October 10, 2016

Avalanche column

September 22, 2016

Gardening with fowl? Why would you? There are a lot of good reasons. To name a few: eggs, manure, pest control, and entertainment.

I have had folks ask me if I allow chickens in my garden. For the most part they are not allowed in the garden. Chickens unsupervised in the garden is a very very very bad idea. They can very easily destroy a garden in very little time. Yes they would eat some bugs but for the most part they would go about the garden sampling everything that is on the “plate”. Then when they were done eating they would make dust bath wallows throughout the garden. It seems that the beds are the perfect place to take these baths because the soil moisture is “just right”. If you are lucky this wallow is not next to a new transplant.

I have had selected chickens as helpers in the garden. Usually not more than two, and ones that are easy to catch. These birds can be very helpful when preparing a bed for planting. When I turn soil with a shovel, they usually are right next to the shovel so that they grab any soil borne insect. This keeps their attention at least while I am digging. This is one reason I do not like to use a rototiller.

It was a learning curve with the chickens, I soon learned that they have long enough memories and discovered that under the covers are “goodies”, I could not keep them out. I used to only have a deer fence around the garden with a short interior fence to keep the chickens out. Chickens do have wings and when motivated are pretty good fliers. Albeit much like bumble bees on steroids. So I put a deer fence as a cross fence to keep my “bumble bees” out.

My chickens are free range. This does allow them to get wild greens but it also is great bug control. It has been many years that the dogs have been flea and tick free. Not to mention how well grasshoppers are controlled, that is on the exterior of the “chicken” fence.

Bedding in the chicken coops is kennel bedding, wood chips. This gets mixed with their nightly chicken poop and is perfect for composting. This with pest control are probably the most important reasons for having fowl.

A lot of people would say “oh but what about the eggs”. Eggs might be a viable reason for having chickens, if you are able to cull the older birds and keep a younger flock. After a couple years egg production drops. Deb and I are not real farmers and have not been good at this culling. Soooo we tend to have a lot of older birds but they do provide bug control, compost material, entertainment and oh yes, I forget eggs.