Can I find out if the soil in my run is safe?

[farmer-sly]

My flock has been kept in the same area for about 8 years. Ive had 6-10 hens in a run with an area of about 25x12. They area allowed to range freely 2-3 times a week, when I’m able to keep an eye on them. I live in an area with coyotes, foxes, hawks, falcons, mink, etc.. I recently accepted the lone survivor from a neighbor whose flock was destroyed by coyotes. She came to be as a beautiful, bright, fluffy girl. She and her flock had been mostly free ranged. I’ve had her about 3 weeks. Now her feathers are not as fluffy, her comb is less brilliantly red and it seems a bit dry. In other words, she looks like the rest of my flock.

My question is about the health of the run where my flock spends most of their time. How can I insure that the soul is healthy. Should I be going in and taking poop out? I didn’t think that was necessary, but perhaps I’m wrong. Is there a way to test the soil to see if it has organisms that are harmful?

I appreciate any advice.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

The issues you see are probably not entirely or in any way related to soil issues. They are multi-faceted.
For one, the changes in the new bird. Likely the stress of the move combined with the decreasing day length (if you are in the northern hemisphere) are precipitating a molt.
At my latitude daylight is a little over 3 minutes shorter each day, alternatively, night is also 3 minutes, 2 seconds longer every 24 hour cycle.
It is the difference between light and dark period each day that signals a chicken (and most animals) to either go into a productive cycle or shut down the gonads. Right now, is the most significant time of year (other than late March) affecting reproduction. The rejuvenation of the gonads is what causes the comb to brighten and the space between the pelvic bones to increase.
That contributes to a scruffy appearance and lightening of the comb. The feathers will again be nice after regrowth and when egg laying resumes after winter solstice, the comb will be bright red again.
A somewhat unrelated issue is the difference between confinement and free range. A free ranging bird will find all sorts of plant and animal matter to consume. In the process, getting micronutrients not found in the prepared commercial feed as well as enhanced amino acid profile from the invertebrates and vertebrates they swallow while foraging.
Foraging just makes for a healthier chicken.
As for the soil in the run, the primary things that a flock on soil will do is compact the soil and raise the phosphorus level. There isn't anything else that would cause a problem that I can think of. Any food and feces will break down on and in the soil. No dangerous chemicals should have been added in the process. If the soils was good (no chemicals or heavy metals) when you put them on there, just phosphorus and compaction are the major changes.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

It doesn’t matter what your soil health is like at the end of the day a free range bird is going to have a more diverse nutrition intake compared to ones that are mostly confined as well as more opportunity to exercise. Mine free range during daylight everyday. Everyone who tries their eggs says that they are the best tasting eggs they have ever had and taste different than the store bought “free range” eggs. I tell them that is because mine actually are raised completely free range. It’s all of those bugs and the diversity of vegetation. It’s just like with kids. Look at kids who are fed the same foods everyday and don’t get outside often. Then compare them to kids who are raised off of a wider variety of foods and get to go play outside every day. My kids pediatrician actually called me after our last appointment on my cell phone to ask how I got my boys to eat foods like vegetables, fish, protein and what I do for their exercise because they were “the healthiest and fittest kids” he had seen. I told him they have free access to a full garden, fruit orchard, berry patch, grass fed meats, any bread or pasta they eat I completely make from scratch and they are outside playing everyday. They are out in the garden grabbing carrots out of the ground half covered in dirt eating them. Grabbing apples off of the trees and collecting eggs for their breakfast. I understand that not everyone can raise their chickens free range, but at the end of the day whether it’s people or animals they will always be healthier when they have access to room to roam outside daily and eat as as close to their natural diet as possible.

 

[Chicken_Labyrinth_Seer]

Hi, I am chiming in here not because I feel this might be your problem, but because it may be my problem and I want to share. I have had 2 chickens die with cancer 3 weeks apart from each other. 1- lymphoma and leukemia, 2nd was different cancer, but I forget. One of the suggestions was to check my soil for lead, arsenic, Mercury, dioxins, persistent pollutants, and glycophospate. (I think i spelled that right) - the reason is we have no idea what is in our soil. None. And, I get a lot of runoff from my neighbors every time it rains. So, it is good you are asking these questions. I will never again assume any soil is safe, but will test it. I am currently researching labs I can send soil samples to. I never thought I would do this, but we eat our eggs and could be eating eggs tainted with lead (or something else) and frankly, I am concerned. Editing to add - I think it's Pennsylvania somewhere that lead is a very common problem in the soil of backyard flocks.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Typically, soil concerns for birds have to do with pathogens, or with crop concerns. The symptoms you are describing are not the typical things we expect in association with chicken-infecting pathogens known to reside in the soil (like coccidia) or worm eggs.

and as you are not raising crops in that soil then feeding them back to your birds as a substantial component of their diet, concerns are quite limited that you are concentrating a dangerous excess, or magnifiying a deficiency, by doing so.

Finally, soil mineral/metal issues do not normally result in so rapid a change in the creatures living on it. Absent severe contamination by a particularly hazardous chemical - and were that the case, your older birds (and possibly yourself) would likely be showing greater symptoms - its not the first places we would look for changes in behavior by a portion of the flock.

You CAN have your soil tested. Good chance you local AG extension will do so at reduced price (limited tests) and is likely aware of any broad issues in the local grounds. More complete testing will require a commercial lab - find out who tests the municipal water nearby, give them a call. Likely they do soil tests, too - or can recommend someone who does. Can be pricy. Helps to know what you are looking for, first.

and USGS maintains maps of regions with known excesses and deficiencies of numerous minerals. See, for example

 

[AntiqueB]

Those maps are fascinating, @U_Stormcrow .

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Those maps are fascinating, @U_Stormcrow .

I don't know things. I know where to FIND things.

and yes, I tend to research (maybe even over research) before I begin a new thing - so I looked at a lot of those maps (and had my soil tested by my Ag Extension office) while I was researching what to plant to improve forage in my pasture. Every year, I try new things - meaning more reading, more "finding things".

Glad others find it useful.

 

[K0k0shka]

Get your soil tested at your local extension, and you'll have a better idea of what you're dealing with. Contamination from human activity would probably be the greatest risk to your birds - lead and other heavy metals, fertilizer runoff, pesticide residue etc.

What is your run bedding composed of? If it's just bare dirt, then it's probably compacted by now, and poop will build up without being able to break down well. For the poop to compost properly, the nitrogen in it needs enough carbon from organic material in order to carry out the composting process. So you need to add plant matter like wood chips, dry leaves, grass clippings, yard waste, etc. so it can mix with the poop and compost, to avoid smell and filth building up.

Don't feel guilty if your flock doesn't free range, or doesn't do it often enough. A lot of science and money has gone into developing commercial poultry feeds, which are fully balanced and supply everything that a chicken needs for a healthy life. It may come from different sources or be in a different format, but the nutrients are still there. A lot of people like to feel superior for free ranging their birds, or claim that their birds (and eggs) are superior for that reason, but that's not true. If they have a nice, spacious, predator-proof run and quality commercial feed, chickens that don't free range can still be perfectly healthy and robust. They even live longer than free ranged birds, because they don't run the risk of predation, and the risk of contracting avian-borne illnesses goes down as well.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Get your soil tested at your local extension, and you'll have a better idea of what you're dealing with. Contamination from human activity would probably be the greatest risk to your birds - lead and other heavy metals, fertilizer runoff, pesticide residue etc.

What is your run bedding composed of? If it's just bare dirt, then it's probably compacted by now, and poop will build up without being able to break down well. For the poop to compost properly, the nitrogen in it needs enough carbon from organic material in order to carry out the composting process. So you need to add plant matter like wood chips, dry leaves, grass clippings, yard waste, etc. so it can mix with the poop and compost, to avoid smell and filth building up.

Don't feel guilty if your flock doesn't free range, or doesn't do it often enough. A lot of science and money has gone into developing commercial poultry feeds, which are fully balanced and supply everything that a chicken needs for a healthy life. It may come from different sources or be in a different format, but the nutrients are still there. A lot of people like to feel superior for free ranging their birds, or claim that their birds (and eggs) are superior for that reason, but that's not true. If they have a nice, spacious, predator-proof run and quality commercial feed, chickens that don't free range can still be perfectly healthy and robust. They even live longer than free ranged birds, because they don't run the risk of predation, and the risk of contracting avian-borne illnesses goes down as well.

No one was claiming superiority and no one said that chickens that are not free-ranged are not healthy or living good lives. Only facts were stated and that is free ranged birds have a more diverse nutritional intake and more exercise. Both are scientifically proven to be healthier for all species. I will give an example with horses. My family was given a champion show horse that had spent its life stalled, only taken out for exercise and shows. This horse was fed the top of the line horse feed and supplements I am talking the absolute best money can buy. However, the horse’s health declined severely and it was given to my family under the pretense that it wouldn’t make it long so “enjoy the pretty pasture horse”. Their top vets could not pin point exactly what was wrong, but based on how downhill the horse was going they were told that they would not make it more than 6 months. The horse was turned out on my family’s farm with the other horses in the big pastures where they could go in and out as they pleased along with free choice hay. Guess what? After 6 months the horse was not dead, but in better spirits and health than they had ever been. My dad called their previous owners up and asked them if they wanted their horse back. Confused they showed and could not believe what they were seeing. Yes they wanted their horse back.

 

[K0k0shka]

No one was claiming superiority and no one said that chickens that are not free-ranged are not healthy or living good lives. Only facts were stated and that is free ranged birds have a more diverse nutritional intake and more exercise. Both are scientifically proven to be healthier for all species. I will give an example with horses. My family was given a champion show horse that had spent its life stalled, only taken out for exercise and shows. This horse was fed the top of the line horse feed and supplements I am talking the absolute best money can buy. However, the horse’s health declined severely and it was given to my family under the pretense that it wouldn’t make it long so “enjoy the pretty pasture horse”. Their top vets could not pin point exactly what was wrong, but based on how downhill the horse was going they were told that they would not make it more than 6 months. The horse was turned out on my family’s farm with the other horses in the big pastures where they could go in and out as they pleased along with free choice hay. Guess what? After 6 months the horse was not dead, but in better spirits and health than they had ever been. My dad called their previous owners up and asked them if they wanted their horse back. Confused they showed and could not believe what they were seeing. Yes they wanted their horse back.

Note that I didn't cite any specific users or comments. But this is a very common attitude on this forum and beyond, and yes a lot of implied superiority and shaming of people for keeping their chickens "locked up" in "jail" and not letting them be "free". Which results in a lot of heartbroken people, especially children, who keep losing beloved pets to hawks as the price for this freedom, or who feel guilt and shame for keeping their pets "in jail". So I'm just trying to put their mind at ease, that they aren't going to mess up their chickens if they keep them in a run and feed them a commercial feed. The chickens will be just fine.