anybody got any gardening ideas for the chicken run , so they can eat something other than grass and

[coopscritters]

chickens seem to eat everything no matter what we do. Our pen is bare of any plants other than a couple of small alders that must not taste too good. What we managed to do is split the pen so 1/2 can be blocked off and we plant clover and other quick growing cover crops. we allow limited access to this so the plants stand a chance. I plant beans on the fence these give shade in summer and although the girls eat the leaves that grow inside the pen we get great beans and the vines cover up the ugly look of the bare coop.
This year I have planted a weeping mulberry just outside the coop so the berries should drop inside and no damage to the tree.

 

[SweetSilver]

How big is your run?

Ours is actually a large, fenced-off vegetable garden, and we have divided it up in sections. This is our first year, as we moved last year. The fence is a requirement not just for chickens but because we have deer in the yard every day. Currently we have 3 sections. The coop gets mucked out into a pile right in the garden, so very little handling of manure. In the 2 sections we are planting, we have rhubarb, sorrel, jerusalem artichokes, now fava beans coming up and we will have more peas and kale planted as soon as this deluge stops. They'll get to run in that section when the peas get larger and the favas are huge. The second section will be planted with tomatoes, beans and other crops that linger into late summer/early fall here. The'll get to mop up that section early fall--chickens love tomatoes!

In the meantime, their current section will get loads of compost and garden goodies. I'm hoping to find a cover crop suitable for chicken forage to add to the process.

In our old pen, we had elderberry tree, and japanese honeysuckle (they adored the red berries and even the blossoms). They liked bamboo but found grabbing a beakful difficult because it is slippery. They ate any plum blossoms that fell into their pen, and any plums, too.

 

[coopscritters]

Ha!

We just got another foot of snow. Happy first day of spring!
Really like the idea of a plum tree. they do drop a lot of fruit.
Our coop is about 20x30 and we have it split in half. We actually use one side for the babies once they are out of the brooder but not large enough to integrate. In between times I like to plant the clover and cover crops. Depends on what seed is available. White clover sprouts in about 3 days if you give it a good water. just now, winter, I have the RIR's in the entire pen.

Come Summer all our chickens are banished from the garden (excepting the bantams) and have to live in pens because our growing season is too short to risk any damage. We cannot plant here untill the end of May. Last year I trained the muscovy's to eat the cabbage bugs and all was going nicely until the chanteclers ate all the cabbage in 2 days.

Do you not have a problem with the chicken manure being too fresh and burning your veggies? We put ours in a compost and wait until the next season to use it. Perhaps I should just toss it on and till it in.

The people I got my chicks from last year keep their chickens in their greenhouses in winter.
I thought this was a great idea if you have greenhouse.

 

[SweetSilver]

Do you not have a problem with the chicken manure being too fresh and burning your veggies? We put ours in a compost and wait until the next season to use it. Perhaps I should just toss it on and till it in.

I have a small flock and I use *a lot* of bedding. Sometimes I do just plop on some "chicken-y hay" and sometimes it goes it a pile to stew for a while. I have never had trouble with "burning" plants in this way. Yes, you can if it is a lot of concentrated manure. There is also concern about veggies eaten raw and contamination.

Personally, I don't really have a method, but if the plants need some mulch and what I have is fresher bedding, then it goes straight on. If I had 20 chickens or something, I'd be more mindful of whether there was too much manure for bedding and would be more careful about composting it some first.

I don't till our soil, I just pile it on top. If I wanted to till, I would probably compost it. Honestly, I don't think about it too much and do whatever I need to do whenever I have time to do it.

 

[coopscritters]

I guess harsh winters make a difference. When the temp goes to the -20's some of us here in the east leave the bedding as the poop actually starts composting in the bedding and generates some heat. We just keep putting fresh bedding on top and piling it up until spring and then shovel out about 3-4 months worth. My coops are unheated. and although I put as many cedar clippings as I can get in, the bottom is a bit ripe by now.
The other problem I have is that I do not only use shavings but supplement with hay and straw so I worry about the seeds. Seems we do enough weeding.

Sounds like you should have a great garden this year. We'll start our seedlings in the next few weeks and my cold frames will be put out at the end of the month. that is if the ground is bare.
Try the beans if you can. Scarlett runners are beautiful and like I mentioned they do add a bit of shade in the summer.

 

[coopscritters]

http://books.google.ca/books?id=Lgx...A#v=onepage&q=balfour method chickens&f=false

My favorite gardening book describes the Balfour method of cooping chickens. I will keep dreaming for the time being.
John Seymour - The New Self Sufficient Gardener