- Apr 14, 2013
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We live just outside Fredericksburg, Virginia on 3 acres and this is our 32'X40' fenced area that was just finished for my raised garden beds (I'm starting off with only 2 4'X4' beds) and future chickens.. In the next month or so I would like to add 4-5 laying hens. How can I do this and keep the integrity of my garden?? Our initial thought was to put a coop in the back corner and build a chicken tractor (3' wide by 7-8' long) to keep them in during the day and put them back into the coop at night. Once the garden has been harvested by fall, they would have free range of the 720 sq ft until the following spring when we started our seeds again. We figured they would really help fertilize the beds during that time. We also have about 3/4 acre of a grassy back yard that we could rotate the chicken tractor to for a change of scenery (hence why we don't want it that big so it's mobile enough to come out of the 4' wide gate). Is this all a feesible idea??! I would love for them to be able to roam the whole area 100% of the time -- could I maybe put some kind of barrier around my garden beds so they won't disrupt them? Or, should I just plan on moving a chicken tractor around every day and putting them back in the coop at night?? ANY help, advice or insight is well appreciated. This is our first home and our kids (8 months, 2.5 & 3.5 yrs old) are so looking forward to helping out with the fruits, veggies and egg collecting. I just want to find a way to really make it work right.
