Chickens in the Veggie Garden

[FishNFowl]

Very nice garden. I have a 5' welded wire fence around my garden currently. I'm planning on replacing the back fence which will be shared with the run, with a gate built in. I put pin-wheels in the fencing to scare off deer and I didn't seem to have much of a squirrel problem. To be fair, we don't have many squirrels, but we have a lot of hawks, eagles, and foxes.

 

[Ozarkhomesteader]

Also, they don't just eat A tomato... you know, like pull one off and devour it completely and then take a full-belly nap. No. They take a bite or two of every single ripe, or almost ripe, tomato in the garden. It's maddening. Because, of course, you would have been willing to give them one. But no. They're not happy until every single tomato is ruined so no one else gets anything.

lol, ikr! it's really annoying.

 

[11mini]

They will ruin your garden in no time. They love fresh vegetables and will peck holes in the squash you grew all summer. They will also eat every single green bean less than 36" off the ground. When they get tired of eating the veggies they start digging, right down to the roots.
If you want both chickens and garden I would use raised beds (the higher the better) and build a wire fence around it to keep them out.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I had similar plans. I say HAD. They LOVE cabbage and yes it is some of this one and some of that one. The only thing they left alone was the corn. Probably because the cabbage and tomatoes were so very yummy. I am going with the traditional cute little picket fence this spring to help keep them out of the garden. They are also not allowed out of the run unless I can stay out with them. To many close calls with hawks.

 

[FishNFowl]

Thanks for all of the information. I'll build the run to the fence of the garden, with a gate, but I'll also have a pathway on the interior of the garden fence so that nothing is growing through that would be a loss. I'll keep them out with a few exceptions when I'm around but for the most part I'll figure out some other alternative for pest control in the garden. If nothing else the DL will be good for the garden, and they'll have fun in there during the winter. Has anyone crossed the bridge of plants that work for shade/play inside the run?

 

[tcstoehr]

My chickens were hatched in Spring and I gave them free access to the vegetable garden that year. They were much smaller then they are now, and the garden was established before they got into it. They loved eating the Brussels Sprouts leaves yet strangely left the Collards alone. They ruined alot of tomatoes but there were plenty left over. I loved watching them eat boysenberries. They *loved* relaxing in the squash patch. It was a magical forest of green umbrellas to nap under. They scratched and dug and dust-bathed here and there. The worst thing was they ate all the carrot leaves, but I still had carrots. No big problem. However, now that they are full grown... forget about it. They would destroy any attempts at establishing vegetables. Even established plants would be consumed, unearthed, or de-fruited. My biggest upcoming chicken chore is to erect a chicken-proof divider between the vegetable/berry garden and the other half of the lot. This will still give them access to the low hanging figs, apples and peaches but I'm willing to compromise.

 

[Amberjem]

 

[chickengeorgeto]

How much do chickens tear up a garden and how fast? ...Is it a waste of time?

I typically grow cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, zucchini, egg plant, peppers (bell and hot), and beans.

I was hoping to use the chickens for pest control not just fertilizing and fall cleanup.

The only way to make it work is to fence the hens out of your garden. Then hen hatch your baby chicks and brood them in a small coop inside your garden that the mother hen can't get out of but that allows the peeps to come and go at will.

The small chicks will not scratch up your garden much but as they get older they will not only eat ever insect, but every flower, bloom, leaf, and blossom. The cute little devils are especially fond of eating bean blossoms right off the vine, therefor you won't have any beans to eat, but the good news is that neither will you be bedeviled by bean beetles. All chickens big enough like pecking ripening tomatoes right down to the stem. In other words, chickens and pachyderms are mutually destructive if kept in a home garden.

 

[Young Bird]

We have a chicken moot around a garden 20' X 25". We have only 4 hens and a rooster. I plan on turning them loose in my garden after harvest. I understand they do not need to eat pepper or tomato plants, but is there anything else I need to remove before letting my ladies in there for the winter. Thanks

 

[Young Bird]

Sorry 20'X25"