Chickens in the garden?

[JenE]

I've had gardens, and I've had chickens, now I have them both at the same time! Yay! My questions is, I let the girls free-range in my garden. They've been great little weeders! How long before planting time to I stop giving them access? I will till before planting, and I'm in Zone 7, so I rarely put plants out before April 15-30...How long ahead of time should I stop giving them access so my newly planted seedling don't burn?
Thanks for your help!

 

[Ridgerunner]

If your garden is fairly big so they don't put a lot in a small area, and since you are going to till, probably not much, if any. If it is piling up and pretty thick, maybe a couple of months. It depends a whole lot on how much you mix it up and how thick it is.

 

[JenE]

Thanks - I have 6 girls and a roo, and the garden area is pretty large. They've only been getting access for a few hours a day, so there's no accumulation...