Chickens & Gardens~ making them work!

[Dace]

I could use some feedback.

My chickens are on the side of the house. There are a few small trees and a patch of grass. The area is nearly all sun. We have the small portable coop (a little tykes type play house) and some poultry fencing which is completely disregarded by the girls

When we first moved here I had envisioned fencing off this section of the yard for gardening and chickens. As I mentioned elsewhere I have come to realize that is probably not going to work LOL.....unless I really get serious and restrict the girl's freedom.

Further out in the back yard there is no irrigation other than one spigot, and the ground is HARD and DRY. No fun for the girls, as there are no bugs. I would eventually like to start planting fruit trees back in this area, and I think it would be a good location eventually for the girls once trees are in.

So how can I attempt to control both garden and chickens in one easy area? At least for this year as fruit trees are not in the plan until next year at least....so no shade on the hard pan way out back for the girls.

Advice??? How do you keep chickens away from the garden?

 

[GardenWeasel]

Same problem here. I think we are going to build chicken tractors and put the girls to work between the rows. When we can afford it I have a movable electric fence in mind.

 

[enjoy the ride]

I visited a man who lived in Portland Or and kept three hens- they basically had the run of his back yard which had lots of raised beds and tubs of plants all having chicken wire covers.
I make chicken wire covers for my beds too due to foxes and other creatures coming through my place at night. They are pcv pipe boxes covered with chicken wire and I just lift them off the bed like a lid off a pot.
I thought my strawberries simply didn't produce any fruit until I tried this.

 

[Wifezilla]

I read somewhere (Mother Earth News maybe?) where someone had a set up with tunnels for the chickens between rows of vegetables. The chickens kept the weeds out, ate a lot of the bugs, but couldn't get to the plants.

 

[Dace]

Well shoot wifey....can you just picture me on hands and knees crawling thru tunnels?

They have a website don't they...maybe I'll go do some searching.

 

[Wifezilla]

LOL

YOU don't go through the tunnels! It's for the birds The tunnels branch off from the coop.

Found one of the articles. It is called a CHICKEN MOAT.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/1988-05-01/Garden-Pest-Control.aspx

 

[Dace]

Well that is clever!

I have always loved this idea....just not really sure how to implement it at this point.

Dueling gardens

If you have room for two garden spaces, practice truly low-labor compost-making in place: Garden in one space this season, while throwing all weeds, garden residues, lawn clippings, autumn leaves, etc. into the other. Let the flock shred and compost them, and leave the residue in place. Next year, switch garden and chicken run.

If you have a garden and a chicken run of about the same size, you already have the makings of such a dueling-gardens setup. The ultimate refinement would be siting the chicken coop between them, with doors on opposite sides opening into the two spaces as needed.

Off to go thoroughly read about chicken moats!

 

[keljonma]

Our philosophy has always been

Let the Ladies run wild - fence the garden.

 

[Dace]

I visited a man who lived in Portland Or and kept three hens- they basically had the run of his back yard which had lots of raised beds and tubs of plants all having chicken wire covers.
I make chicken wire covers for my beds too due to foxes and other creatures coming through my place at night. They are pcv pipe boxes covered with chicken wire and I just lift them off the bed like a lid off a pot.
I thought my strawberries simply didn't produce any fruit until I tried this.

That might be doable....I have kind of been thinking of some sort of simple cover.

Some plants must get to the point that the chickens don't disturb them or am I fantasizing? I also have wild rabbits out the wazoo to worry about as well.

Kel...I much prefer to let my girls roam.....if only I could keep them off the porch....they love to peer in the glass door leaving lots of icky presents for me

 

[Wildsky]

I have my small garden area fenced off, it worked well last year.

For 2010 I want to build a few raised beds, and I'll cover those over with hoops and chicken wire or something like that... (i hope)