My chicken gardening project

[ZachyWachy]

I have been watching a you tube homesteader named Justin Rhodes. He uses his chickens to prep his garden; but he uses poultry fencing and a chicken tractor. I don't have a lot of access to materials right now because I'm still in high school. However, I still wanted to do what he was doing.
The question: How to copy him with fewer materials.
My answer: A lot of handling, and making cheap stuff work.
My brother and I threw up some chicken wire a few years ago to keep the chickens out. Now, it was going to have to keep them in. I was quite certain that as long as they had food and water, they would be happy to stay in. So on the first day, I covered the ground with food, got them some water out there, and then went to catch them. Thankfully, they were still in the coop (I hadn't let them out yet) and so the really flighty ones couldn't run away for forever. I got them all in the garden area, and let them do their thing. I let them out in the evening so that they could free range and make their way back to the coop without needing to be caught.
Results: A few days later, results are starting to show. Leaf litter is being torn, garden beds are being tilled, and weeds are being taken care of before they get big. I had one escapee, and I clipped one of her wings. I spend 10-15 minutes transporting all of them into the garden, and another 5 getting everything ready- fresh unfrozen water, food spread out, nesting boxes
Pretty easy, just have to spend more time setting it up, but its working.

Thoughts and ideas are helpful; if not for me, then for somebody else.

 

[pennyJo1960]

We have a pretty good gardening thread also please join us there
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/what-did-you-do-in-the-garden-today.670277/page-1322

 

[Mrs. K]

When I tried this, I wound up with a lot of good soil kicked out. And later, when you want to keep them out of the garden, well they will want in real bad. I swear a 5 minute phone call with my mother, and I had to replant the whole thing.

 

[SueT]

It looks good!
I cage in my individual plants, or groups of, instead of the chickens, and let them work around that. Some of the cages can be removed when the plants get bigger. Then the chickens pick bugs off those plants. They do eat some of the tomatoes that they can reach, but I had a ton of tomatoes last year. They don't eat the peppers, okra, green beans, peas. I kept the lettuce behind bars. This pic is from last year. Nothing planted yet, but the chickens are working the soil for me.

 

[Mrs. K]

I am impressed SueT. The best I ever did, was keep a dozen chicks in my garden. I set up a box on its side, and they would all go into it at night. They ate the baby grasshoppers and slept under the beans.

Anything else, was a disaster.

Mrs k

 

[aart]

How to copy him with fewer materials.

Can't really, not the free chicken food aspect anyway...
...and keep in mind, the chickens don't do all the work, his unpaid interns do a lot of turning of those materials to keep nasty pockets of anaerobic slime from forming.

Chickens can do a great job of cleaning up a garden and adding some fertilizer.
Best to have them do it in the fall, so the poops can break down over winter,
you don't want fresh chicken poop on your food.

I'd put fencing around all those beds so they don't tear up your plants,
then let them range the paths in the garden once a week or so, for an hour or two, to 'weed' and eat bugs.

 

[centrarchid]

I am going to be trying this with only a game rooster, game hen and their chicks. They will be housed most of time in 10 x 10 dog kennel close to garden. Birds will be released late in day into garden area to look for bugs. They will not be confined tight to garden, but I will play around with treats to keeping them looking for bug eats among plants. Birds in question will be trained to come in as I work the garden. This year will be fun.

 

[Mrs. K]

Thing is chickens dig unevenly. They have big holes in their favorite spots, and some areas they do not really effect at all. I think there is a lot of spring fantasy going around. However, I have had good luck with chicks. They can't dig as hard. But full grown birds, are going to love that loose garden soil. And a big hole next to an established plant is not going to help at all.

Mrs K

 

[TheJerzyHen]

I’m thinking of letting my girls excavate last years garden mess too! They are such efficient diggers we have a pesky hawk hanging around so I can only let them free of the run when my dogs and I are with them. Hurry Spring!

 

[Ranchwithaview]

I was inspired by his videos also to try to see if my chickens could begin, at least, to prepare a new garden bed area for me. I moved their coop and built a run roughly the size of the bed I wanted. I only have two chickens working on it, and it has only been a week, but I thought it was worth a try.