experimental chicken proof mulches

[aquarose]

I never got around to fencing my raised bed areas this year and so I am experimenting with the mulch.

In my big raised bed and one smaller one, I put down some black plastic 1/2 inch mesh. It looks like hardware cloth only black plastic. In the small bed I sowed seed under it. For beans, I just cut a little hole anywhere a bean sprouted, and I just let the Swiss Chard come up through the holes. In the big bed, I cut an appropriate size hole for tomato and herb plants. I also sowed zucchini and again cut a hole when it sprouted. The chickens used to scratch in this bed all the time, but when they realized the black plastic stuff was there they stopped. I even mulched with shredded leaves and pine needles on top of the plastic and though the chickens checked it out, they didn't keep at it. So far, they aren't eating any of the plants except for the Swiss Chard, which we think is chicken nip.

My other experimental mulch is boards and slates. I have a cucumber patch where my peas were earlier. I put every rake I have over the area to keep the "girls" from scratching up the seeds. Now the plants are getting big so I picked up the rakes and covered the ground with small pieces of plywood, slate, concrete chunks or broken paving stones. I probably could have mulched with shredded leaves first and then covered with stones and stuff for better weed reduction.

My garden area is pretty small compared to many of you (I have 4 smallish raised beds). This would probably be too much work for a large garden, but it seems to be working quite well for my little one.

 

[lesa]

Glad that is working for you. Just a note of warning- slugs and snails love to get under wood in the garden- if you notice a lot of damage, flip those boards over and check it out. Congrats on keeping the girls out of your garden!

 

[patandchickens]

That's interesting, about the black plastic netting. I will have to give that a try -- now that I have some of the chickens free-ranging in the back yard, open areas of mulch are getting kicked ALL over the lawn and it's really annoying. My current solution, for the largest expanses, is scraps of chainlink fence laid over the mulch, but obviously that doesn't look great and is useless for areas where there are SOME plants just not elbow-to-elbow.

Thanks for the idea,

Pat

 

[Northernrose]

I need to re-think my mulching as well. I mulched a small flower bed with medium to large bark mulch. My girls loved digging in it and now every single hen has bumble foot in some degree. Even on their toes. No sharp areas in the coop, a dry run and good roosts.
The two hens that were broody and sitting when this first started had no bumble foot. Now they are scratching in the bed and guess what??? Bumble foot is starting in both of them I think all the bark is giving them slivers and turning into bumble foot.