Grow A Chicken Garden To Keep The Girls Happy!

Seriously, lets talk about eggs. Have you ever had an egg so fresh, so tasty, so healthy that the ‘yellows’ were ‘orange’! So delicious, you just know its loaded with the stuff that is good for you and you just cant find that kind of egg in a grocery store? You have? Me too! From my own Ladies, of course.

Its been proven that foraging birds will lay more nutritious eggs. These lucky gals get the protein and nutrients that caged birds seldom get. And they just seem happier. Less stressed hens lay better, are more productive, and generally more content. Foraging doesn’t have to take up acres and acres of area unless of course you have a huge flock of hens. And there are ways to make it easier on yourself to get them the nutrition they need to lay the eggs that taste so good.

Most any farmer/gardener can tell you that hens are a benefit to an organic food production plan. In fact, just two or three hens can supply the average backyard gardener with enough manure and litter to enhance the entire garden! Plus you get those great eggs! With just a little planning, hens can work the compost, they can be the pest control guard, and tend to weeds in any unused garden spaces you may have. That’s where planting food for your chickens comes into play. Hens love to scratch and peck in the dirt, but they also love greens, grains and other fresh produce. And a chicken garden is just the thing!  So planning spaces of food or grains just for them will certainly increase their fresh food intake.

If you have an average back yard with a garden space, a simple chicken tractor can certainly protect the girls while they do their thing to help you. Look for plans for a tractor that is easy to move. I use something I call a ‘forage cage’. Just a small hand built cage, either 3’x6’x2′ high, or 2’x4′, or whatever size fits your space, just so that it’s big enough for one or two hens, more if you have room. These can be built out of scrap lumber and a little wire cloth. I’ve even seen folks use a bottomless dog kennel for a couple birds! You can plan your spaces or raised beds and make the cage fit the space, or plan a space to fit the cage. Either way, being able to move it to the next spot will keep your hens feeding all season long right where you want them to.

And don’t just plan on weeds for the girls, although chickweed grows thick and they love it. Here are a few items you can plant either in a chicken garden, regular garden, along a fence, near their run, or just in spots you plan to cultivate later, that will keep your birds happy and scratching. Look for seeds packets at the end of the season, or buy extra in bulk at a seed store. They’ll be much cheaper than the big bags of feed, and you know you are feeding them will be organic!

Cool weather crops: Collards, spinach, swiss chard, bok choi, kale, Asian greens, broccoli, mustard greens, all have high nutrient content and chickens love to peck and scratch around them. Easy to grow, and these crops extend the growing season, both for you and the chickens! Break up small sections to fit a protective enclosure or chicken tractor, and sow those few extra seeds in unused spots around the yard, where you plan to have a small spot of garden next season. When these seeds sprout and grow, put your hens to work!

Lettuce: There’s always packets of lettuce left over on the seed racks. Pick up those marked down packets for planting in the shade during summer or in the garden this fall. Plant a little area that will fit your chicken tractor or cage, and let it go. The chickens will get rid of pests and have crunchy lettuce to enjoy.

Root greens: Radishes grow so easily. So do beets! Turnips too. My chickens don’t seem to like the root as much as the stems and leaves, but they will still peck at them. Especially if I run a thin wire thru the radish and hang it. Radish greens and others are packed with nutrition and goodness. Dont forget carrot tops and kohlrabi too!

Buckwheat: Chickens love both leaves and seeds, so it can be a good source of greens as well as grains. Also millet and oats will make awesome chicken greens. Again, it doesnt take whole fields of grains to give a little extra to the chickens. Break up spots big enough for your ‘forage cage’, and let it grow.

Birdseed: Organic birdseed will sprout and grow plentiful greens. Millet, sorghum, oats, amaranth among others, all usually will sprout from birdseed.

Sunflowers: Beautiful, fragrant, and a favorite of the chicken population! Grow a bunch along a fence. Let the seed heads dry and then let the chicks have one for treats. They’ll peck all day to get that seedy goodness.

Pumpkins and squash: Pumpkin is a superfood, and chickens love them! Let the gourds mature and then store in the pantry. Scoop out the seeds for roasting for yourself, then feed a quarter or half of a pumpkin to the chickens weekly.  Store the rest of the cut pumpkin in the freezer. Chickens love to peck at the fleshy sweetness. The leaves can be thinly harvested to let the chickens munch on the greens.  Dont forget the innards, chickens will peck at the goopy part and they love it!

Peas and beans: Pea are not the only delicious part of the plant! Pea leaves are very high in nutrient content. They are great for sauteeing in stirfries, too. Selectively harvest a few and feed to the chickens along with a split pod here and there.

Melons: Even folks who cant seem to get melons to ripen, can still grow a few vines for the chickens. Underripe melons or overripe ones, the chickens will love em. And the vines are nutritious

Tomatoes and sweet peppers: Overripe tomatoes, split or bitten fruit, all can become juicy treats for the girls.
Herbs: Parsley is a favorite of my hens, and its good for their respiratory system. Herbs and herb stems can be tossed into the run, or plant some extra in a spot where you don’t mind the chickens scratching. My chicks don’t really like chives or garlic, but they seem to have a taste for oregano, basil and my lemon thyme.

Apples, peaches, and other orchard fruit from your trees will help increase nutrient content in eggs.  And most chickens will come running at the sight of a juicy peach!

Plan a few cold frames for winter gardening to keep greens and fresh treats for your hens.  Even though egg production is lessened in cold months, when daylight is shorter, hens still need the nutrition of fresh food to maintain throughout the winter.  Surprise them with a few fresh leaves!

What do your chickens like to eat?