Do chickens really eat slugs? All the books I've read extoll the slug eating abilitieis of chickens--but my Orpingtons and Australorps showed almost no interest in slugs although they loved beetles and spiders. I have a terrible slug and snail problem and am hoping my new and varied breeds of chickens will appreciate my escargot. Are some breeds more likely to eat them that others?
I really worried about the neighborhood cats who have taken over my yard hurting the chickens--funny, but while my 4 month old roosters were here the cats were gone--now that I am temporarily chickenless, the cats are back. I guess city cats don't know what to make of them. Nice.
Slugs, Chickens and Cats
I've never noticed the chickens eating slugs, but the ducks sure do. Especially when they are ducklings.
I have seen mine occasionally eat a slug, but not all the time. I guess they're just like people...picky.
We don't have a cat problem...any cats show up here are feral, and that don't last long.
Now that you mention it, jylgaskin, I remember the ducklings I had as a child liked slugs. So I guess I have the wrong bird for slug control. Bummer--I was hoping to turn the nasty creatures into fresh free-range eggs. Still in the very British "Choosing and Keeping Chickens" it says Marans "will happily pick away slugs, snails and other garden pests." Maybe English slugs taste better?
Granny, one of my Orpingtons would occasionally eat a slug, if I held it under his beak. But you could tell he as humoring me and he never went for a second. I have chicken wire all over my raised beds to keep the cats from using them as giant litter boxes. Our local cats are semi-feral, but they are pretty frail looking and don't seems to threaten much of anything--they are just minor pests. But it would be nice to be able to have macho rooster around to keep them in line.
When I was a kid, we had RIRs and they ate all of the snails on the property to the point where there weren't ANY left for years. I don't know about slugs.
I did lose a chicken to a cat when she was about 2-3 months old and still pretty little. Now that the girls are big, I don't worry about them and cats as much. Especially now that I have Inspector Flecks, my big old roo!
Catscan, will you have a roo?
If I remember right, I think it was some of our RIRs that went after the slugs. Since I no longer have any of them except Rocky, I will be getting the guineas for pest control.
As for the cats, the nearest house is about 1/4 mile away, and they don't have cats. These are truly feral. They live in the woods and are just as much a danger as any other wild animal. And, we do have bobcats around here, too.
I am glad to hear about the RIRs and slugs--I ordered one of those from Meyers. The Meyers' chicks will be here Wednesday and I am so happy. I'll try to notice, as they grow older, if the RIR shows any special interest in slugs and snails.
Sadly, Backyard, I'm not zoned for roosters. That's why I had to get re-home my first four chicken--they were suppose to be pullets, but weren't :-). I am expecting at least one of the chicks I get from Meyers will be a roo--I order 6 pullets and they are still "threatening" to put in an extra chick--which I think is usually a rooster. I paid extra for only 6 chicks--with a special heating pad and all--just so I wouldn't get any roos. Actually, I love roosters--my first chicken as a child was a Cornish Game Rooster named Napoleon--he went everywhere with me and "we" would turn over logs in the woods looking for bugs and beetles for him to eat. I think every child should have a nice, sweet tempered rooster.
I agree, catscan. When I was a little tad, we had a Buttercup rooster named Cookie. He was gentle as a lamb. We lived in the city then (during the big war) and could have chickens. He used to follow my brother to the corner when he would go to school and then go there to wait for him to come home.
That's where I got my interest in chickens and learned a lot about them.
Catscan, i wish you could get a couple of geese. They won't bother your cats, but would sure scare off any strays [of any kind that doesn't belong]. and they are slug eating experts, and weeds too! The Chinese white or white embden are very large and scary looking/sounding....