While it’s beneficial having chickens for the garden, it’s not very wise to let them help you weed the garden during months when your plants are germinating and producing. I found this out the hard way one year when my chickens had a smorgasbord with tomatoes, cucumbers, and more in the garden . I guess everyone wanted a snack!
Can you let chickens grow in your garden?
You can quite safely let your chickens into a more established garden, or let them into a spent garden to help eat weed seeds, insects, and leave some fertilizer behind! Get creative and have fun! There’s no perfect way to grow a chicken garden, just get to digging in the dirt and planting some seeds.
Do chickens eat weeds?
Chickens will naturally seek out weeds while they wander, and eat them to their heart’s content. When free ranging your chickens, be aware that they’ll likely take tastes of absolutely everything on your property, whether it’s a weed you’d like to get rid of or not!
Our chickens work hard in their own garden, providing fertilizer, helping to till the soil with their scratching, and eating the pests like insects and weed seeds. Growing a chicken garden, or letting your chickens help in your garden, can be beneficial to both you and them! Don’t ever feed your chickens veggies or fruits that have mildew or mold.
Yes, modern domestic chickens eat grass. They do not, however, survive exclusively on grass. Chickens are omnivorous and happily eat grass, vegetables, fruit, insects, and the occasional mouse or snake if they can kill one. Below: Chickens picking through and eating grass.
Will my chickens kill my lawn?
Whether your flock will kill your lawn depends how much area you have and how many chickens you keep on that spot and how long they are allowed out to wander. They will eat some grass and of course scratch for bugs.
Chickens will ruin grass if there is not enough room for them or they are kept on the same spot all the time. Chickens have a habit of producing hard packed ground where they stand around. Below: Chickens can kill lawns and leave bare patches.
Their excrement is high in nitrogen lots of it from many chickens can burn the grass in high concentrations, but in low concentrations it is like nitrogen fertiliser. However, the likelihood is that with a wide and random distribution of droppings on your lawn, it will not burn the leaves or harm the turf.
Is chickweed safe for chickens?
The chickens love of this weed is right there in the name! Chickweed is one of the most common weeds and grows well in lawns, pastures, and forests. While most chickens will naturally avoid plants that aren’t good for them, it can’t hurt to take some extra caution and keep your birds away from these plants.