Chickens in the Garden

[Svyetii]

Hey everyone!

So, I bought my first chicks in September and they typically free range while I’m home. We have a fenced in garden separated from where the chickens are, but they recently found a gap and managed to sneak in when I wasn’t outside.

Here are my questions: I’m not sure how many times the chickens found the garden, nor how long they were there. There is one bed that has potatoes still buried. Is it safe for me to still eat them? I assume the answer is yes, but as a new chicken owner, this is all new to me.

How about the other beds? I had a bed with greens, which they ate. I’m basicallly assuming all remaining veggies are lost, but do I need to wait to plant anything until spring, or can I plant earlier? I’d like to get some garlic in the ground and have cold frames that I’d like to use to get some veggies started in January.

I am at a bit of a loss in how best to compost chicken manure for the garden. Any suggestions would be most welcome. I am doing the deep bedding method.

Finally, how do those of you with gardens manage your chickens around them? We have pretty limited gardening space, so I think if I fix the gap in the fence I can keep them out. But if they get in and have a snack, is all lost, or can I still enjoy a harvest of the undamaged plants?

Thanks!

 

[Sussex19]

I would eat anything that was left, as long as it still looks fairly tidy. (and wash it, of cause)
But thats me, I don't worry about things very much.... thinking of me crawling around in the flower bed to find cherry's that the birds had knocked off. And eating them without washing them

 

[Callender Girl]

Buried potatoes should be safe, in my opinion, as well as anything else you can salvage and wash well. I have indisputable evidence that rabbits and squirrels manage to frequent my fenced garden, and I eat whatever veggies they kindly leave with no ill effects.

Your climate is much different than mine, so I can't answer the replanting question. However, I would speculate that a cold frame could work where you are.

As far as compost, I haul all my used chicken bedding out to a pile by the regular compost heap and try to "age" it for a year before I apply it to flower or veggie gardens.

Of course, as a kid, my sister and I used to pull veggies straight from the garden, rinse them under the pump and eat them outdoors. Many years later, we learned that the pump water was "unfit for human consumption." We both survived, but you may want to take my opinions with a grain of salt!

 

[igorsMistress]

Buried potatoes should be safe, in my opinion, as well as anything else you can salvage and wash well. I have indisputable evidence that rabbits and squirrels manage to frequent my fenced garden, and I eat whatever veggies they kindly leave with no ill effects.

Your climate is much different than mine, so I can't answer the replanting question. However, I would speculate that a cold frame could work where you are.

As far as compost, I haul all my used chicken bedding out to a pile by the regular compost heap and try to "age" it for a year before I apply it to flower or veggie gardens.

Of course, as a kid, my sister and I used to pull veggies straight from the garden, rinse them under the pump and eat them outdoors. Many years later, we learned that the pump water was "unfit for human consumption." We both survived, but you may want to take my opinions with a grain of salt!

Rabbits and squirrels are different from chickens. Rabbit poop can go straight from the run to the garden. Chicken manure must be composted because it’s hot and can burn n/kill your plants, not to mention the composting process can kill bad bacteria.

 

[igorsMistress]

Your potatoes are fine, and realistically if you’re not seeing chicken poop directly on your produce then I would eat it. At this point I’d just find a way to keep them out and move on. Unless you’re seeing tons of poop in there you are probably ok to move forward with the garden. You can always rake all debris and remove which should include the bulk of any poop recently deposited on the surface.

 

[Callender Girl]

@igorsMistress is totally right about the difference in "hot" poop and other poop. Honestly, I fertilize my veggie garden every fall with fresh goat poop -- I have plenty of it, and it's free.

I just meant that in terms of human consumption, some people are a bit squeamish about the cleanliness of any critter's poop on their food. The food you harvest from your own garden and wash is probably as clean and safe -- or more so -- than food you get from commercial sources.

 

[TXchickmum]

I fenced my garden from my first flock because they would eat everything! The current flock is only interested in the collard greens. I don’t have the garden fenced, and they help themselves to collards and leave everything else.
I agree that your veggies are fine - just wash. As far as compost, i scoop everything from the coop, run, and lawn/gardens and place it into a compost container behind the coop (along with vegetable and fruit scraps, garden clippings, and coffee grounds). The container is 186 gallons, with small air holes only, to keep out vermine or anything else. After a year of cooking it goes into the gardens.

 

[Ridgerunner]

There is one bed that has potatoes still buried. Is it safe for me to still eat them? I assume the answer is yes, but as a new chicken owner, this is all new to me.

Yes, the potatoes are safe to eat. You should rinse them off before you use them anyway, with or without chickens. Cure them before you store them and lightly brush off loose dirt before storing.

How about the other beds? I had a bed with greens, which they ate.

Those greens may come back if you give them a chance. Not sure what weather you are having.

I’m basicallly assuming all remaining veggies are lost, but do I need to wait to plant anything until spring, or can I plant earlier?

How thick is the chicken manure? Chicken manure is hot (high in nitrogen) so in too great a concentration it can burn many plants. Tomatoes. squash, cucumbers, things like that are more susceptible to burning than many other plants, but you are not likely to be growing those this time of the year. I seriously doubt it is thick enough to be that harmful to the plants if you turn the soil and mix the poop in. I would not let that stop me.

Personally I would not eat anything that touched wet chicken poop. Not because I'm that worried about pathogens I could not wash away but because of the Yuk! factor. I'd have to look at what touched dried chicken poop before I decided on that. Diseases are very often species specific, there are very few things the chickens or chicken poop would have that would actually harm you, but I just don't like the thought.

I’d like to get some garlic in the ground and have cold frames that I’d like to use to get some veggies started in January.

Go for it. You can start onions now too if you wish.

I am at a bit of a loss in how best to compost chicken manure for the garden. Any suggestions would be most welcome. I am doing the deep bedding method.

For composting you might follow this link to the sister gardening forum. You don't have to join to read it but you would be very welcome. You can join and ask any questions over there or ask on here, a lot of us compost on this forum too. There are so many different ways you can go about it that it's easier to respond if you do a bit of research and ask more specific questions. I do believe every gardener should be composting, especially if they have chickens.

https://www.theeasygarden.com/forums/composting-soil-building.15/

Finally, how do those of you with gardens manage your chickens around them? We have pretty limited gardening space, so I think if I fix the gap in the fence I can keep them out. But if they get in and have a snack, is all lost, or can I still enjoy a harvest of the undamaged plants?

I fence them out. When rabbits, groundhogs, mice, rats, deer, bugs, and other things munch on them I use some judgement and may trim away damaged areas but I generally still eat them. If one of my apples has damage I cut away the damaged part and eat the rest. If I only ate perfect veggies or fruit from my garden or orchard I would not eat much.