Kitchen Garden Forum

Not the start of a new recipe....

I'm getting three lovely Lohmann Brown POLs in a few weeks time. I turned my garden into a wildflower meadow last year so they will be pecking around in that. Will they be able to navigate through the buttercups and other tall wildflowers? Or would it be best to mow a bit for them to start off in?

Thanks
J

Hi Marmalade

How tall are the flowers? How big is your garden? Anything up to 2-3 feet high and they should get around quite well - and trample down what they want to!

Thanks Alan

The garden is just over 1/4 acre with mixed wildflowers, borders (probably now dust-bath sites!) and a large veg patch. The buttercups are just over a foot tall - with some longer grasses, but they are more spread out.

I think I will take a pre-trample and post-trample picture!

Many thanks

Marmalade

Guard the vegetable area
They will love to eat what's edible and scratch in the rest. I tend to keep most of the edibles out of their way in the polytunnel and restrict outside to potatoes, courgettes, pumpkins and climbing beans.

Fence off your veg area Marmalade, most chickens will eat or mangle everything.
You might want to fence off a specific chicken area if you still want a nice garden.

Thanks Alan and Pongeroon...the veg patch is at the top of the garden (up 10 deep steps) and the chickens, will, for the most part be on the bottom level - although I can see them escaping and flapping up there for a look arond I was thinking of fencing them with something moveable so they can have a nice peck around and hopefully get some slugs - before the Chard, lettuce and red cabbage become stalks of their former glory!

Hi Marmalade,
Quite frankly I would keep your chickens away from you vegetable patch altogether.
Chickens will have a go at most things but certainly Lettuces and any of the Brassica range. They may peck your Chard but it is unlikely that they will eat any but only damage the plants so prevent you eating it.
I have found that Ducks will search out things like Flea Beetle, Slugs and Snails without too much damage to plants but they are no respecters of plants and will happily puddle them to death.
JB.

I agree! I found that it isn`t just pecking that does the damage but the incessant scratching and scraping. Hens create a wonderful weedfree fine tilth whether you want it or not. Ours are kept firmly in their own free ranging area.

When i first read the topic, New hens.. in Buttercups, i thought it was a new recipe.

Recipe to follow Old Herbaceous! Several of my work colleagues (those who aren't totally bemused by the idea of keeping chickens) have spent ages thinking up recipes!

Dear Marmalade, so glad you saw the funny side of it.

Marmalade and OH

The best I can manage is a chicken shed in buttercups

Wow - very impressive...also looks slightly as though a Tornado might whoosh along sometime!

Mine is a bit more 'modest' - and, rather worryingly, is still in it's flatpacked form...

Buttercups may be a problem weed, but what a beautiful picture they make.

I just love the challenge of a flat pack.

oldherbaceous wrote:I just love the challenge of a flat pack.

Evening OH

Try this one

And there's always this