In the Garden

Backyard Poultry

"Chicken Tractor"

Can you guess what’s inside this unusual structure in the garden? Yes—of course—chickens! Inside portable runs (covered with sheets for shade) the chickens till up the soil without being able to gobble up the rest of the garden plants. They act like they’re at the amusement park! The only difficulty was getting the runs in there—you should have watched us maneuver them in between the garden rows, with chickens inside!

Scratch Away!

Here are the chickens inside their palace. They turn over, aerate, weed, and fertilize the soil for the gardener while searching for the insects and earthworms they love. On the downside, these early outings taught my flock to love the garden; now they always make a beeline for it when I let them free-range!

Striking Gold

Now we see, even when confined the chickens would rather eat plants than dirt! From underneath the run covering, Puzzle and the hens discovered those lovely bean leaves were within reach. By the end of the day, all the leaves within six inches of the wire were gone. Oh well, maybe it will get those eggs coming sooner!!