- Aug 16, 2012
- 6
- 2
- 7
We are getting 6 chickens soon, and I have a coop with an attached run coming for them (coop is 24 s.f, run is 48 s.f., so a little small there). Because the run is a bit tight, I am also fencing in a 24' x 26' chicken yard for them that will be next to the garden. Right now, it's simply weedy lawn, so I'm coming up with my plan to have the compost bins in there, and want to plant something that the girls can hide under since the yard won't be covered.
What I REALLY want, is to plant a couple rows of some blueberries, and a row of raspberries, and maybe put my asparagus patch in there. I know full well that I'll need to temporarily fence them off when they are fruiting (and netting too, for the birds), but when they are not fruiting will the chickens destroy them? At my old place, the chickens liked to hide and sleep in my asparagus patch, and I didn't notice that they tore it up too badly since the fronds were really tall and provided good hiding. With that sized yard, each chicken is getting about 100 square feet of forage... with a compost bin for easy pickins too. I'll also let them into the garden after harvest to clean up for me.
Am I nuts?
Thanks for any insight!
What I REALLY want, is to plant a couple rows of some blueberries, and a row of raspberries, and maybe put my asparagus patch in there. I know full well that I'll need to temporarily fence them off when they are fruiting (and netting too, for the birds), but when they are not fruiting will the chickens destroy them? At my old place, the chickens liked to hide and sleep in my asparagus patch, and I didn't notice that they tore it up too badly since the fronds were really tall and provided good hiding. With that sized yard, each chicken is getting about 100 square feet of forage... with a compost bin for easy pickins too. I'll also let them into the garden after harvest to clean up for me.
Am I nuts?
Thanks for any insight!