hello so I am trying to get 3-4 chickens and I have a full sized garden (tomatoes, peppers, carrots, beats, strawberries etc etc etc) Can I free range chickens in this type of garden or will they dispatch of anything growing in it? i remember in Ukraine my aunt would have chickens out in the garden, however heard here this is recipe for disater. Anyone?
Left to their own devices, chickens will dig everything up! We free range out chickens, and several times have come home to find the vegetable garden strewn across the pathway. They often even snap tall-ish plants in half if they get into it! (My chickens like to dustbathe under the plants.) However you can protect your garden by encircling it with chicken wire and just letting them out on the lawn. That is what we do now.
Mine free range (I have a large garden). This Spring, I took a over grown plant and divided it. Replanted in areas my girls don't tend to be interested in ... until they saw those fresh shoots So, I used my wire hanging baskets, turned them upside down over the plants I wanted protected - so the girls can't get to the roots. Two of my adopted girls are very destructive so they only range in penned off areas; ususally the areas I'd like clearing Much depends on the breed and the personality of the hens though. But, yes, overall, if you have precious plants, restrict the potential for damage by fencing them off (be that the plants or the hens).
