THE PECKING
ORDER
Lisa Steele, author of Gardening
with Chickens (Voyageur Press,
2016) and host of the television
show Welcome to My Farm,
can quickly reel off many
reasons chickens and gardens
go together. Not only will the
birds furnish fertilizer for your
garden—via composted coop
cleanings and eggshells—but
they can also be put to work
loosening the soil prior to
planting. “They’re much easier
on the soil than a rototiller,”
Steele says. Both gardens and
chickens reap rewards from
the closeness: Chickens eat
many insects, consume excess
seedlings and garden waste,
and can make your gardening
time a more social and relaxing
experience. Here are some
pointers for keeping poultry and
plants in proximity:
PREVENT HENPECKED
PLANTS. Steele recommends
letting chickens roam the yard,
and her approach is to fence
in the garden rather than vice
versa. “A 4-foot fence won’t
do the job,” she says. A fence
should be substantial (remember,
chickens can fl y).
PROTECT INDIVIDUAL PLANTS.
Say you’re growing lettuce
or some other delicacy that
chickens love: “Throw a cage
over it,” Steele says.
SUPERVISE PLAYTIME. Even if
you can’t let your birds roam free
throughout the day, consider
supervised outings. Choose
a time when you tend to be
working in the garden and let the
chickens out while you’re present
so you can protect the fl ock and
the garden.
MONITOR VEGETABLE
SCRAPS. Although chickens are
great at recycling vegetable
scraps, not everything is safe
for them. Read up on plants
that might poison your fl ock.
In particular, members of the
nightshade family (including
tomatoes and potatoes), rhubarb
leaves, and beans can cause
health problems in chickens.
When in the garden,
Ingunn is often
accompanied by a hen
or the full fl ock of six.
Harvesting usually
attracts a few birds
hoping for a handout.