Chicken Tractor by Christine Heinrichs
Chickens. They’re good for the garden, or so I’ve heard. Knowing nothing about gardening with chickens, I decided to ask an expert.
One Chicken Chick
Christine Heinrichs is a writer and chicken keeper extraordinaire, a chicken chick.
Christine kindly agreed to answer my chicken questions. Are garden chickens for you? Maybe you’ll be inspired.
Can chickens benefit your garden?
I’ve heard that chickens can benefit your garden. What are some reasons a gardener might want to have chickens?
One of the big benefits is the nitrogen-rich manure. It’s hot, and needs to be composted before it’s put on the plants, but it can be a significant part of a continuing garden. The Deep Litter method of keeping chickens, adding fresh litter and allowing it to build up over a year, composts the manure automatically.
Chickens can be put to work in a Chicken Tractor, a movable shelter that confines and protects the chickens while they work over the soil in the garden plot. They eat weed seeds and deposit that manure, digging it into the ground to make it safe for plants. The tractor is then moved to the next place that needs their chicken attention.
Chickens happily eat snails, bugs and other pests that may afflict your greenery. They consume green waste, from the kitchen and from the garden. Pull your weeds and give them to the chickens. They will be delighted.
Javas by Christine Heinrichs
Troublesome Chickens?
Are there any problems chickens might cause in a garden?
They will dig up the whole thing and eat everything in it. You have to fence the chickens or fence the garden, or they will eat your strawberries and tomatoes before you do.
Guineafowl are excellent insect eaters which do not eat your vegetables. Jeannette Ferguson has written a book on the subject, Gardening with Guineas, http://www.guineafowl.com/. They retain more of their wild characteristics than chickens, though, and can be challenging to keep. Beginners should start with chickens.
Which Chickens to Start With?
Is there a variety/breed of chickens which is especially suitable for a beginner? What is a good number of chickens to start with?
Consider a heritage breed, such as an American dual purpose breed. Dual purpose refers to breeds that were good egg producers as well as good meat birds for the table.
Plymouth Rocks, Dominiques, Wyandottes, Rhode Island Reds and Buckeyes are all excellent breeds for beginners. They are friendly and personable, hardy and beautiful. Find your local poultry club and network with members to find what breeds are doing well in your area. Learn from the experienced breeders. Chicken people are friendly and eager to share their enthusiasm.
Half a dozen chickens is a good number to start. Chickens are flock birds. They don’t do well alone. Allow for the occasional loss. If three is all you are allowed, so be it. Start where you are.
Dorking Chicken Pair
Which breed is your own personal favorite? Why?
Dorkings have a special place in my heart. They are an ancient breed, identifiable in Roman mosaics accompanying Mercury.
Dorkings are beautiful and dignified. Early American farm museums often raise them as living history birds, such as Plimouth Plantation in Massachusetts and the Frontier Culture Museum in Virginia. I plan to hatch some this year.
Chicken Challenges
What is the most common complaint you hear from chicken keepers?
Predators are the worst. Chickens are prey birds and even if you live in a city, raccoons and opossums will find your chickens. Losing your birds to a predator attack breaks your heart as well as devastating your flock. Build a coop as secure as you can, but experienced chicken people agree that “The predator-proof coop has not yet been built.”
Some areas do not allow the keeping of chickens. Can you recommend any resources for a gardener who’d like to change the rules for their area?
Madison, Wisconsin was a leader in making its changes to allow chickens. Elizabeth Delaquess has posted some helpful suggestions on their site, http://www.madcitychickens.com/faq.html.
Backyard Poultry magazine had an article on How to Legalize Hens in Your Community in its December 2009/January 2010 issue. It’s not posted online, but you can purchase a back issue from http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/aboutus.html, (800) 551-5691.
Christine Heinrichs, Chicken Chick
About Christine Heinrichs
Christine Heinrichs is the author of How to Raise Chickens and How to Raise Poultry, published by Voyageur Press in its FFA Livestock Series.
She is historian for the Society for Preservation of Poultry Antiquities, which you can join through her site, http://poultrybookstore.com. Check her blog for information on traditional breeds and other subjects of interest to poultry people.
What do you think? Would you like to keep chickens?
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Yes! I would definitely keep chickens.
Here’s a great article on how to get the best out of your chickens for your garden without actually having them run through it: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/1988-05-01/Garden-Pest-Control.aspx
That’s what we’re planning.
Dana´s last blog ..Of garbage and dreams
Thanks for the link Dana. I know you’re a chicken fan
I know at least a handful of people adding chickens to their garden this spring. Thanks for sharing some info — I had no idea what the “craze” was all about!
YES! I would love to have chickens. Sadly, I’m in a neighborhood that does not allow them (barking dogs, yes, softly clucking chickens, no…don’t get me wrong: I love dogs). I just met a woman living in a downtown neighborhood which also does not technically allow chickens to be kept. She has one as a companion (and for breakfast eggs) and no one’s the wiser. This particular chicken also loves to take walks round the block with her and her dog.
I want to point out to your readers that chickens are quite capable of being trained to do many behaviors on cue. A well-known animal trainer started what are known as “chicken camps” in which participants learn the ins-and-outs of animal training by working exclusively with chickens.
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Debi, it sounds like you can visit some chickens and maybe get some fresh eggs there. Yum!
Habithacker, I’d no idea that chickens can be trained. I can see I’m going to have to check this out… can’t help but wonder. Thanks for sharing!
We started keeping backyard chickens this past March. We have two buff orpingtons, a sussex, and an australorp. I have a few posts on my blog about them and am planning to write one about children and chickens soon.
I’ve found the birds to be quite compatible with my garden. We already have most beds fenced to keep the dogs out, so that’s not a huge problem. They tend to like to forage in sheltered places, such as under the few shady tree and shrub beds I have.
Another great resource for potential chicken owners is backyardchickens.com. They have informative articles, breed comparison charts, and an active forum.
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Your friend isn’t the only one to keep a secret chicken! Chicken keepers in Madison, Wisconsin called themselves the Chicken Underground, until they were able to get the law changed. They tell their story at http://www.madcitychickens.com. Tarazod Films made a documentary about them — I’m interviewed in it — check it out at http://www.tarazod.com/filmsmadchicks.html. Contact them to arrange a showing.
Christine, I really love all the great information you’ve provided both for the article and in the comments here. Thanks again for helping me out – I’m a Chicken Virgin who wanted to share info I didn’t know about.
“We have two buff orpingtons… and an australorp.”
Don’t you just love the names of these chicken breeds?
One of my friends, who lives out in rural Kansas, has chickens. They keep down ticks and chiggers – two horrors of the Kansas outdoors – and of course provide a ton of eggs.
Chickens aren’t allowed in my city. The next door city had someone trying to get a trial exception to keep some chickens last year. The city wanted the homeowner to get permission from every neighbor within a certain number of feet, which failed (not surprisingly).
I’d love to have a neighbor who had chickens
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We’ve got 18 chicks in our basement now and 4 outback in the chicken house… best investment I’ve ever made. They’re fun, great for kids to participate with and they are so useful with all that egg action!
shannon´s last blog ..Blog Carnival: Backyard Mama Goes on the Road!
Sounds like you’re having a lot of chicky fun Shannon. I’m glad to hear it; nothing better than fresh, free-range eggs. My friend wants to give me some, but she’s more than a 1hr drive from me.
Funny this whole chicken thing keeps coming up today. This morning on CBC radio there was a city dweller talking about raising chickens. Maybe it was her!
My uncle used to have a chicken-cam focused on his coop and apparently, got lots of viewers. People like their chickens.
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Chickens on the radio! I hope they had good voices. Oh wait, you said it was the chicken keeper who was on. Are chickens in your future Katie?
Terry Golson, author of Tillie Lays an Egg, has a HenCam in her coop, http://www.hencam.com/. Watching the chickens is very relaxing.
What fun, something else for the person who loves to be in front of the computer to do. Still, if it grows a love of chickens maybe it will lead to more people caring for them and spending time outdoors.
I raised free-range chickens on my little farm in Mexico; they laid so many eggs I even had a little egg business. I sold eggs by the unit — Mexicans were willing to pay extra for real eggs.
Hens are friendly and funny and I loved my hens! I wish I were more settled, so I could raise some here in New Brunswick.
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“Mexicans were willing to pay extra for real eggs.” I’m going to guess, Gina, that you meant really good, fresh eggs. They don’t have fake eggs in Mexico do they?
I hope you get to raise some more chicks soon
My country neighbours called them “real eggs” because they were fertilized; to them, eggs raised in buildings with no roosters were very suspicious.
Gina´s last blog ..Improving Yard Drainage Could Dry Out Your Basement
Hi, I have enjoyed reading your post very much. Great info and good feedback. I think you and your readers may be interested in my blog. Keeping Chickens
Black Soil Country´s last blog ..The Day The Plymouth Rocks Joined The Family
Thanks for the link back. I don’t know if any of my readers have chickens yet, but your site looks useful.