Some feeding question

[Craftycindy]

I have a huge garden my chickens roam in out around they don't seem to do much damage but this year they took a likin to my tomatoes I can deal next yer I will wire them out from the tomatoes but my questions are if I give them spouts this winter will they start digging up stuff when I plant in the spring peas beans etc also if I give cabbage to peck at in the winter will the start pecking at my veggies growing in the garden during my height of the season broccoli cauliflower etc I don't want to make my chickens so happy that I become miserable trying get things out of the garden without chicken already half eaten them already

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Whether you feed those things or not, they'll still dig for sprouts, seeds and bugs. They'll also eat any succulent tender green or fruit within reach.

 

[sunflour]

You need to fence off your vegetable garden and don't let them in there.

Green tomatoes and the tomato plant itself is toxic. Ripe red juicy ones are ok.

If you plant root crops you cannot eat the vegetable if fresh poop in soil.

 

[Craftycindy]

They only eat the ripe tomatoes okay what must I know about root veggies and chickens

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I'm not sure about the root crop and feces thing. All my garden soil is made up of composted coop bedding. I rotate raised garden beds with chicken pasture and seasonal vegetables. I've never freaked out if feces was in a garden bed regardless of the type of veggie. Feces isn't the same thing as a herbicide or pesticide. It's feces and decomposes quickly. If there was a problem, no one could eat root crops because wild birds crap all over the ground all the time.

 

[sunflour]

I'm not sure about the root crop and feces thing. All my garden soil is made up of composted coop bedding. I rotate raised garden beds with chicken pasture and seasonal vegetables. I've never freaked out if feces was in a garden bed regardless of the type of veggie. Feces isn't the same thing as a herbicide or pesticide. It's feces and decomposes quickly. If there was a problem, no one could eat root crops because wild birds crap all over the ground all the time.

Wild bird droppings are microscopic compared to chicken poops. Composted chicken manure is priceless and proper rotation using your flock is enviable. I, also, add manure to my gardens. But I have concerns about fresh poop. There are several books on gardening with chickens that give the same warning, here's one:

According to Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens you should keep chickens away to avoid human infection from salmonella, E. coli and other pathogens that are absorbed by the cells of the plant an you cannot just wash those off. Especially root crops or crops that touch the ground are potential infection. And you should keep chickens out of those areas. If you don't have a copy here's a link to the page:

http://books.google.com/books?id=Gx...&q=keep chickens away from root crops&f=false

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Good points, but my wild birds don't excrete microscopic feces. I can see it all over the ground. I'm not going to concern myself with it, nor have human gardeners for thousands of years - including poultry keepers.
What about cats defecating and covering up in the garden. I'd rather have chicken poop.

 

[Chris09]

Wild bird droppings are microscopic compared to chicken poops. Composted chicken manure is priceless and proper rotation using your flock is enviable. I, also, add manure to my gardens. But I have concerns about fresh poop. There are several books on gardening with chickens that give the same warning, here's one:

According to Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens you should keep chickens away to avoid human infection from salmonella, E. coli and other pathogens that are absorbed by the cells of the plant an you cannot just wash those off. Especially root crops or crops that touch the ground are potential infection. And you should keep chickens out of those areas. If you don't have a copy here's a link to the page:

http://books.google.com/books?id=Gx...&q=keep chickens away from root crops&f=false

Unless your are composting to a temperature of 130-140 degree F for around 10 days then curing the the compost for 3 months your still going to have the risk of some E. coli.

 

[CrazyTalk]

Sunflower, Storey's comment just doesn't make any sense. Plants don't absorb bacteria into their cells.


Using fresh poop does have it's issues, but it's mostly when you use them on leaf crops - lettuce, and root crops that people eat raw (radishes). When you water, feces and the ensuing bacteria are splashed onto the leaves, and then people eat the leaves raw. If you're using fresh poop to fertilize an apple tree, you're not going to have poo-bacteria in your apples. Lesson - if you're going to use manure on things you eat raw, and grow close to the ground - wash them well.


As to E.Coli - it's one of the most common bacteria on earth - it's basically everywhere that there's low oxygen - your gut, your chickens guts, etc. Only very specific strains are dangerous, and cooking kills them. A lot of the "Probiotics" people eat have E.Coli in them (mutlaflor) - most strains are nonpathogenic.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

X2
One of the few times I buy into everything you say.