Free range in the garden?

[Sign Guy]

At the end of the garden season is it OK for the birds to have access to the garden so they can glean and fertilize it. My garden is fenced with a 4' high cyclone fence with gates. I will make sure they are locked in thier coop each nigh and only allowed in the garden during the day. What can they get into that I have to watch out for?

 

[Wifezilla]

If the predators can't get to them...go for it!

I let my ducks lose in the garden beds in Spring before I plant and in fall after I pull out the dead plants. They really have helped keep my slug population down.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Sounds like a great plan to me. The only thing I would be concerned about is that uncooked or undercooked beans are not good for them. It's not that they are going to fall over dead if they eat one raw bean, but too many of them can cause a problem. If you grew beans in there, I would remove them and let the chickens go at it.

 

[teach1rusl]

I let my girls in the garden for a bit every few days after the plants are pretty much full sized and the fruits have started coming on. We have all the basics (including beans)...they really don't fool with the plants much...they like the dirt and bugs.

 

[Annabella]

Sounds like a great idea for your garden - it will be nicely aerated and worked over.

Make sure the girls have access to their normal food and water while they are in there, also shelter such as shrubs etc.

 

[Alabama ee]

We did that. Worked great. They ate all the grass and weeds. It made tilling much easier. An added advantage was they ferilized it.