Chickens in the garden

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Sounds like the, ummm... "byproducts", are better than having a fresh egg supply! My garden can sure use the help.
Thanks for the help!
CG

 

[SandraChick]

citygirl

The beans are about the only thing coming in at all.

Well- I didn't specifically answer your questions!

So the beans are the only thing huh? Did you know that beans (and peas) are considered Nitrogen fixers? Meaning they take nitrogen from the air and basically put it into the soil? You might get some fertilizer at the store to boost your current plants ASAP. Sounds like they just need some "food" cuz you got some sterile soil. If it's as bad as it sounds...you may consider getting some manure and working it into your beds this fall before snow. (horse or donkey works best in these cases--often you can get it for free it you're willing to go get it yourself). You can still do the chicken bedding in there too, just space it out. It'll be a whole different story in the spring next year!

How do chickens feel about roses and japanese beetles? Sure could use some help with that!
CG

They don't like to eat roses (yeah!)
THEY LOVE japanese beatles (yeah)

One BYCer actually made japanese beetle "traps" that funneled them into the chicken run...chickens thought they were in heaven!

Sandra​

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Thanks! I really am a city girl it seems. My new farmer neighbors stay amused, I'm sure.

My initial garden problems were a combination of rain and bad dirt. The dirt is horrible- all clay and rocks. I've hauled in truckloads of compost and topsoil. I'm trying to fertilize weekly with the sprayable Miracle Grow stuff. It's helping, but parts still have miles to go! I figure a constant supply of chicken poo can only help the compost heap. And I'm sure my neighbors will let me shovel all the cow and horse manure that I can stand!

Now that it's finally raining every now and then, some plants are starting to recover. I also finally got a sprinkler system rigged up on a timer. I can soak the area every couple of days. The beans have overwelmed the fencing trellis I set up (also turns out that the bush beans Gurneys sent are more pole beans. That's not helping.) I'm getting beans by the bucket full every morning. YUM! The tomatoes are finally starting to get some size. An early encounter with bunnies and tobacco bugs stunted us. Strawberries, watermelons and cucumbers are finally starting to spread too.
If the beans are nitrogen fixers, then if I rotate the crops around the garden, it will only help the soil, right? Tomatoes like nitrogen, don't they? And I can put green manure down in the fall without killing anything, right?
Do you feed garden greens to your chickens? Once the plants are started, but before fruit starts to show, can I let the chickens run through the garden? Will they eat the plants too or just the veggie part? Letting them run inside the garden fence in fall/winter/spring would help work the manure in and eat any wayward, out-of-season bugs too.

Good news about the roses and chickens though. I sprayed the plants this year after the beetles decimated them. I'd rather not spray with chemicals though, if at all possible.
Sorry for all the questions. Clearly we need a Country Girl Apprentice Program out here to help me out!

thanks for your help!
CG

 

[BeckyLa]

I'm sorry, but my chickens do aerobics to get to my roses. One florabunda in particular I've had to drape netting over to get flowers because they like the buds, too. But I've seen them jump 3' to get rose petals from the top of the bush. un As for bugs on my roses, though I haven't had Jap Beetles yet I've had several others and I just dust occasionally with Seven 5% dust. It won't hurt the birds and it does kill most bugs.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Well, cuss. There go the rose bushes too.

If only the chickens would eat the crabgrass and burmuda grass I might be let the roses go.

Thanks for the help all!
CG

 

[SandraChick]

well becky...that's intersting about your roses!
It really amazes me how different chicken"families" are!

On another post, someone said their chickens eat their clematis, but my birds won't touch mine. But in the same post the person said her chickens won't touch her astible, but I have to put caging around mine or my chickens will mow it down to the ground (in minutes!). Makes me wonder why such differences!

If the beans are nitrogen fixers, then if I rotate the crops around the garden, it will only help the soil, right?

yes

Tomatoes like nitrogen, don't they?[/

yes and they especially love coffee grounds too. My G'ma used to dump her coffee grounds directly at the base of her tomato plants!

And I can put green manure down in the fall without killing anything, right?

Well- you put it where you're plants are done anyway. If you have perennials, I'd put green manure in a shallow pile and let it weather a bit.

Do you feed garden greens to your chickens?

well absolutely...but their not allowed in the vegetable garden unsupervised....they'll eat all the good stuff first!

Once the plants are started, but before fruit starts to show, can I let the chickens run through the garden? Will they eat the plants too or just the veggie part?

well, I guess it depends. just like the roses! I wouldn't do it unsupervised...then you can chase them out if they're getting something you don't want them to.

Letting them run inside the garden fence in fall/winter/spring would help work the manure in and eat any wayward, out-of-season bugs too.

Absolutely...this is what I do---has made a HUGE difference (even in just the first winter).

GOOD LUCK
Sandra​

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Thanks!
I'm searching for a pretty coop that I can build myownself. Once the coop gets built, then bring on the chickies!
Thanks for the help!
CG

 

[Backyard Buddies]

You've gotten some wonderful replies here. Gardens and chickens are a natural, but that's not to say that they can coexist unsupervised. That said, my chicken coop is in my garden area. Here's a pic from last season:

As you can see, my three girls have a small outdoor run area that keeps them separated from the veggies. The whole area is separated from the rest of the yard by a picket fence. When I let the chickens out to free range, the picket fence is (ideally anyway) shut to keep the chickens out of the veggies. They won't go over the fence unless one of the girls needs to lay an egg. With only a few of them, I keep a calendar and only let them out in the yard when I know they don't need to lay an egg. Since I work from home, this isn't as difficult as it may sound.

Yes, chickens will eat all kinds of things. They love my beet greens. We had an issue where one of the kids left the picket fence open and the chickens had a nice lunch. They didn't dig up the roots, so we were able to just let the greens grow back. Mine will also eat rose petals but not enough that the plant is completely barren of flowers.

I keep a compost system running. The first is a pile where all coop cleanings, poop scooping, veggie scraps (those that aren't fed to the chickens), coffee grounds, and weed-free garden trimmings are piled. That's stage one. Then I run a ComposTumbler for speedier composting. I move the Tumbler stuff into my gardens (or that of my grateful neighbors!) and then rotate the more recent pile into the Tumbler. I've never had a problem with the poop burning my plants. The key to a compost pile is a proper balance of green and brown stuff plus just enough moisture (water/green things) and air (turning the pile) to make the decomposition process work.

Living in So. Cal, all of my soil is awful clay. I make up for it by having raised beds and supplementing with trucked in dirt (initially before I had chickens) but now only through my composting. So far it's working great and I think that the chicken poop compost has made my garden better than any dirt that I purchased in the past.

Like others, in the off season, my chickens have free access to the veggie beds. Any grubs hanging out in the soil becomes a tasty snack. And, any grubs that are eaten won't be around as an adult in my garden the following season. I have definitely found that I have less bugs in my garden with the chickens in the yard.

Definitely plant a little extra. Your chickens will thank you for a few treats tossed their way!

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Wow! Thanks for the advice!

I started a compost heap back in early summer. It's growing slowly and I'm not sure I'm putting the right stuff in to make it really useful. It's just become a place to throw all the weeds I pull and grass clippings.

I like your coop. That looks really nice. I'm waffling between putting my coop inside the veggie garden fence or inside the flower garden fence. Both are surrounded by a picket fence. I guess if I make it portable it could go both places! Or at least I could figure out where it worked best.

I appreciate your help!
CG

 

[Backyard Buddies]

You're lucky to have more options than I do. Living in So. Cal, we generally have smallish lots. This backyard is only 25 X 64, so there weren't many choices as to where to put it. As you can see from my neighbor's rooftop behind the coop, finding chickens who didn't mind being cooped up and quiet was important. The coop is a recycled and remodeled playhouse that my kids outgrew. It's certainly one of a kind!

Perhaps others do it differently, but I don't put weeds into my compost pile. I realize that the heat generated by the process *should* kill the weed seeds that might be present, but I just didn't want to take a chance with that. Or, perhaps I'm just being paranoid.