Chicken garden tillers

[Chic Rustler]

So my run is 40x80 feet. Theres a fence right down the middle with a large gate for the future 40x40 garden. The idea was that the chickens would void the place of vegetation and make it easier to plant and then help keep the bugs down as well. I plan on letting them run on the garden in the off season and let them keep the weeds out, not to mention add a little fertilizer. I was hoping by next spring they would have it ready to plant.

Heres the problem. My current flock is 11 chickens and they get about 2.5 lbs of feed a day plus table scraps. They have been in there almost two months now and haven't made a dent in the vegetation yet. My coop will support 30 or so chickens and i have 16 in the brooder right now so i can add more but im wondering if im feeding them too much feed for them to do the job as needed or if i just need more chickens?

I have also thought about building a compost pile on top of the future garden side and letting them spread it out and look for critters.


Any advice would be appreciated. Im pretty lazy and want to do as little work as possible on the garden

 

[eggbert420]

Put 2 goats in there. When your done with them sell them .

 

[GC-Raptor]

My 5 girls decimated a 500 square foot run in about 5 weeks. Nothing green left, just dirt, was a nice lawn. I use compacted straw for bedding and nest boxes. I clean weekly and dump in run now.
So you have 3200 square foot run. So 32 chickens may decimate, but some breeds are better at foraging. I have Golden Comets and they dig holes up to 5 to 6 inches deep.
Try closing gate, so they only have 1600 square feet. With my girls a hundred square feet per bird, gets decimated. GC

 

[Chic Rustler]

Should i back down the food and encourage foraging?

 

[Chic Rustler]

Put 2 goats in there. When your done with them sell them .

If i get goats they are going on the grill when im done with them!

 

[eggbert420]

Probably, I have a flock of RIR that I haven't fed in two years. They just go around eating bugs and stuff.

 

[GC-Raptor]

Should i back down the food and encourage foraging?

I give my girls unlimited access to layers pellets 24/7 and they decimated it in five weeks. What breed do you have? Like I said some breeds/types do better at foraging. I also give them scratch grains tossed on ground twice a day since 8 weeks of age to encourage scratch and peck. GC

 

[Chic Rustler]

Red senxlinks. Rir ro . Maran roo

 

[lazy gardener]

Should i back down the food and encourage foraging?

You might try not giving it free choice, but feeding a bit later in the day. I'd still let them eat their fill. But, if they don't get the layer first thing in the morning, they might be a bit more busy with their foraging. The thing is, you can't expect them to fill their dietary needs in a fenced run (imo), especially if the vegetation is mostly greens, and lacking in high protein matter, or grains. I'm a fan of FF. Of you are not using FF, that will cut your feed bill, as well as resulting in improved over all bird health.

 

[Chic Rustler]

I was fermenting grain, but i found it got moldy once so i quit. Feed isnt really an issue. I get large quantities of wheat, soy beans, corn and milo for nothing. I roast the soy beans and mix with the other grains. They get a scoop of mixed grain and a scoop of laying pellets every day. They also have oyster shell and grit at all times.