experiment worked. The grass soon grows back. But my main problem area was the dry stone walling with weeds coming out of the cracks. Can't pull 'em out - they just snap off and regrow, but pour a bit of vinegar and it's gone. I've also tried salt, but really it isn't good for the garden (although carrots do well in salty soil). Have yet to test it on bindweed!

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