Chickens and your garden

[CowgirlPenny]

Not sure where to really put this....


We moved too late in the season last year to put out our garden so we weren't able to. But this year we intend to put one out as usual. We've only been raising chickens for about 10 months and did not have them at the prior house, with the old garden.

Might sound silly but should I expect there to be an issue keeping them out of the garden? We don't really have any wildlife here that would bother it. A few rabbits here and there but our dogs usually keep them away. My girls love greens and any veggie really, so should I plan to fence it in or will they leave it alone?

 

[Fred's Hens]

You'll have to protect the garden or keep the chickens in a fenced area.

 

[NonnasBabies]

Fred's Hens :

You'll have to protect the garden or keep the chickens in a fenced area.

X2​

 

[menageriemama]

chickens+unfenced garden= not good I say, fence it

 

[Desert Peep]

Fence the garden; my girls can wipe out an entire broccoli patch in a matter of minutes. They will destroy everything

 

[CathyM]

Quote:
Chickens have no sense of farming -- if it's green and they like it, they'll eat it!

If the ground is cleared, they'll scratch in it (there go the seeds!!) I tried netting around my garden last year - boy, did they have fun getting through that!

This year, I have 5ft high wire fence, and so far none of them have volunteered to fly over that!

Some people let hens in before planting, because they are fabulous at finding/eating bugs, larva, slug eggs, etc -- but they will scratch up the ground, so if you have any plants already in, or raised beds, you have to protect against soil going everywhere...

This year I will also be fencing in my herb garden, and generally I surround any tender sapling with a plastic fence... even if they don't eat the plant, they often crush it without realizing -- I have many snapped off iris this year -that's how I found out.

Good luck!

 

[CowgirlPenny]

Ah, fence it is then! Can't take a chance that they will destroy the food. They can devour a plate of scrap greens in seconds, I could only imagine what they would do to my plants!! lol

Lowe's will love us this month. I have to buy a new composter, deep freezer, rug, fencing, fence posts, clothes line posts and more this week! lol


Question, does anyone use their chicken poop (is there a special term for that? lol) as fertilizer, or in their composter?

 

[Barry Natchitoches]

My Feathered Wrecking Crew absolutely destroyed my raised beds.


They got in there and merrily kicked the nice, soft, loamy soil out of the garden bed and everywhere but where it should have been.


And they WILL help themselves to eating or pooping on your fresh lettuce or greens, pecking into your tomatoes, and digging up your garden bed's earthworms one at a time.


What a mess! ... the Feathered Wrecking Crew gets fenced in now...


Either fence in your chickens, or else fence in your garden -- chickens and gardens do not mix!

 

[wbruder17]

Yup. True to all of that. They are great for after the garden is done as they are natural rototillers and composters tho.

 

[alhanse77]

My garden was destroyed after I moved my pullets outdoors. On the flip side, the chickens loved it and their eggs had marvelous orange yolks. They did, however, leave the onions alone. I got a great onion crop last year!