Question/feedback- Alternating run w/garden yearly?

[cmcourt]

My husband and I are thinking about building our coop so that it has a run on either side. That way we can use one side for chickens and the other for a garden, alternating annually. The coop will be about 66 sq ft and the runs will be 160 each, with access to under the coop for shade. We have 12 full size birds and 7 bantam silkies. Can anyone offer feedback on this notion?

My concerns are that it will add too much "fertilizer" in a concentrated spot and/or that I will be basically starting the garden from scratch each year.

Thanks bunches,
Christine

 

[mikecnorthwest]

That sounds like a lot of chicken wastes. You may just have to see how it goes and manage the wastes to make sure your soil has the right balance. You really have nothing to lose because if it doesn't work as planned you can just dedicate one run to the garden.

 

[Mrs. Mucket]

The concept makes a lot of sense, and I have seen it done successfully! There is an interesting article or site online but I can't find it right now...if I come across it I'll let you know the link, as the man who wrote it likes the plan a lot.

We have a similar situation--we will not be able to switch garden spaces from year to year, but we do have chicken doors into pens on one side, and into our garden on the other side of the coop. We had no garden there last year so haven't tried our "chickens do fall cleanup" idea yet, but the birds have been out on the garden area this spring. They are munching on the cover crop and scratching around, but not covering as much garden as we'd like because they're not fenced in and they find other areas to explore on the property. We're thinking of putting something interesting in the farther parts of the garden to draw them across it--feeder, waterer, range shelter, etc.--even though they sleep, eat and drink in the coop. I thought about tossing treats out there, because they'll come if I rattle a cup of seeds.

We also thought about manure concentrations, and figured we can spread it out a bit with our tractor if necessary. Can you rotate the chickens across the garden at all? You could check the nitrogen level after the chickens have been on it. Univ of Massachusetts does a very reasonable soils test ($9 last year). You can just mail them the soil and they'll respond by email.

 

[squeakyballs]

Ages ago I saw this amazing sketch of a chicken run, chicken house, and garden. The way I remember it, the spring garden would be on one side, and the fall garden on the other. It depended on what angle the sun was coming from. The chicken house was in the middle. The chickens spent their time on the side that wasn't being used for gardening that season. It was brilliant. I wish I still had it. I think I found it somewhere online.

 

[WhetzelMomma]

I think it would work really well!! I'd use the "deep liter" method on the side your chickens are on, and then allow it all to rest and "compost" over the winter. So Every Fall, I'd switch the run, and over the winter/spring/summer use the side I WON'T be planting in that spring. That will ensure that you don't have a hot compost and that your chicken poo has neutralized.