When I decided to start raising chickens, I was thinking only of high quality, fresh eggs. But, I soon learned that my feathered friends had far more to offer – bringing chickens onto the property was one of the best things I ever did for the vegetable garden! They help turn my compost pile, clean up the garden, and turn unwanted insects and food waste into valuable compost. Having free range chickens in your vegetable garden can be a bit tricky. I’ve learned the hard way that they like to eat many of the same things that we do!
I love to see my chickens out frolicking in the yard, but there are certain times of the year when they have to stay in the coop for the sake of the garden. Once I’ve sown seed in the spring, the girls are no longer allowed out to play. They love to take dust baths in freshly-dug soil, and they’ll quickly destroy a planting bed.
As soon as the spring seedlings are up and well-established, I welcome the eager hens back into the garden. They may nibble on a leaf from time to time, but the damage is minimal and the benefits are many. Then, once again it’s back to life in the coop when the tomatoes and peppers start to ripen. Chickens are very keen at finding a perfectly ripe tomato! Don’t feel too bad for the caged birds; they get so many garden scraps during the summer season that they turn up their beaks when I visit them with the compost bucket.
The flock is back in the garden again in late summer and through the fall and winter. I plant a much smaller fall garden, and use tomato cages, fences and floating row covers to protect delicate seedlings from my birds’ constantly pecking beaks. It’s well worth taking the extra time to protect the fall seedlings so the chickens can be in the garden. I find them especially helpful at cleaning up the garden this time of year when neglected and rotting veggies are inevitable.
The routine I’ve established is just one of many ways for your chickens to co-exist with the vegetable garden. A few other options that gardeners may use include chicken tractors, garden fences, or portable chicken fencing. Whatever method you chose, there are many benefits to free-ranging the flock! Free-ranging chickens require much less store-bought feed, and their egg yolks take on a gorgeous deep orange color. They keep the yard and garden clean of fleas, ticks and other unwanted insects; I’ve even witnessed my girls killing moles and garden voles. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, chickens are ridiculously entertaining and make great companions!