Those stinkers are at it again!!! Jim called to say that the coop gate had been blown open by the gale force winds and the flock had made a bee-line to the garden!!

I love my chickens, turkeys, ducks and guineas and I love my garden but spring is not the time to blend to two together. Gardening with chickens has amazing potential to reduce ones’ work load especially if you construct a chicken cruiser (cool coop that is designed to fit over a garden row) but right now when all the seedlings and bedding plants are at such a tender stage, I don’t allow my girls out in the gardens.

I thought I would try to let them out to free-range in March and here is a photo of what was left of my early broccoli! Notice that all the mulch around the plant has dissipated. They also got my first sowing of early peas.

I put them into the chicken tractors and placed them at the end of my garden and they did a great job of tilling the soil to prep for kale and Swiss chard. Even in a chicken tractor, like this flock of Leghorns, they will eliminate any cricket or grub in their area.

While they are not able to enjoy a free lunch in spring, they are great to access the gardens once the bulk of the garden has reached enough height and width so that they can’t demolish the entire plant. The early morning is best when many bugs are less active and easier for the girls to pick off. Turkeys, with their excellent eyesight are very adept at ridding the garden of the dreaded Japanese beetles and squash beetles. Free ranging poultry have been used effectively to reduce not only ticks but mosquitos as well. Please note that most chickens and turkeys love tomatoes and they will poke a hole into each and every tomato they can reach. I cover my tomato plants with a light weight fabric during the hour or so that I allow the chickens into the garden to free-range.

Ducks are great for eliminating slugs, and are less destructive than the chickens, in the flower beds. When the garden is thick with hungry bugs in early summer it is the best time to send out the troops and allow the girls to help you in the garden!