Rototilling Chicken Service

[kathlynr8]

Hi,
I am creating a new veggie garden from scratch on my land in Vermont. This land has not had anything built on it - so my staked veggie garden area is grassy, mossy, anty.
I am wondering if chickens set loose on the area in a chicken tractor would tear up the grass and aerate the soil or if I am better off with a rototiller? I would like to do it as naturally as possible - hence the chicken idea. How long would it take for chickens to tear up a grassy area? Is it fast? I want to get to work on the garden. Do people ever lend out their chickens for this? I am not set up with my infrastructure (coop, run, safe fencing etc) yet to have my own. Or should I just forget this and do it with machinery? And have them turn compost at a later point when I have my own chickens.. Thanks for thoughts!
_Kate

 

[kmom08]

I did this one year to make a 6x20foot plot, I free range when home but had them in a run when gone. I kept moving the run within the area. I did this from late summer through spring though (I'm in southern ky so we don't get a whole bunch of snow). Once it was dug up enough I turned the soil with a shovel and let them keep digging during free range time. We moved while my husband was in school and now have moved back into the same house so the area had been re-seaded for renters. I plan to do it again this year, but the area won't be ready until next spring.

 

[kmom08]

I should also add our ground is pretty solid, it took a while for my area to be ready. Under different soil conditions it could be different.

 

[aart]

I am not set up with my infrastructure (coop, run, safe fencing etc) yet to have my own. Or should I just forget this and do it with machinery?

If you want it done now, use a machine.
But in the future, chickens can make great rototillers/fertilizers/weed-seed-bug eaters.
Plan your coop/runs around your gardens...here's an iconic chicken garden setup.
Move the chicken into garden area in fall to clean up and start fertilizing,
the side where chickens resided all summer will be ready the next spring for planting.

 

[AuntJamie]

I would say my flock of 21 birds got rid of the grass in their 8x28' run in under a month. Granted some of the ground was covered with dirt from when we built it and dug up around the perimeter but at least half of it was grass. These were young birds, they were 9-10 weeks old when I put them out there. I wouldn't say they tore up the ground necessarily, but it sure is bald now.

 

[Ridgerunner]

How fast they clear it suitable for gardening will depend on the size of the area and the number of chickens. Age makes a difference too, chicks are slower than adults.

They go through stages. First they eat anything green. Just because it looks bare does not mean they've gotten the roots. Over time they will scratch it up and dig the roots out. But they also compact the soil just by walking on it. If they are in there long enough to get the roots don't expect them to aerate it for you. You will probably still need that tiller.

If you don't have the infrastructure or the chickens and you want to get started on your garden break out the tiller.

There are different ways people use chickens to help with gardening other than making compost. Some fence off different areas so the chickens can roam one section while you are gardening in the other. Rotate which section you garden in. Some turn the chickens loose in the garden in the fall after you've harvested and let them clean it up and keep new growth down. They'll help fertilize it too.

That's another possible issue. If the poop builds up thick enough it may be too strong to plant in immediately. If you till it in and give it a few weeks the poop will break down enough that you can safely plant. That may give grass and weed seeds enough time to sprout but you can handle that with the tiller. Fresh sprouts are pretty easy to handle.

Of course there are all kinds of variations of how to do this. And as Kmom sort of said, your local conditions will affect what works for you. Not just soil but maybe climate and how your area is set up. Whether it is tough turf or freshly turned ground will make a difference too.