There should be a *RANT* section

[Countedsorrow]

I've posted this before, but i feel your pain...

 

[naturegrrl]

Oh, *naughty* chickens!!!
After losing several rounds of chard, kale, and delicata squash to chicken rampages, we've put up a fence between the girls and the garden, and they get to go out into the "big yard" for an hour or two a day, only when we're there to police (and spray with the garden hose when necessary!).

 

[MaggieRae]

A new rant section- all the better to manage our anger!

And sorry about your garden.

 

[lngrid]

Maybe this is a crazy idea. But what about raising some plants specifically for the hens, either outside their pen (and transplant them inside when they grow large enough) or inside the pen but covered with wire until they get big enough for the hens to have a field day with.

Or get flats of neglected/outdated/unwanted plants from your local nursery or garden center?

I dunno. Maybe it's just a nutty idea. I have lots of those.

 

[Equus5O]

We re-did our garden this year, with new post and 3-rail fencing. With everything being moved around, I got hardly anything planted. Did you know that chickens like Swiss Chard? That was one of the few things that got planted. Humans got no Swiss Chard this year. I also planted Brussels Sprouts. Fortunately, chickens only eat Brussels Leaves, not Sprouts.

I thought I only had to put up chicken wire down low to keep out the rabbits.

Next Spring, my husband will be less than thrilled when I jury rig the new fencing with stakes and chicken wire or netting above the post and rail.

 

[SallyF]

Quote:
Oh, I don't know... mine ate the sprouts along with the leaves; all I had were sticks in the ground. Kale was a lost cause, they ate it as soon as they could see it. And I had to cover the cabbage with netting to keep them off it. Those chickens did like their greens this year!

 

[rainbowgardens]

I had beautiful mixed borders of shrubs and perennials in my yard, perfectly mulched and weeded with the help of round-up.

Then I got my chickens!

I can no longer control the weeds with round-up.
I no longer have any perennials due to scratching
Mulch no longer stays in the beds... I now mulch with branches , logs and large rocks.
My vegitable garden has a huge ugly fence around it.


I had to decide what I wanted to see when I look out the window... beautiful flowers and orderly borders

or

Happy hens pecking and giving me eggs, and fertilizer for my vegetable garden.

I'll keep the happy hens!

 

[rcentner]

My DH decided one day while I was working late to build some beautiful flower beds for me, we transplanted some annuals from the pots we had them growing in. It looked great. Then the chickens found it......my husband was sooooo mad. They scratched every bit if manure out of the beds and almost dug up all the plants before we caught them. So since then, my husband has built them a run and told me we cannot let the chickens free range anymore.

I was super upset about it, even snuck the chickens out while he wasn't here a few times, but they are relentless about the manure (horse manure..of course..should've known). So imagine me trying to get the beds back into shape before he gets home from work, frantically! to hide what the chickens have done. Well, now that the beds are compact and covered with leaves they are leaving them alone, but they only free range when we can monitor them. Personally, I would rather have free rangeing chickens than a garden, but that's not how DH feels!

 

[Plain Old Dee]

My husband's grandmother used to have the most beautiful chicken pen I've ever seen. She planted four o'clocks inside the pen. I don't know how she managed it, but the chickens didn't seem to bother the plants too much, though they did eat the seeds. And pooped the seeds - which resulted in more four o'clocks. I thought about planting four o'clocks when we get our run built, but I'm half afraid I'll find out the plants are poisonous or something...

 

[VTGIRL]

I'm sorry countedsorrow but I had to laugh at that one...