Thinking about chickens...

[Lord Azrael]

I'm thinking of getting a couple of chooks in the near future, but just wanted to check on their habits with regards to veg gardening.

I'm well out in the country with fields all around and my garden is predominantly turning into vegetable and fruit growing areas.

Am I likely to have a problem with the chooks eating the stuff I'm growing?

Thanks

[red]

yes. and scratching them up.

[Lord Azrael]

Right, may have to do a bit of a rethink on locations then!

[Shirley]

We've got our chooks in amongst the apple trees - the veg will be securely fenced off and the chooks fenced into their bit. Hopefully this double whammy will keep them out of the veggies.

[flower]

Whenever you clear a bed you can put your girls in a run on top of it to eat weed seeds and slugs, scratch to a fine tilth and fertilise it for you

marvellous animals....I love 'em

[ina]

I don't have hens (yet), but there are plenty of other birds/cats/rabbits around that love scratching and digging. I just cover everything I sow and plant; rows of seeds get covered with old bits of tree protectors (I'm sure they have a different name, but my brain's not too active anymore at this time of the morning!) - kind of chicken wire made of plastic - we've got loads of that knocking about. And larger plants would get a plastic bottle cloche, until they are big enough to withstand any foraging animal. I fully intend to let my hens have the run of the garden, once I get them; they are useful in eliminating some pests, too.

[Thomzo]

My hens have the run of the garden when I'm home. They haven't done too much damage. They do prefer certain plants but, fortunately, not anything that I'm too worried about. In fact, they do a lovely job of clearing the weeds out from between the patio slabs. It's just a shame that they insist on leaving deposits on the patio at the same time. That's quite easy to remove with a scraper though. Just time consuming.

The do like to spread the mulch around so I have to sweep up after them but they do a great job on the ants and the slugs.

I do protect the seedlings though and they did dig up all the spuds so I replanted them in bags.

[Wombat]

On the odd occasion our chooks have escaped they've acted like vege patch terrorists - hence the razor wire and machine gun posts on the chook tractor.

Nev

[Lord Azrael]

I can just picture that, along with chickens in tin helmets trying escape with a lettuce!!

[Wombat]

Works for me!

Nev

[Thomzo]

Hey I can vouch for violent chickens! One of them attacked the cat last night for no reason. Poor kitty was just walking down the garden when one of them flew at her out of the bushes and managed a beak full of fur. Cat stormed off in a huff (although maybe that was cos I was laughing to much I was crying ).

[Lord Azrael]

I can't wait to see what our cats make of them when they arrive, they'll probably hide in the house!

[Wombat]

Hey I can vouch for violent chickens! One of them attacked the cat last night for no reason. Poor kitty was just walking down the garden when one of them flew at her out of the bushes and managed a beak full of fur. Cat stormed off in a huff (although maybe that was cos I was laughing to much I was crying ).

poor puss! Although I must admit I laughed too

Nev

[Thomzo]

Ok
Well it's got so bad now that they are confined to their run for the forseeable future. They peck me constantly, attack the cats, ruin the garden. I take back everything I ever said about them being cute or funny. Now they are just thugs! They were also constantly under my feet over the weekend - has anybody else noticed how they squeak when you tread on them? I couldn't dig anything without constantly having to push a chook out of the way.

Is this thuggish behaviour normal or are they trying to tell me something?

Zoe

[flower]

yeah!
that they luv you and you're their cockeral and you are clearly digging just to find them the juiciest worms you lovely person you

we know you love them really