Chickens & Hidden Uses: Spider Control, Gardening Boost +More

Too many people put chickens in a box. Either they're useful for providing eggs or to fill the freezer in a short amount of time, but gardeners need to realize the useful tools they have walking around the chicken yard.

Gardening with chickens-- the perfect mixture for your "chicken run" for the best compost.

By utilizing these industrious helpers, it's possible to make the chickens do the hard gardening work for you.

Use Chickens to Turn your Compost

Let's face it, outside of a handful of dedicated compost makers, most gardeners tend to neglect the important aspect of turning the compost pile for its proper creation. It's easy to forget, especially during the height of the summer when there are so many other tasks that need attention. But when compost creation is turned over to the chickens, they make quick and efficient work of the project.

The only caveat to using chickens is you don't want them in plants you are going to eat, since they tend to defecate whenever the mood strikes. Nor do you want to use the fresh manure on the garden within 4 months of harvesting to ensure there is no risk of contamination.

Wondering how to get more eggs from your layers? Learn more about diet and egg count here.

There are a couple of ways to have the chickens make this high-nutrient garden amendment. One option is to keep everything contained within the chicken yard. Toss kitchen scraps and fresh weeds from the garden into the yard, and let them eat them. What they don't eat, particularly when it comes to spent vegetable plants, they scratch apart. To collect the valuable end product, rake up the chicken yard and scoop it into a wheelbarrow to place where you need it.

We've got wheelbarrows available online here if you need them. 

The other way to have the chickens make your compost, especially if you have an established pile, is to fence it off and allow them to dig and scratch at it bringing oxygen to the lower levels. If you have a bin, you can run simple chicken wire on t-posts a foot or so beyond it giving them enough room to reach it while still focusing them on the project. Or, if you pile is free standing, just fence it off to give them free-reign to the area. It's best if you can give them extra space so there's a place for them to kick away with the layers.

By the time they're finished, you'll most likely simply have to scoop it up and put it in the garden. You can periodically let them loose in the bin so the pile doesn't grow too large.

Chickens will eat all the Weeds in your Garden!

Weeds are a constant battle for any gardener, and there are times when it feels like it's almost better to abandon a garden spot instead of constantly fighting a losing battle against the vigorous n'er do wells. Instead of throwing in the towel, turn loose the chickens. This is especially useful for old hens who aren't laying to give them a reprieve from the stew pot.

Temporarily fence the area early in the season, providing a small shelter of some sort (you can use these supplies to do that). This can be something built out of pallets or scrap lumber, or even a tarped hoop house type protection. If any of your hens are laying, add a small box in a corner to encourage them to lay in the same area, or your temporary chicken area might resemble an Easter egg hunt. Water and feed them a typical commercial feed diet, and let them work their magic.

Chickens will take out many of the weeds, eating the little ones as they germinate. You can also toss any kitchen scraps, plus grass trimmings (if they are from an unsprayed yard) to add to the organic matter. Plus, all the while, their manure is kick starting the composition process making for a beautiful garden the following season.

It's not unusual for worms to abound by next spring in the nutrient rich soil.

Chickens as Bug Snatchers

While many of us think of chickens as great vegetable consumers, some folks sell them short on the pest front. Not only will they eat bugs in your garden, some chickens will quickly snatch up and devour even small animals, such as mice. Just as Jack Horner recently stated, birds are dinosaurs, and it's immensely evident when you see them going over a high protein source.

If you have a dozen or more chickens, you might want to fence off your garden and allow them to range around it. Although they're not directly picking bugs off of the plants, they still make a dent in the overall bug population.

If you don't have chickens, but you're thinking about getting them, read this first.

Yet, since they can't access the center of the garden, some gardens go as far as creating "chicken tunnels," which are pathways enclosed in chicken wire where they chickens can walk through the garden without being in direct contact with the plants. And any unsuspecting insects are quick and tasty snacks.

Clean-up Crew: Year-end Garden Cleaners

Just like using them in a weed infested garden, you can also let the chickens have the run of the garden at the end of the season allowing them to eat the spent plants and dig up the soil, fertilizing as they go. They also have a penchant for grubs, which is a bonus to keep populations of pests in check for next spring.

To keep them focused, set up temporary fencing around the section of the garden you want them to prepare for the winter. Unless you have a moveable shelter, put them out during the day, and bring them back to the coop in the evening. Move them to another area once they have everything eaten.

Not only does this save you a considerable amount of work, letting the chickens clean up the garden saves on the feed bill and improves the soil health.

Use your Chickens for Spider Control

Along the lines of having the chickens eat the bugs in the garden, some homeowners focus the chickens along the perimeter of the house to snatch any spiders or insects that are looking for a winter residence in the home. Instead of spraying around the perimeter, fence them in along the house for a week or two at a time.

While box elder bugs are a growing nuisance in many areas, the bad news is chickens usually prefer not to eat them, which is a disappointment when the side of the house is covered with them. If you really want a bird to reduce their numbers, consider guinea fowl instead.

Interested in getting started with  chickens? Then this blog is for you!

Chickens are an invaluable tool to have in the garden. They can clear out pests, clean up weeds and spent plants, and add valuable nitrogen to the soil. Even if they don't give you eggs or meat they are worth having for all of the hard work they can do for you.

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