By Artistwantobe | My three hens live in my vegetable garden. They are wonderful garden helpers: scratching up weeds, patrolling for bugs, and fertilizing. And I get wonderful rich organic eggs! Here is how I get my girls to co-exist with my vegetables. |
WARYR1 said:Wow funny I came across this article a day after I was talking about it to my counsellor. I was complaining to him that ever since we lost the farm and moved into this house we've lost at least one plant a yr to squash vine borers And he replied well thats an easy one to answer... this is the 1st time in your life you haven't had chickens! What a light bulb moment! He was right! Thats why we never had vine borers!
I too used to plant a large pumpkin like atlantic giant for my chickens. I didn't even know they liked pumpkin 'till one yr I was missing 2 hens. Our farm was surrounded by state park so we had alot of wildlife eagles, hawks, owls, fox, coyote, blk bear, turkey's ect. so was sure when my dogs didn't find them and bring them home I thought for sure a preditor got them.... about a week later I was leaving for work and seen one of the missing girls in the pumpkin patch I was soooo happy I got over there and she like vanished! I new I wasn't seeing things so where could she of disappeared to. Then I hear a muffled bruk bruk bruk ah. And followed the sound to a giant pumpkin!!! They silver spangles and her partener in crime yokohama pecked out a hole in the pumpkin ate the seeds and built a nest inside. From then on I always made sure they had one :)
We let ours free range too and at night our dogs would gather them up and walk them home which wasn't too hard as they were on their way home anyhow And no I can't have any chickens in the city
WARYR1 said:Yes mam I do. I had chickens for 30+ yrs
Newyorkrita said:
They don't allow the chickens here in our town either. I do it is totally unfair. I mean NYC allows chickens so we should too!
Newyorkrita said:It would be nice to have a few hens around. I wouldn't mind my neighbors having them.
Years ago I lived across town. My neighbor bought chicks at Easter for his kids. He ended up keeping them in his garage at night and during the day let them roam in his yard. Only they came over in my yard. Turned out they all grew into roosters.
Someone turned him in and snitched on him. It wasn't me as I didn't mind. So he had to get rid of his chickens. I don't know what he did with them but one day they were gone.
WARYR1 said:
See what I mean about neighbors causing problems thats so sad
Newyorkrita said:
Well, they were all roosters crowing at the crack of dawn so I am not surprised that he got caught.