Gardening with chickens? Right

[sumi]

On the way to walking my son to school earlier this week I found a lovely bulb in flower (I must confess I don't know the name) lying on the sidewalk, where some mischief maker dropped it after yanking it out of it's roadside bed. I picked it up and took it home, planning to give it a new home in the corner of my tiny backyard. Well, that was the plan anyway…

I dug a hole, planted the bulb, placed some stones around it for protection (haha), watered it and left it. My two hens saw the arrangement and "Look, mommy made us a new dustbath! She even put a flower on it for us!" And well, do what chickens do best? I now, instead of a lovely flower in my backyard have a brand new crater It was a nice thought?

I need more space…

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

i usually till the garden & will let the chickens loose when i'm working. some of my older ones will keep close to watch for any worms or bugs i kick up. others will wait till the machine is done making it's noise & then go in for the goods. then it becomes crater central!

 

[digitS']

The stones were in the right direction.

They just should have been of a size impossible for anything smaller than a 45# pit bull to move!

You can do it, somewhat. Protect some plants from a backyard flock of laying hens - a stone mulch.

Steve

 

[sumi]

The hens are more determined/stronger than I gave them credit for, Steve… Sheesh, I'm not happy with them at the moment. A lovely free plant, complete with flower. Nope. Not in THEIR yard!

To their credit the have been leaving my attempts at container veggie gardening alone… so far.

 

[thistlebloom]

I think it's actually called Gardening in Spite of Chickens.
Somehow we muddle on.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Gardening with chickens involves making compost and, if you fence them out, letting them eat bugs. They can help after harvest too, cleaning things up and fertilizing. But the rest is probably gardening in spite of chickens.

 

[Nyboy]

Where you able to save bulb a 2nd time ?

 

[sumi]

Gardening in spite of chickens I love it!

@Nyboy I haven't found the bulb yet... I need to go look for it. If it's o.k. still, I think I'll replant it in one of the pots my kind neighbour tossed out on the rubbish heap and see how it does

 

[buckabucka]

I'm starting to build a chicken tunnel to give my chickens access the the garden edges and keep it trimmed (without destroying everything else in their path!). They do have a large run, but they destroyed all the vegetation. I'm also fencing off small sections of their run and planting forage chicory, clover, and orchard grass.

I was free-ranging this spring, but they started eating all the foam insulation that surrounds the basement. It is a bright blue color, and last summer I painted it gray to look more like a stone foundation. Now it is gray with bright blue "bullet holes" everywhere.

 

[thistlebloom]

I know, what is it with their tiny brains?
I let mine out yesterday to range. It's been a while because I had to finish chicken proofing the cattle panels around the blueberries. There are 9+ acres for them to run and scratch to their hearts content, but what do they do? They make a beeline for the beds around the house, and the dog run to eat the dog food.