Girls and Gardens

[newtogardens]

Hello.

We have kept chickens inthe garden fro about 2 years now and have loved every minute. We currently have 5 beautiful girls, all rescued.

We let them have complete freedom of the garden as they seem to be happier that way. This winter especially they have completely trashed everything. I no longer have a lawn and the side beds have been dug over with some very appealing (to chickens) dust bath craters.

Can anyone please give me some tips on how to encourage the garden to grow back? I am debating if it will be better to reseed sections of the lawn and let it grow back or if to returf it. The latter being an expensive option and not one I will want to do every year.

Also has anyone found ways of encouraging the girls to use particular ares for dustbathing and therefore letting plants grow in other areas of the garden?

We did put in a pond last summer to encourage wildlife and insects, but when we found Charlie standing in it shivering we fenced it off. She has fully recovered and is our only layer at the moment.

I have already checked the list of poisonous plants and have moved some out of the chicken garden. Spring bulbs may be a problem as I missed a few last year and we now have some growing. Is it the bulbs or/and the leaves that are poisonous?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

[BUFFS]

it all depends on how big yur garden is,if its a good size you could section some of it off,whether with tall plants or fencing is up to you,i have split part of my back garden,one side is fenced off while the grass seed grows and they use the other,when grass is a reasonable height,i will section off their present area and open up the grassed area to them while sowing some more cheap grass seed on the other side,they run flat out to be first in when i switch over,lewis hamilton eat your heart out...

[RichmondHens]

Fact of life: chickens trash gardens, big time. Most people get round this by penning them up and I take my hat off to you for letting them have the run of the place because as you say they are far happier this way.

However, it does limit what you can do with the garden if the chooks are all over it. BUFFS suggestion is a good idea but your garden will still get trashed, just not all at once. And you can't always persuade chooks to dustbathe in a particular area - they choose a spot for a while, then move on to a different one.

We have plenty of space for chooks but when free ranging they still end up on the doorstep (and in the kitchen sometimes) pooing everywhere so currently mine are all in various enclosures round the place with no access to the doorstep!. We protect the veg beds by fencing them off which does work. There are plenty of other places the chooks can go so they are not too bothered.

What a lot of people forget is that chickens are a farmyard creature and like to roam around and forage for their food. They are not neat and tidy like guinea pigs and are unhappy being contained in a small space. Your chickens sound very happy and it would certainly be a shame to shut them up now after they have had so much freedom.

[mr darcy]

yes mine will be going back freerange once Sox is settled, this time it's the dog who will be penned,they'll be taking it in turns for freedom!!

[MaureenHall]

First of all sorry if I'm hijacking this thread, but it is related ....................... honest

My girls (and boys) have trashed my "lawn" big time and there's hardly a blade of grass left. I'd really like to put down some turf in the runs but I know it wouldn't last more than a couple of hours. What I was thinking was what if I put some mesh on top of the turf (pegged down) so that the grass would grow through it and the hooligans would benefit from it without digging it all up? Would the mesh be too harsh on their feet and toenails? Would using plastic mesh (the orange barrier stuff) be better, and would that work?

[BUFFS]

First of all sorry if I'm hijacking this thread, but it is related ....................... honest

My girls (and boys) have trashed my "lawn" big time and there's hardly a blade of grass left. I'd really like to put down some turf in the runs but I know it wouldn't last more than a couple of hours. What I was thinking was what if I put some mesh on top of the turf (pegged down) so that the grass would grow through it and the hooligans would benefit from it without digging it all up? Would the mesh be too harsh on their feet and toenails? Would using plastic mesh (the orange barrier stuff) be better, and would that work?

i would have thought that the plastic/rubber that you see used as doormats would be ideal,they sell rolls of it in the builders yards,you buy it by the linear meter,just give one a ring for the price as it would be kinder to your chooks,good luck with it...

[mr darcy]

that's a good idea!! you could market it Maureen!!

[MaureenHall]

Full of "good ideas" me Most of the time it's all talk and no action though
Think I'll give the orange plastic stuff I've got kicking around a go in one section of the run and see how it works (providing my daughter can get me some cheap/free turf!)