"Chicks" got loose and ate all my seedlings!!!!

[sfchixn]

I'm so mad at them. I put them out in a pen so they could run around and get some fresh air, sunshine and roll around in the dirt. I leave for a few hours and come home to find that they have eaten about 40 seedlings that have been growing for about 2 months. Peppers, eggplant and tomato seedlings. I am just so mad at them right now!!!!!!!

How could they?

Oh, and is this normal? If so I guess I can't let them run around the garden. It is my understanding that some people will let them do this.

I may allow them to run loose with supervision in the future.

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Yup. Mine at my entire garden too

 

[trilyn]

Oh, I'm so sorry!! Yeah, you can't let them anywhere you want your plants to be. You could let them run around in your garden after you harvest all your veggies. They'll pick and scratch at what's there and manure your garden for you for next year.

 

[sfchixn]

My garden is year-round on-going

I guess they will just have to be confined to their pen -- which is not too shabby. I really wanted to give them free run in the yard, however.

 

[Uppity Peon]

That is what they love more than anything else. In the brighter side, they love you forever now.

 

[kannm]

Sorry 'bout your seedlings. Chickens really love garden plants.

 

[JennsPeeps]

Last year I was so smug. I'd been reading on BYC about descimated gardens but my girls hadn't touched a thing.

Then I came home one day to find that the banty cochin had taught the younger girls that pepper plants were tasty.

Then a week later they discovered that my veggie garden was quite delicious.

This year I've created a NCZ (No Chicken Zone): no more chickens in the house, in the garden, eyeing the grass in the alley, on the table when we eat. It's great.