Chickens (and rabbits) in the Garden

  

 

            Fact: chickens and rabbits can wreck havoc on gardens. I have seen a chicken gleefully take out an entire row of carefully sprouted carrots in one stroke of the leg. Later in the season, a small flock can much their way through a winter’s worth of kale and collards in just a day. Chickens can dig a dust bath hole so deep that they get lost in it. Rabbits will nibble on anything and dig tunnels under the neighbor’s shed to escape to their dusty driveway. But then, there are the benefits; the fertilizer dropped as they wander around, the bugs eaten, the compost processed….the entertainment factor. I guess we need to practice Defensive Gardening. Here are the tools.

1.       Milk crates: I place milk crates over emerging perennials in the spring. Anything that looks tasty to a chicken or the rabbit is covered. Rhubarb. Angelica. Raspberries. Sorrel. The crate allows air and light through but provides a good cover for growing plants. They are also light, cheap, and easy.

2.       Fencing circles: Using scraps of fence, I circle delicate plants in a bed.

3.       Half high fences: Since the rabbit can hop up into—and across—the raised beds, I surround each with a fence. We bought four foot high welded wire fence in a big roll and cut it in half to wrap around each garden bed. I attach it with a staple gun to the bed so that the plants  in the bed have protection knee high.  It comes off quickly and can be moved easily. Chickens are also deterred by the fencing, although the nibble through the gaps.

4.       Hoops: Hoops and plastic can both warm and dry beds, as well as protect delicate crops. They also help keep birds from pulling up new corn plants.

5.       Garden fences: Using the same welded wire, I surround the entire garden on the chicken run side. Lately, I have been using the raised beds and trellises to attach the fencing so that it is higher. With very lively chickens, I cut a roll in half and merge it with the other, twisting the vertical wires, creating a six foot fence around the main garden.  This is keeping the critters out of the run for the winter, allowing the grass to grow and rest, and will also keep the chickens out of the yard in the summer, cutting down on droppings and munching.

6.       Twigs: Twigs laid in beds can keep the cats from pooping in beds, but that is another story.

If you keep the materials similar, the look is far more coherent than random pieces found of the streets.