Chickens in a vegetable garden

they love lettuce and cauliflower and I'm sure lots more. I have 75 chicks 2 weeks old now that will be eating chickweed out of our secured section of garden, no plants in there this year. Eat the weeds, leave the poop, then next year we'll rotate the garden and plant there.

 

I have mind right next to my veggy garden. They have a run that I keep them in during crop season or I let them out to free range. I have fenced in my garden completely because they will destroy and eat everything. I havent found a plant my girls dont like. During the fall/winter/spring season when I dont have plants in I let them in my garden and that is their run. I have my garden split in half. We grow corn and beans on one side and the rest of the stuff on hte other. Right now I have all my root veggies and greens planted so they are in my corn/beans area. During the winter I trade off what side they are in mostly. This keeps them working the ground and fertilizing. The other side I put all the savings on from the coop and spread them out. This will slowly turn to compost once tilled. Here is the set up that is similar to what I use and I know others use it too. Mine isnt exactly like this because I found this wonderful set up after I had put everything together lol. I recently put in compost bins because of the bad winter I wasn't able to spread anything and didnt have a place to put it lol. HOpe this helps but please fence in the garden!

 

You'll have to fence off what you don't want them to destroy. We are using deer netting and so far it works well, but there's not anything much growing right now. Once they start eyeing juicy tomatoes on vines, I hope the netting will hold up just as well, but we may have to change the fencing. But yes, they will eat your garden.

 

As much as an asset it would be to have chickens to feast on all the worms and bugs that plague most all gardens, chickens also love the produce as much as we do. And forget about using mulch for weed control as they will quickly and efficiently redistribute the mulch in their search for edibles. Chickens and gardens do not mix, 'cept in the garden's dormant stage.