Author Topic: can i feed the slugs from the beer traps to ducks and hens? (Read 7652 times)

hexhammeasure · « **on:** June 02, 2008, 11:01:02 pm »

Hi, I just had this great idea which knowing my luck will kill my poultry. So I thought I'd better ask the professionals first!!. My beer traps (10)are catching about 1/2 lb of slugs a day and it seems a shame to waste all that protein, so I was wondering if it was safe to feed the 'sludge' to the ducks and hens? If no one knows I will test it on the 'old girl' that is the last of the previous batch she might be 6 or 7 years old.... I owe her for following behind me eating all the parsnip seeds before i'd even got to the end of the row....

mad dogs and us two · « **Reply #1 on:** June 03, 2008, 10:43:06 pm »

I have no idea, but I shall watch this thread with interest.

They do say revenge is a dish best served cold, added alcohol should make it more palatable for the chicken too.

Steve

hexhammeasure · « **Reply #2 on:** June 03, 2008, 11:09:05 pm »

lol if its the old girl in the pot it will bring a new meaning to the word marinaded

Rosemary · « **Reply #3 on:** June 04, 2008, 05:21:55 pm »

Do let us know how you get on - our hens certainly have very catholic tastes when it comes to food!

Fluffywelshsheep · « **Reply #4 on:** June 05, 2008, 10:21:33 am »

i think you might be able to put them on the compost heap if you have a prob with the hens

hexhammeasure · « **Reply #5 on:** June 05, 2008, 06:58:38 pm »

I would normally put them on the compost heap but at the moment its the old girls favourite scratching hole

hexhammeasure · « **Reply #6 on:** September 12, 2008, 01:42:25 am »

Right for those of you that can remember this post Its time for relaese the conclusions for this experiment.

1) hens don't like slugs!! I tried feeding the hens with both alcohol poisoned and live slugs and they didn't bother too much with them. ( also I tried feeding cabbage white caterpillars and they ran from those too!!)

2) ducks loved them - so far no fatalities (lol try feeding THEM cabbage white caterpillars... half of them ate them after dibbing and chewing the other half ran away from any that acually SQUIRMED)
FUNNEEE...

The Chicken Lady · « **Reply #7 on:** September 12, 2008, 11:54:15 am »

I'm sure that would truly make her a 'Happy Hen'

Seriously, my hens will not eat slugs but the ducks fight over them. Reminds me of a bar in Bulgaria called the Happy Duck.

ballingall · « **Reply #8 on:** September 12, 2008, 10:08:20 pm »

Ducks really like slugs, ideally if you kept a bunch of totally free range ducks in your garden they'd probably live off on slugs.... They'd make a lot of mess as well though!

doganjo · « **Reply #9 on:** September 12, 2008, 10:27:13 pm »

Actually, I'm not sure that's true. They only time I've had a mess due to the ducks is where they've been restricted. Like right now when I have to let my bitch that has pups out front to keep her away from the other dogs, I have to keep the ducks penned up and it is an absolute quagmire round their run. At my last place they were restricted to an earth pen with a static pond and the same thing happend. Prior to them being penned here they were allowed to roam at will on the front grass and apart from little holes where they were grubbing you wouldn't know they had been there. I believe geese eat grass but I don't think the ducks seem to. Mind you maybe the stream running through the garden helps - they can make as much mess as they want down the bank.

Annie

The Chicken Lady · « **Reply #10 on:** September 13, 2008, 10:10:24 am »

I aggree. I have just 2 small ducks that roam about in my garden. It is just slightly muddy arround the pond. They do no dammage to plants or grass. They can wander into another large garden which is just grass and really it is still clean and tidy. Where I have raised ducklings in a pen it is now needing to be moved as it is very muddy and the grass is thinning. They are near my pigs at the moment but once they go I can rearrange the area as their pen is attatched. I will give them a much bigger area but I don't want anymore in my garden as I think that it will get ruined.