My husband wants to fertilize the lawn after having some earthwork done. I have peafowl, chickens, swans, emus, ducks and geese that free range for a few hours each day. Is commercial fertilizer hazardous to these birds? My guess is yes! I say the birds are adding the fertilizer we need. He said he would wait to see what kind of responses we get. I have a call in to the county extension office, but this message board has such good information, I thought I would try here.
JoAnn, Fertilizer can be watered in, so no pellets are available for the birds to ingest. And just keep them off the grass for a few days.
Thanks for the reply and the information. I will read the label carefully. JoAnn
Please let us know your thoughts. Thanks in advance.
By Cjeanr on Thursday, May 16, 2002 - 01:55 am:
But "Weed and Feed" is a different thing. Not supposed to be harmful to pets after it has dried (if applied in solution). But NOT MY PETS--and certainly NOT MY GRANDCHILDREN, who love to roll and play on the lawn. I take a few sessions and lift the few dandilions with a pocket knife--good for the waist line. I keep the lawn close to the house pretty clear, but don't bother the weeds on the large area that is mowed beyond the immediate yard. Amazing how many birds feed on dandilion, smartweed, seed of those weeds--several kinds of finches, siskins, redpolls, other seed eaters! Bees that I need to pollinate take their turns at the blooms of the weeds. Mind you, I am not advocating planting these weeds! But weedfree is pretty sterile.
And after all this, READ the label. Most weed killers are not on my acceptable list! Fertilizers may be just fine. CJR
By JoAnn321 on Thursday, May 16, 2002 - 07:08 pm: