The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[RedRidge]

Besides my wife killing me it would cut our flock by a third....

Yep... but this is the "Backyard" Chicken site and that's where we are....we have 3 backyard chickens so they are pets. Eggs are a bonus.

But i wouldn't want my back yard to be empty. Hundreds of acres still means they have to abide by our two rules to live here... 1) you MUST have a job (if you aren't productive you are gone). This applies to all living things on our property (including teenagers) ;-)
2) you must have shoulders.
If you meet those two rules you are allowed to stay... Pretty basic, pretty simple.

 

[Sally8]

But i wouldn't want my back yard to be empty. Hundreds of acres still means they have to abide by our two rules to live here... 1) you MUST have a job (if you aren't productive you are gone). This applies to all living things on our property (including teenagers) ;-)
2) you must have shoulders.
If you meet those two rules you are allowed to stay... Pretty basic, pretty simple.

Shoulders?

 

[RedRidge]

But i wouldn't want my back yard to be empty. Hundreds of acres still means they have to abide by our two rules to live here... 1) you MUST have a job (if you aren't productive you are gone). This applies to all living things on our property (including teenagers) ;-)
2) you must have shoulders.
If you meet those two rules you are allowed to stay... Pretty basic, pretty simple.

Shoulders?

No snakes

 

[ChickChickChicky]

edited to rephrase and summarize... I got a bit, uh... random. LOL

I need plant suggestions to fit a 20x20 patch, wired in to keep the chickens from destroying it, that are prerennial and can tolerate both dry and wet conditions as they may occur. the soil is primarily clay based, with some shavings and chicken poo mixed in. LOL



ok need a bit of help here... I have my new pens I'm building... I've got 4 sections done and occupied, but still some slight modifications, like a ramp if I put any non-flying breeds in there (bantam cochins, silkies) and I'm going to put (sooner than later) a roost for them outside of the house section...

here's a pic prior to putting the doors on the 2 right hand houses...


what I am going to do is run a roost, parallel to the ground from the bottom of the house (see where the ramp on the left goes up to?), parallel to the side wall and attached to the upright the doors are hinged on... (confused yet?)

what I want to do is make a shelf of the end (nearest the door) to keep the water on, up out of the dirt/shavings and wire in a cage of sorts down to the ground from there, to make a planter box...

I may not be describing it well,but I can see it in my head. LOL

what I'm getting around to, is, I need to know what kinds of plants will be hardy, perennial and chickens will like nibbling on the parts they can reach. maybe a couple plants that grow well together? the space would be roughly 20" square and about 24" high that's caged off.
with the water over the top of it, when I fill water pans the plants get watered too. (large shallow metal pans like you see in the 2 left hand coops - they don't flip over easily and are easy for short birds to drink from.

Off the top of my head I can think of only one perennial (besides grasses) that fits the bill... alfalfa. It is easy to grow and chickens love it. Look for an old variety called Ladak (or check with your local Extension service for a variety that'll work well in your area and isn't GM). Alfalfa is self-allelopathic, meaning that seed of it's own kind won't readily germinate in the vicinity of already-growing alfalfa, so be sure to sow it kind of thick the first time.

 

[Scott H]

Guess her job is rid the yard of bugs, slugs and to look pretty....she does this well.

 

[RedRidge]

Guess her job is rid the yard of bugs, slugs and to look pretty....she does this well.

;-)

 

[armorfirelady]

Ki4got- if it's flowers Lilly's fit the bill. They will spread and fill in an area well.
Herbs I would think catnip, mint would be a good choice. Both perennials and they will spread also. Plus they are suppose to be good at keeping bugs away. You could also use something that climbs to provide shade. Morning glories grow fast and reseed themselves year after year.

Red ridge- I was thinking people when you said they need shoulders. Snakes are good to have they keep voles and moles down to a minimum of course where I live we don't have poisonous ones.......if we did then I wouldn't want them around either.

 

[stonykill]

Yep... but this is the "Backyard" Chicken site and that's where we are....we have 3 backyard chickens so they are pets. Eggs are a bonus.

backyard flocks come in all sizes. From 2 to more than 100. I think this is often forgotten. Many of us do not see our birds as pets. Yes we enjoy them incredibly and protect them like they were our children. But it ends there. I have a friend who brings his sick chickens to a vet. THAT I see as just plain silly.

 

[Sally8]

No snakes

Ah.....No snakes. Whenever someone I know buys a new home, I always buy them a hoe with instructions on how to chop. My sister always buys fire extinguishers. Same idea. I don't like snakes either. Supposedly, we don't have rattlers or dens but it's rumored that whenever one is found they bring them up to Hornby. A huge one was killed but DEC quickly came and took it to Cornell. It was all hush hush. I have seen (from inside the house) a chicken with one in her mouth and a whole herd (flock) of chickens running after. Very funny.

 

[maggiemo]

Ki4got- if it's flowers Lilly's fit the bill. They will spread and fill in an area well.
Herbs I would think catnip, mint would be a good choice. Both perennials and they will spread also. Plus they are suppose to be good at keeping bugs away. You could also use something that climbs to provide shade. Morning glories grow fast and reseed themselves year after year.

Hi, I read here every day, and almost never post because I don't know that much about chickens, but I do know something about plants. So I am posting now.
Morning glory seeds are poisonous, as are some lilies. You might be careful what you plant around chickens.
Runner beans climb fast like morning glories and the chickens can eat the seeds. Buckwheat grows fast and the flowers are great for bees.