Mallards ducks do damage to my front yard by sitting and walking all over everything as they look for the slugs and bugs. I also think the mess is less with the chickens.
Check out theEasyGarden.com This is one BYC's sister sites. There are lots of gardeners with chickens and ducks there.
Everyone is right, the chickens will eat everything if you let them. I keep my pullets in a dog exercise pen and/or my tractor for working in the garden instead of making the garden look like a fortress. I put bird netting over the top of the exercise pen. I put it right around the space I want them to go over. It keeps them out of my good stuff.
http://www.theeasygarden.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=25120 There is a pic of it in a thread here.
The only time my chickens free range is late in the afternoon or early evening and only under close supervision.
When I pick a head of lettuce or cabbage, I make sure to shake it out for the chickens before bringing it in the house to rinse off. They get any bugs that fall out, especially the earwigs which are my biggest problem.
I like Sluggo and other Iron Phosphate products like it. It works to kill slugs and snails by eliminating their appetite and they starve to death. It does break down and fertilizes the soil. I have yet to use it with the chickens around however. I am unsure if they will have any adverse effects. The dog and cat leave it alone.
I keep offering the bugs they don't care for when they are stuck in the run and bored. Grasshoppers are great fun for them, especially if you have more than one grasshopper.
