Giving my chickens their own garden to destroy

[Roheline]

I actually intentionally run my chickens through sections of my garden that are not currently in production. I had an asparagus patch that was overgrown with quack grass that I fenced in for them to range and they actually beat back most of the grass for me with their scratching while leaving the deeper buried asparagus crowns untouched. I've since mulched that patch with wood chips and I plan to run the chooks through every year once the asparagus has gone dormant to perform weeding, fertilizing, and beetle control duties.

In my garden, I have installed permanent sections of 5 ft tall fencing that double as trellises (rotating what grows there each year) and chicken containment. It's a lot of fun planning how to make best use of them!

One lesson I learned the hard way is to clip their wings and always observe them in the fenced area for a while first before letting them in unsupervised or else they may help themselves to areas of your garden that weren't intended for them! Mine love mulched areas so much they will fly over shorter fences to get in there. I had one very conniving hen learn how to snip through Premier1 non-electrified chicken netting and made a hole through it to get into my garlic!

 

[azygous]

It's been nearly one month since the chickens were allowed into their garden. I'm surprised it's lasted this long.

Pay attention to those tall, naked stemmed plants with the beginnings of yellow flowers at the top. That's lettuce. This illustrates the importance of waiting until the plants get high enough to avoid total annihilation. It also illustrates how high up a chicken can reach when devouring a garden.

 

[nature_nerd]

I've always grown veggies for my chickens, but eating them is just half the joy for them. Trampling, smashing, uprooting, laying general waste is the real fun. So several years ago, I sectioned off an area that's strictly for the chickens' pleasure and gratification. And I get a lot of enjoyment watching them have so much fun.

Back in the fall, I cleaned out all the dead stuff and sowed seeds - hollyhocks, flax, chard, lettuce, alfalfa, and even a cannabis plant. All are edible. I placed straw over the seeded space and closed it off to the chickens so they wouldn't scratch up all the seeds. Snow seated the seeds and at the first hint of spring, the seeds germinated and got off to an early start without my lifting a finger in effort. And today I opened it up for their enjoyment since the plants have established decent root systems and height. I live at 7500 feet elevation, by the way.

The secret to having a chicken garden is to fence it off until the plants are firmly rooted and have grown to a height that will resist total decimation.

View attachment 4145899View attachment 4145900View attachment 4145901

My chickens would think they’re in Disney World! This is amazing. I am still a new chicken owner and “mother hen” to 6 wonderful little creatures. I always wondered why they would obsess over roots! Again, love what you’ve done.

 

[azygous]

It is like a chicken Disney World. By the way, just so you all know, I was around 20 years old when the first Disneyland opened in So.Cal. That makes me old.

There are two top activities chickens live for, dirt bathing and raiding gardens. We should make those things possible if we want to prove we love our chickens. At least, that's what my chickens have drummed into my head.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

It is like a chicken Disney World. By the way, just so you all know, I was around 20 years old when the first Disneyland opened in So.Cal. That makes me old.

There are two top activities chickens live for, dirt bathing and raiding gardens. We should make those things possible if we want to prove we love our chickens. At least, that's what my chickens have drummed into my head.

Wait till they figure out how to line up and squawk “It’s a Small World” at you!

 

[Appalachickens]

Here's a tip I want to share. Go to the cereal aisle and pick up a bag of Red Mill flax seeds. They are 100% viable and you get a ton of them for just a few bucks as opposed to a measly twelve seeds in a flower seed packet. Buy alfalfa sprouting seeds for cheap and plant them.

If you want to raise some melons, don't buy melon seeds. Buy watermelon and cantaloupe, enjoy consuming them, and then plant the generous amount of seeds that come in the melons. You can do this for corn and squash, as well. The seed industry is the biggest rip-off. Don't fall for it.

Same for seed potatoes and sweet potatoes. I just buy those at the grocery store and use them instead.

 

[Appalachickens]

It is like a chicken Disney World. By the way, just so you all know, I was around 20 years old when the first Disneyland opened in So.Cal. That makes me old.

There are two top activities chickens live for, dirt bathing and raiding gardens. We should make those things possible if we want to prove we love our chickens. At least, that's what my chickens have drummed into my head.

I have a memory of going to Disney Land as a young kid in the 1960’s and being terrified of the It’s a Small World ride. All those tiny creepy dolls!

 

[Appalachickens]

I actually intentionally run my chickens through sections of my garden that are not currently in production. I had an asparagus patch that was overgrown with quack grass that I fenced in for them to range and they actually beat back most of the grass for me with their scratching while leaving the deeper buried asparagus crowns untouched. I've since mulched that patch with wood chips and I plan to run the chooks through every year once the asparagus has gone dormant to perform weeding, fertilizing, and beetle control duties.

In my garden, I have installed permanent sections of 5 ft tall fencing that double as trellises (rotating what grows there each year) and chicken containment. It's a lot of fun planning how to make best use of them!

One lesson I learned the hard way is to clip their wings and always observe them in the fenced area for a while first before letting them in unsupervised or else they may help themselves to areas of your garden that weren't intended for them! Mine love mulched areas so much they will fly over shorter fences to get in there. I had one very conniving hen learn how to snip through Premier1 non-electrified chicken netting and made a hole through it to get into my garlic!

My run was absolutely filled with plants until the chickens started living there. I was astounded at how quickly they razed the place. All that remains is a small mulberry tree which they ate all the leaves off until I put a protective thing around the trunk. Now the leaves have come back, and they spend time staring up at them and plotting. I can see it in their little chicken eyes.