So, I try to keep the chickens in their pen and out of the rest of back yard and raised beds. Yesterday the three that are always jumping over the fence were out and I could only see two chickens. Finally, I looked closely in the raised bed with yellow squash and there she was snuggled well in-between the plants, little squash and blooms. She just looked up at me like she was saying I like it here. I could tell it was too late to try to get her out of the bed. Chickens don’t like the taste of squash plants, so they were safe.
About thirty minutes later she was out, and they were all crowing up a storm. After a chicken lays her egg or eggs, she likes to celebrate with the other chickens. They all came over to look in the raised bed and the egg was gone. They just looked around in the plants talking amongst themselves (they chatter all the time between themselves). Finally, they gave up and the one who laid the egg was saying I know it’s here.
In the raised beds where I already have plants they don’t bother too much. But their eyesight is pretty keen, and they notice changes pretty quickly. I planted some watermelon plants from my greenhouse and sure enough they came over looking for any worms I might have uncovered. They wouldn’t eat the plants but were looking for worms. They pulled up one group of plants but left the other three. In another area where I planted peppers, they will eat the leaves off the plants, but the leaves will grow back.
I think it’s a chicken and egg thing. Can I have backyard chickens or a garden or both. It’s not the chickens eating the plants. They like to use the raised beds for a dirt bath, lay eggs, and of course look for worms. What are you going to do?
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