Tips for Gardening with Chickens
Have you ever thought about gardening with chickens?
If you have both, gardens and chickens, then you might think that it can’t be done. After all, when left to their own devices, free range chickens will happily eat your precious seedlings, devour your tomatoes and squash, and poop all over your gardening bench.
However, with some know-how and good timing, you can easily put your chickens to work for you in the garden. Chickens provide fantastic fertilizer for the soil, they till the dirt, and they’ll eat up plenty of larvae and bugs that will will destroy your crop.
Gardening with chickens is a smart way to boost your crop yield and increase the quality of your soil. And, it can also save you some work in the process. But, you have to set boundaries and know what you’re doing in order to reap the benefits (and still have vegetables left to feed your family!)
How to Garden with Chickens
Chickens can be incredible workhorses in the garden, and they can do several different jobs to improve soil health, boost yields, and save you some time.
Use Chickens to Add Nitrogen to the Soil
According to the University of Georgia Extension, poultry manure contains all the essential nutrients required for crop production. Chicken manure is especially high in nitrogen, a nutrient that many vegetables need in excess for optimal production. Vegetables that require high levels of nitrogen include:
- Beets
- Brussels sprouts
- Cauliflower
- Potatoes
- Leeks
- Spinach and other leafy greens
- Swiss chard
- Tomatoes
However, all fruits and vegetables benefit from soil with balanced levels of nitrogen.
You already know that chickens poop. A lot. Mother Earth News estimates that the average heritage breed chicken produces .116 pounds of manure per day, while industrial breeds will produce slightly more. So, this adds up quickly! You can use all this free manure to increase yields in your garden.
How to Use Chicken Manure in the Garden
The best way to use your chicken manure in the garden is to spread it, bedding and all, and incorporate it into the soil using a shovel or tiller. And, it’s best to do this several weeks after you clean the coop so you get the maximum levels of nitrogen.
The University of Georgia Extension states, “To maximize poultry litter’s nutrient value, incorporate it into the soil immediately after spreading. Forty to 70 percent of the total nitrogen is available during the first six weeks.” So the sooner you use it, the more nitrogen you’re going to get.
That said, some sources state that you should not use chicken manure “immediately.” Chicken manure should be aged, at least for a few weeks, so it doesn’t burn your plants.
Personally, I let mine manure age a bit before putting it in the garden. During spring, summer, and fall, I add my chicken compost to a small, separate compost pile on our homestead and let it sit for 2 or 3 weeks. Then, I take it out to the garden and incorporate it gently into the soil using a garden fork.
During the winter, I simply spread a layer of chicken manure compost on top of my garden soil and let it sit. When spring comes, I incorporate it all into the soil using the tiller.
Use Chickens to Till the Dirt
Your chickens can take the place of your tiller, if you leave them in the garden area long enough. Sure, they take longer than a tiller. But tilling a garden is a long day of hard work. If you plan ahead, your chickens could make the process of starting a garden a lot easier.
One chicken can till roughly 50 square feet of reasonably short sod, if you leave them at it for 4 to 6 weeks. They will clear the vegetation from the area, and begin scratching an inch into the dirt, making it easy for you to get planting when it’s time. And while they’re at it, they’re also fertilizing the garden!
Of course, the more chickens you have the faster this will go.
How to Use Chickens to Till
Chickens must be confined to an area for an extended length of time in order to actually till the ground. So, you will need to put up temporary fencing so your chickens stay in the garden long enough to get it cleared.
One option is to use a chicken tractor, and move the chickens around your garden over the course of six weeks. Another option is to set up a temporary fence, using chicken wire or electric fencing, and keep your chickens contained in the garden during to day so they can do their work. Make sure you provide food, water, and shade for your chickens while they’re out in the garden during the day.
You can also take a hybrid approach, which is what I do on our homestead. Every spring I use the tiller to turn up the soil in the garden, and then let the chickens out to continue breaking up the soil, eating bugs, and adding additional fertilizer.
Gardening with Chickens Means Fewer Weeds
Keep in mind that chickens also love to eat seedlings. And, you can use this urge to help keep the weeds down in your garden if you plan ahead.
After you till and before you plant, let your garden rest for 2 or 3 weeks. During this time, new weeds will start to sprout. This is a great time to let your chickens back out into the garden to turn up the dirt, and eat the seedlings you don’t want to grow!
Another benefit to letting your chickens back into the garden after tilling is that they will eat the insect larvae that are waiting to hatch and eat your garden’s bounty.
Let Your Chickens Patrol the Garden Perimeter
Once your garden is planted and growing, it’s time to keep the chickens out or they’ll destroy everything you’re working so hard to grow! However, you can still keep your chickens employed keeping garden pests at bay.
The best way to do this is to construct a second perimeter fence around your garden. So, you’ve got one fence going around the garden to keep the chickens out. And then a second fence, 3-5 feet away, going around the garden as well. Think of this perimeter as a “working run” for your chickens. You can keep them along your garden’s perimeter during the day. And you know what they’ll do here?
They’ll be busy eating all the bugs that are trying to get into your garden!
Last Word
I’ve had my fair share of frustrations when it comes to chickens and the garden. The first year I kept chickens, I really thought the two could not coexist! My chickens ate my seedlings, took dust baths in my pots, and thought my tomatoes, squash, and cucumbers were the best chicken treats on Earth. Honestly, there were quite a few times I threatened them with the chopping block!
However, since then I’ve learned how to work with chickens, and harness their natural instincts in order to improve my garden. Their manure is like gold, and their instinct to scratch and forage can be highly useful…if it’s managed correctly.
