Chickens in Vegtable garden??

[banter]

I would wait until the garden is past them let'em rip! They will glean the garden and eat all leftover bugs and bug eggs. The scratching gets rid of a lot of weeds.

 

[balticbabe]

Thanks for all the quick responses. Last night my SO threw a cherry tomato plant in the run. Wasn't sure if that was such a good idea. I pulled it out after reading your advice. The girls ate the red tomatoes, squashed the green ones into the ground and seemed to leave the plant itself alone. I can't wait until the fence is finished so the girls can run free. Now they are dependent on me picking them greens. I may buy them some alfalfa meal.

 

[animal nut]

I am interested in hearing about the tomatoes. I have been feeding my chickens tomatoes for awhile. Why would they be toxic?

 

[JennsPeeps]

Tomates = fine
Tomato leaves & vines = potentially toxic (small quantities apparently are fine)

 

[ZooMummzy]

Quote:
Did eating these things cause them any harm? I'm getting low on clover and dandelions so it would be great to let them have a go at tomato plants.

While it may not be the best thing for them and possibly toxic (there is a lot of mixed information on the net), my chickens ate about 10 tomato plants this year with no ill effects whatsoever. They hate the tomatoes, don't eat the stalks, love the leaves.

 

[littlelizzy123]

I don't let them in during the growing season, but I let them in the garden in the fall and winter when everything is winding down and they go nuts. Absolutely bonkers. They strip everything down to the ground like the plague of locusts. And poop everywhere. EVERYWHERE! It's nothing short of spectacular. Then I till whatever is left under and they go crazy over whatever I unearthed. I almost skewered a hen with the potato fork I was using to turn over the soil. It was like a flock of seagulls following a trash barge.