Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Short answer: Chickens provide fertilizer and eat pest insects.
Keeping chickens is about more than simply filling your belly. When planned well, your
chickens can fertilize your vegetable garden
, providing nutrients and organic matter that
are used up by the cultivation process.
If you keep your chickens in a permanent coop, you will need to compost the accumu-
lated manure well before adding it to your garden. I prefer to drag a chicken tractor across
new garden areas in the fall and winter before planting, making several passes across each
garden area. The chickens will fertilize the soil, dig up a lot of the weed roots, and eat
many pest insects that overwinter in the soil.
When working in the garden, I also like to keep the chicken tractor close by. Chickens
are a great way to dispose of Japanese beetles—just tap the insects into a cup of water, then
pour the mass of beetles and water into the chicken coop and watch the fun begin. I also
throw beetle larvae into my chicken coop as I dig in the soil.
In a more urban setting, chicken tractors can be used to mow and fertilize your yard.
The utility of working chickens is limitless—use your imagination and soon you'll wish
you had twice as many hens in your flock!