Gardening with Chickens

Two years ago we decided to get chickens. And because they free ranged where we got them from, that’s what we stuck with. They have full reign of the garden all day and are locked up in their coop at night - which probably makes for a lovely little chicken life, but also makes for a challenging gardener life. Unfortunately I love them and couldn’t bear to pen them in now, so I make do.

It’s not impossible to mix chickens and gardening but you have to get a little creative and a little realistic. I have small chickens (bantams). Big chickens are quite possibly a different ballgame. Bigger feet. Bigger holes, and chickens love to dig. A quick one-two of their feet and a step back to see what earthly goodies they’ve uncovered.

Established plants will cope with the odd handful of dirt and mulch thrown at them, but younger plants often need protection so I have a lot of wire barriers and upside down baskets around. I leave plants covered for a couple of weeks until they’re established and then they’re usually fine on their own. It’s not the best look, but it’s only temporary. If you accept your yard will always have a few plant prisons and the fact that despite your best efforts, the occasional plant will still succumb to unsuspecting chicken love, it’s not too bad.

Cheap baskets pinned down with tent pegs to protect establishing plants

The tricky part is the veggie patch. a) it’s full of soft dirt and worms b) it’s a constant cycle of small delicate seedlings. Last weekend I fenced off one of my patches. In theory two of the girls would be more than capable of flying over the top, but I think because it’s just mesh they can’t really see the top so they don’t try, or at least they haven’t yet. But it’s been a week and I’m calling it a success. Hopefully it will stay a success because I have plans to do my other two veggie patches as well.

Hydrangeas

Jackfruit Flowers