Corn in the chicken yard?

[ColoradoMike]

So, I'm thinking about going full mini-farm mode with our chicken yard - this is the fenced in area in which our secure coop/run resides. The hens have access to this ~20'x30' yard in the evenings and weekends when we're home. I'd like to plant a corn patch near the coop, and my question is - will the chicken decimate the corn? I intend on keeping the tiny corn sprouts protected w/ chicken wire for a few weeks, but how high should I let the corn grow until I remove the protection? Any thoughts on this?

Here's a pic showing the area I'd like to plant the corn - it would be to the left of the coop.

Thanks!

 

[BeardedLadyFarm]

They will devour it. They will jump up and pull a leaf until they bring the whole plant down. They will peck at the ears before they're ready. I think if you had a big corn field or very few chickens, the damage would be spread around, but a small patch may not work out for you.

Tomatoes and peppers are the only thing I've had much success with in with chickens. They will eat the fruit, but don't care for the leaves.

 

[ColoradoMike]

Quote:
I was afraid of that... We only have three (soon to be four) hens, but man are they voracious. I was thinking a fairly full-sized stalk would be too formidable for a chicken, but protecting a corn patch until the stalks are 5+ feet tall probably isn't practical...

Thanks, PhilaPhlock!

Anyone else with chickens vs corn stalk experience?

 

[BeardedLadyFarm]

And after I finally got my small harvest last year, I took down the fence, and in about an hour, the girls had completely brought down the whole patch! It was pretty fun to watch...

 

[BarredBuff]

They will devour the corn and any garden that you have they will eat it all, they wreak havoc on vegetables and flowers.

 

[silkiechicken]

Small space, small patch, you won't have corn. I don't mind my chickens getting inside the fence to the corn patch if it is mature, but if the corn is under about 3 feet high, I get them out asap. I've opened the gate to the corn patch to let them go there on free will to eat bugs, but this was after the corn reached 6+ feet tall and had silked. However, the chickens get to free roam around about an acre of cleared space out of 7+ that is mostly treed. In other words, they didn't spend much time there, the corn plants were mature, and thus the chickens didn't damage anything. Any other situation and the plants would be long gone before they were a few inches tall.