How to keep chickens with a garden?

14 years ago

I have always lived in the country and kept chickens, peafowl, and guineas until my divorce 5 years ago. I am now transplanted to a large city Loy (1/2) acre with about 50 giant pines, some lemon trees and a garden which I am just getting started. (actually will have multiple gardens by this spring)

I would really like to get a small flock of laying hens and old English bantams. We will move to a rural area in three years but I'd like to have my own chickens until then. ( ordinarily I'd be fully sustainable with neff, eggs, veggies and fruit, needing very little from the store)

my question is how do I allow my chickens to free range without destroying the garden on such a small property? I've usually had 100 acres for them to roam and eat bugs.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (9)

maryld_gardener
14 years ago
I don't think you can. You could make a chicken tractor and move them around but in my experience chickens love a garden and eat it up.
0
eyecndiggit
14 years ago
try a fence
0
Related Discussions
keep chickens out of garden
Q
Comments (6)
Razor wire and machine guns!!! That was too funny! I actually have been thinking of staking a couple of my golden retrievers out in my garden, except I hate tying up dogs! My dogs can't run loose with the chickens. Or else it's dinner time. I would fence it off but we don't clip their wings. We live in the woods and we don't want to leave them defenseless. And especially in case we forget and let a dog out. Already happens once in a while. I'm thinking about trying to put chicken wire around the vital plants that are to easy to dig up and putting mulch around it. Last year I had mulch and it all ended up in my walk and in the dry creek bed I made in it. So this year I decided no mulch. I'm thinking the chicken wire would catch their attention. Maybe I can wire it up!! Shoot some voltage into them!! Just like an old circus show, dancing chickens! Well that won't work. My DH just said if its on the ground it'll just ground out. Oh well... What is a chicken tractor? I'm picturing a special "shoot" for them to walk to through to their designated area. We free range our birds everyday in the afternoon. Like I said, share time with the dogs. What do you two think of my chicken wire idea? I know they can't get through it. Get frustrated trying too.
...See More
How to best keep water thawed this winter for chickens
Q
Comments (28)
We have to make a one week trip out of state come late January so we are going to do the following starting New Years weekend and hope it works for us. We are going to purchase a 16 gal. heated bucket and drill a small hole 1" from the bottom of the bucket on its side. Then, we are going to take one of those indoor heavy-duty storage tubs (it will be about 4 or 5" larger around the bottom) and we are going to cut it about 4-5" up from the bottom of it to make a water tray. We are going to set the heated bucket (with the hole drilled in it) into the tray and hopefully, as the heated bucket warms up the water in the bucket it will also warm the homemade water tray it sits in enough so the water in the tray will not freeze. A friend of ours may have to add to the water bucket, maybe once, but we think this will work for us. I'm searching for the best priced, good quality heated bucket at the current time and will have it in service the weekend of New Years. If anyone wants to know how it works, email us, in the subject of your email type in "Heated Chicken Waterer", we will let you know!
...See More
How to keep critters out of vegetable garden
Q
Comments (8)
"I have been having problems with "critters" myself. For the life of me, I can not figure out what kind of critters are invading my garden. First I found several of the plants cut up, but they do not appear to be eaten. I also found a small hole, maybe 6 inches tall, cut into the screen around one of my bushes. But the bush was no harmed? I did not see any evidence of digging. What kind of critter could it be?" I'm pretty good at figuring out what animal/insect/condition is affecting my garden. Were there any tracks around the affected area? Change in soil? What marks/bites are on the plants? And to Micrazy: Place ground chili peppers in your garden bed. Use the hottest chilies you can find, the little Thai chilies are excellent, so are habaneras and cascabellas. The capsicum in the peppers makes for unpleasant digging. The term 'hot foot' applies here. Put mothballs down around your plants. Matter of fact we have some tool and garden sheds that are about 1 foot of the ground and every year I buy a trunk load of it (or so it seems). This discourages them from the git-go and even keeps out stray cats and other critters. Hang rags soaked in vinegar and stapled onto small wooden stakes or dowels near you plants. Most rodents hate the smell even when dry. Re-soak each rag in about a week. Should you be a coffee drinker who brews it up using coffee grounds then empty your coffee filter around the base of your tomato plants and that should help you. Should you be fortunate enough to live by a Starbucks go and ask for their used coffee grounds as they have been known to give away 5 and 10 pound bags to anyone who asks for it. You can also mix up some regular cheap liquid soap with some ground red hot chili pepper powder and pour that around the base of your tomato plants. I would do some out about 2 inches and then another ring out about the same distance as your widest leaves on your plant. You may want to keep your eye out for those big jars of chili powder that go on sale once or twice a year in discount markets and stock up to use at the base of your plants by just sprinkling it on the ground. It is supposed to work also. Then there is the old chicken wire with the smallest mesh. You can wire or staple it to stakes and drive them deep into the ground. You can use 36Ã¢ÂÂ or wider chicken wire and bend them over your tomato plants or they will use the wire as monkey bars to get in. Get some blood bone meal and sprinkle it around the base of your tomato plants. Got a dog? Then when you sweep up their dog hairs or you brush them, do not throw the dog hair in the garbage. Simply sprinkle it around your tomato plants and that will also work.
...See More
?how to keep cows out of chicken coop?
Q
Comments (2)
annz, When this 1st came up about the cows in the yard, getting into my coop . and that they where braking down my fence I had my chickens in . He told us it happens. When I came to him the 1st time about placing hot wire around the house and the coop he told me ok. So husband and I walked the yard and mapped out where we where going to put this fence at. After a big rain storm he came out here and marked here I could put the fence . and it was not any where close to the chickens. I came back with Ok this still dont keep the cows out of my chicken coop and he told me to run the wire under the ground and Not have any wire in the path he uses to load and unload cows. I Asked him to come out here and look at what I wanted to do . He told me He mapped out where I could put the fence and that is all that it matters. So This sunday husband and I built a New coop and chicken house and ran wire in the yard. placing hot wire 3 feet away from the coop so that i still can get in there and there is No way the cows can get to it.
...See More
posy_pet
14 years ago
My chickens are in my garden.They are in two houses and two chicken tractors.I would build their house between two or even three yards and rotate them and the garden.Chicken tractors work well in the nicer weather but are a lot of work in the winter.I have seen plans where they actually fit over raised beds.Good luck.Posy_Pet
0
tracydr
Original Author
14 years ago
How do they fit over the raised beds? Do you mean actually scratching in the beds? Do they damage the garden? Not too worried about melongs and peppers but thinking tomatoes, basil and greens might take a beating. If they can just scratch in the garden I can just turn them loose to free range in the entire yard, perhaps put a floating row cover over my lettuce and cabbage.
We don't have winter, which I really miss.
Summer's a bear/for a good 5 months of the year. We've seen 90 degrees even this month.
0
velvet_sparrow
14 years ago
You'll need to either enclose the chickens or the garden with a fence. Chickens LOVE tomato plants, by the way...

Velvet ~:>
0
mikes100acdreamfarm
14 years ago
Chicken tractor is the way to go. Floating covers will just help them smash the plants down. Try planting your garden in wheat and clover seed in the winter. Early spring before you start putting the garden in run the chicken tractor down a row and let them turn it and fetilize it for you. Skip a row and do the next row. Contine until you have as many rows as you want. Then once the garden is planted put them in the remaining untouched rows. But move them often enough so that they don't kill the wheat and clover out. It's a great supplemental feed, rich yellow yolks and you get the rest of the garden fertilized for the following year of rotational gardening. They help keep pest down, can't tear up your plants and in my case give me a place to walk the rows without sinking knee deep in the clay during the wet seasons.
0
gardengalrn
14 years ago
I had asked this very question a few years back when I was getting started with my chickens. Unfortunately, after having some experience with this, I agree that the two don't mix well. Especially in the spring/early summer garden when plants are young and tender. My chickens pecked at every type of vegetable and ruined a fair amount of my tomatoes. On a positive note, I was not bothered by squash bugs, my mortal enemy;) Then the fall garden really benefits with them aerating and fertilizing the soil. So they do have their place but I know my chickens won't be welcome in my garden until my plants are big and I've had my share first. Lori
0
ncdirtdigger
14 years ago
Have you tried frying the chicken before putting it in the garden? :)
0
prmsdlndfrm
14 years ago
Bantams NO fly to much. Heavy layers lake Orpingtons and a electric poultry net from Kencove or Premier. You can build a small chicken house on wheels or skids and surround it with electric netting (hook a battery or solar charger to it) (netting comes in 160 foot rool)This way you can have best of both worlds, been doing it myself for 8 years. Unlike a chicken tractor it is a year round set up and if you balance population and space of pen you dont have to move it everyday. And at the end of your growing season put poultry in garden area to clean up pest weed seeds and fertilize.
Josh
0

How to keep chickens with a garden?

Comments (9)

maryld_gardener

eyecndiggit

Related Discussions

posy_pet

tracydr
Original Author

velvet_sparrow

mikes100acdreamfarm

gardengalrn

ncdirtdigger

prmsdlndfrm

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

How to keep chickens with a garden?

Comments (9)

Related Discussions

tracydrOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

tracydr
Original Author