Reasons To Grow A Chicken Garden

Great info & ideas! If I had a larger growing space… well I have plenty of space but our soil is not naturally great for gardening, and we have tons of tree roots (and where there’s not roots, crab grass), so it’s difficult to actually start a garden in the ground here. We had to build raised garden beds. We ended up having to create an enclosure for the garden beds as well, so the deer, squirrels, our chickens & the neighborhood peacocks would not decimate it immediately & throughout the seasons. Had to replant our peas because I planted them before we built the enclosure, and even though my ladies are not very fond of pea shoots (the only greenery that can grow in the run), they pulled them all up. Plus they have a fondness for fertilizer! We need a cage around the base of all of our young fruit trees, so they don’t scratch out & eat the fertilizer we use for our fruit trees.we also had to cage our tomato plants because they loved eating the leaves, as well as the fruit.
We only have 9 chickens! And they can do damage. I’ve just been cutting overgrown mustard, radish & chard leaves in our garden for them. They love those.
I can’t imagine being able to have a garden that could keep up with our chickens. That would be amazing.
I know people do it! We’ll see, going forward. Maybe I’ll try a garden just for them. Just rip out some of our weed-lawn.

Excellent advice. I let giant kale grow wild near my run and coops. It provides shade, greens, and bugs. Right now the kale that overwintered is buzzing with bees and providing shelter for nests of the little finches too. Win-win for all of us.

I'm giggling because our chickens live in our garden during the day -- however, we have too high of a chicken to garden ratio, and they will denude the entire garden if left to their own devices. I call them little feathered goats. I've had to 'critter fence' off our native garden/meadow and our vegetable garden, and they will jump up and nab lower fruits on our trees. Weeding day is their favorite. I collect grasses and soft weeds from the garden and give it to them (and the bunnies). I wouldn't have it any other way, but I would love to see a list of 'chicken proof' plants. So far, I have citrus and most (but not all) salvias.

Well written and perfect time of year to get the garden planned. Great list of plants to grow for both chickens and humans. So many people have questions about this every year.

Love this! Thank you for posting. I am in the mids of planning my chicken garden with seeds arriving just today! I am very happy that I have some of what you have mentioned. I will purchase the other plants you have suggested. Thank you again. Great article!

You didn't mention enough about the digging and dirt shifting.
Being a subject close to my heart, naturally I gave 5 stars.

Nice article. I see many questions in the forums on "what plants can I grow for my chickens", this article covers it all. Great job!

All good reasons to grow a garden! #5 is not so much a reason to grow a garden, as much as a good reason to have chickens. I have a big herb garden for mine, and a small greens garden because mine can't free-range. Beware of too much parsley...too much of it is not good.

Fascinating article! I’m planning to start a chicken garden now.

Great ideas on how to cut down on the feed bill, and give your chickens some variety in their diet!

Chicken gardens are splendid! I started one this year and my flock loves getting tidbits from it! Hopefully this article can convince some folks on the fence to start one.