Who uses chickens for tillers?

[simple life]

I have to say, I am not sure mine even like to eat the weeds. So far though, they have eaten all of my morning glories, beans and salvia.
They LOVE the salvia. Today I decided to bring some of my younger ( 4 week old) chickens out to roam around with me. They immediately went for the salvia and never left that spot.
Its weird, even my new puppy likes to sleep right in the middle of one salvia plant in particular.
Needless to say these plants are shot
Mine definitely have certain favorites.
The older ones are always allowed out to free range all day, 8:00 am to 8:00 pm and then they have always returned back to their coop on their own and then I just lock up.
Well the past 3 nights they have decided to come in to roost (sleep) in the rafters and on the top of a tall cabinet in my carriage house, its a room that was used when the house use to be a stage coach stop and is a storage room at the moment.
So my husband was able to reach up and get one and bring her out to the coop and came back for more.
Well he didn't shut the door tight enough and the minute his back was turned she came running past him and back into the carriage house and up to the top of the cabinet.
It was a losing battle and we gave up.
This room is attached to my kitchen and I leave the door open for the kids and dogs to go in and out of the house to the yard. Last night I was in my room and I hear all this chatter. I come out and there are 7 hens standing there looking at me.I tried to shoo them out but they barged right into my bedroom and tried to make themselves at home.
It took me and 3 of my kids to get them out and they kept trying to come back in.
We were able to get them through the kitchen and back to the carriage house room where they flew back up to the rafters.
I swear they are like having little kids, if they could have stuck their tongues out at me they would have.
AAAHHHH, needless to say, since I have some new babies hatching friday I am a glutton for punishment.
or I really like having those little buggers.
p.s I should have some extra little chickies for anyone local to me that would like to join this chicken cult.

 

[rebeccakee]

I have a container garden and my girls eat all my bugs for me and usually much on the lower leaves as well.

They cleaned my bugs out so well it seeemed none of my plands were being polinated.
I sent one of my daughters to stay in the country with my sister for a few weeks and packed the chickens along to. They have been free ranging on her 6 acres and have rapidly reduced the number of bugs and spiders she has around her house.
Plus her kids love feeding them from their hand and watching them roam the yard.

 

[ozark hen]

I have a container garden and my girls eat all my bugs for me and usually much on the lower leaves as well.

They cleaned my bugs out so well it seeemed none of my plands were being polinated.
I sent one of my daughters to stay in the country with my sister for a few weeks and packed the chickens along to. They have been free ranging on her 6 acres and have rapidly reduced the number of bugs and spiders she has around her house.
Plus her kids love feeding them from their hand and watching them roam the yard.

How funny, your chickens have gone off to camp for part of the summer

 

[blurose]

I always let my chickens have the run of the garden area AFTER harvest and BEFORE planting new crops. They work the soil over, eat bug larvae and deposit a little fertilizer in the process. Works for me! Of course, when I pen them off the garden again they sit and watch the fence pleading with their eyes to get let loose again.

 

[beth1966]

Hi, all. I'm new here but would like to participate. Last year we put up chain-link around our 30x40 foot garden. Last year it looked pretty good. But by February I could see that I was going to have a serious weed issue out there. And man, I hate to weed! My husband and I decided we wanted to have chickens again, but we needed a coop. We built a little barn-shaped coop and put it right in the garden. It's only been a couple of months but they've about got the whole area cleared out. I put wire cages around a few things I wanted to keep. We're foregoing having a garden this year. By next year we hope to have the area divided by some more chain-link giving us one half for our chickens and one half for garden. After harvest and up until early Spring we'll let the chickens have both halves. I figure it'll be good for weeds, grasses, and bugs I don't want in the garden. They'll give me eggs. And I can just till in their deposits! Yea!

 

[ozark hen]

Welcome Beth and my goodness, sounds like you have made a very good plan for your garden space. then you can just move your chickens to another spot and have them do the "pre-garden" work for you for that year...I like a good plan

 

[beth1966]

Thanks, Ozark! I'm hoping so!

 

[Tutter]

Welcome, Beth!

We do something very similar in our smaller growing areas, and it works perfectly! The chickens love it! :coolsun