chickens

[hawthorns]

if you let chickens have the run of the garden will they destroy crops and flowers etc.

stupid question but i have no idea about chickens and i want to be clued up if i go for it

[Ashbylife]

I think it depends on how many chickens, how big the garden is and probably how yummy the contents of the garden are (veggies?). We worried endlessly about the same thing and finally settled for a moveable ark which we've had our 4 girls in for 3 weeks now. We move it around the lawn every evening and rake there is no noticable impact at all (you can see where it's been the day or so before, but after that it just recovers to look the same as the rest). One of ours escaped the 2nd day we got them and spent 3 days living freerange between our garden and next doors before we managed to reunite her with her sisters in the ark (she was mightily relieved!) and didn't appear to make any impact at all on either garden (but did peck about very happily in the borders!). Eventually we hope to fence securely enough for ours to have the run of our garden, but we plan to put mesh up to protect the veggie patch.

[frias]

We have had our girls about 2 months and at first they were very happy to be in their run. Then I made the mistake of letting them freerange in the garden. They loved it and spend any time in the run with their beaks pressed against the netting pleading to come out. I let them freerange every evening when I'm in the garden with them and have fenced off the beans so they don't rake them up. Everything else has been wrecked! Nothing is off limits. What they haven't eaten they have raked up. On the plus side we have no weeds and no slugs or snails - but no plants either. And I do get pleasure out of seeing my girls get so happy. Mine are ex batts so hybrids I presume,but perhaps not all breeds are so distructive?

[JILLY JACKSON]

Hi ,My hens are bantams and have less impact on the garden,i love watching them trying to dig bugs up etc.i grow quite a lot of veg and so far its still all intact.

[Jardiniere]

mine escape from time to time and manage to eat swathes of nasturtiums lettuce and cabbage until i chase them back with the broom. when i only had the one very old hen i used to let her go where she liked and she didnt do much damage (autumn and winter tho) but these new ones are absolute tearaways.................you either have to fence your chickens in or fence your veg in.and mine fly.................

[new2growing]

Yes,I have to agree with eveyone else. I have 7 ex batts & they stripped everything in the garden, veg & plants. in no time at all. I could've throttled them but tomorrow I will be assembling my new fruit cage (had a bit of a windfall so thought that was the best thing to spend it on).

[JackieAt]

if you let chickens have the run of the garden will they destroy crops and flowers etc.

stupid question but i have no idea about chickens and i want to be clued up if i go for it

Oh yes and the grass, any flower pots you have at their level
we only have 3 chooks but only half of our garden has grass left and any flowers are in hanging baskets
they are fun though... much enjoyment.