I hate my chickens - advice needed plz!

[Minamoo]

SO...yesterday the wind blew over part of the anti-chicken barrier around one of my 7'x4' beds and the chickens got in. By the time we got home thay had devoured everything. cauliflowers, kale, psb, salad leaves, chard, beetroots, celery, all gone. After bursting into tears I dragged DH to homebase in deperation but left nothing but a teeny pot of rainbow chard after having been scared off by their prices (£4 for 6 cauliflower plants anyone?).

And the most infuriating thing is that that was my favourite bed. It looked so gorgeous with all its lovely colours. I have 4 spare psb, 4 purple kale and that's it. They also managed to eat all my spare chard and cauliflowers.So now I would love some advice as to what I can plant now to take over the space in that bed. I have never come so close to toe-punting my chickens round the garden as I did yesterday. Advice (and any spare seedlings from people in Leeds) would be greatly (and gratefully) appreciated.

[Suky]

Can't offer much advice but sending hugs your way. Hopefully someone will have spares near you.

[roitelet]

Had the same problem but now they are behind a permanent 6ft fence.

Chard may well come back they have probably only eaten the leaves. Not too late to re-sow beetroot lettuce, turnips, carrots and several other things.

Infuriating I know but it could have been worse ie. later in the season when it's too late to do anything but cry!!!!!

[RedThorn]

been there done that, it's heartbreaking I know, sadly I've now even further away from you now and cannot help. Sorry.

All I can suggest is you either fence the chooks off or (as I did) fence the veggies off properly so they cannot get in there

[rustylady]

If you are growing veggies in beds, then fence them off properly - either that or fence the chooks in.

[snohare]

(hug)
Well, assuming that you have just bought out the local supply of panel fencing....
There are still plenty of salad leaf plants that you can be sticking in. Yes, you'll have a gap, but you will get a crop. Land cress, lamb's lettuce, radishes, beetroot, turnips, plus all sorts of brassicas that you can grow just as a leaf crop (assuming your taste buds are as hignorant of finer nuances as mine !) And as roitelet says, the chard will probably come back, it has been getting pecked by chickens since they arrived in this country hundreds of years ago.
Have you thought of advertising your needs on Freecycle/Freegle ? Or down at the local allotment site ? Just the sort of places to match up extra seedlings with plantless paupers....
Don't think of it as a disaster. It is, but it will pass. Think of it as a down payment on some truly wonderful manure, and lovely eggs...

[Minamoo]

Thanks for the advice guys. I had a closer look at the plants when I got home today.it turns out they also got into my courgette bed but didn't like them and other than pulling up one rather straggly pumpkin (which I replaced with a healthier one today) they left them largely alone. In The second bed they seem to have eaten all the visible leaves on the brassicas but most of them Still have their teensy little central leaves. So I've left the ones that still have their growing tips in the ground and I'm hoping for the best. The chard has completely disappeared though as have the salads and beetroots. I bought some chard seeds and will sow these as well as some carrots, lettuces and beets tomorrow. Incidentally, the homebase chard is so pot bound that it was impossible to separate the plants. So I'm going to take them back and get a refund.

Freegle is a good tip. I can't believe that I've been reduced to begging other ppl for seedlings given how many if them I had and sold at work. Stupid chickens. All the other beds have proper netting cage things around them. Not that it stops the demon spawn mind. They're eating the peas through the bird netting. Hubby is building a permanent run for them at the bottom of the garden though. I'll get him to get a wiggle on.

[Glutton4...]

Sorry Minamoo, but your posts have made me chuckle. They are little s*ds aren't they?

[RedThorn]

G4, we had one we nicknamed Houdini due to her abilities to circumvent anti chook netting and cages. She was a incredible at finding any weakness in our defences.

Minamoo, I found an old tread of when mine got in and destroyed some of my veggies, should hopefully make you chuckle
http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ers_37963.html

[chris]

I've had the same thing - and yesterday I found out they've eaten the rest of my gooseberry, and stripped half of my red currant bush. Bit annoyed, but it was open to them really.

They did the same to my rasps - but I locked them in their run for a couple of weeks to give it a growth spurt - as soon as the plants are tall enough (depends on the plant though!) I find they leave it alone. I do have a chard patch that I grow just for them though, and a few plant pots of weeds (sounds daft... ) but I put a plant pot near them and they're happy with the weeds.

On the plus side think of the lovely yolks you'll have

But yep, I'd def be looking to permenantly fence the beds off if you let the chooks free range

[Flummery]

You can sow more chard now. It's a good plant to sow most of the year. Spring Cabbage too. They will love both of these so grow a few extras for them - but YOU choose when to give it to them!