Earthly Garden

I grew up in the south and on about 9 acres of land depending on whether I had to mow the acreage or not. It seemed to grow as I mowed. The one thing that was always running around my parent’s property was chickens. At one time during my childhood we ended up with about 300-400 chickens. The chickens were out of control, but the plus side, we had little to no insect issues on the land.

The best benefit of having chickens is insect and pest control, such as ticks and even fleas, if you have other animals. Ticks are a huge issue in the south and with chickens you can keep the ticks at bay. And you don’t have to own 300 or more to get the job done.

If your local code allows for chicken, raise about three or four. You can create a simple cope for them in one day with supplies from your local farmer’s co-op. You can also get the bugs under control with ladybug, praying mantises and other insects through your local garden center. To control insects that the chickens tend to miss and if you have it set up to keep them out of your garden, use plain ole’ soap and water in a spray bottle and mist your garden plants.

Chickens can help control those insects we don’t want around us and if you live out where there is little to no traffic you can allow them to roam around freely. This is a great way to keep the ticks and other insects at bay.

Raising chickens is a great way to help give your garden compost as well as can be a natural bug and insect repellant for your tiny plants during the growing seasons.

You can also have the added benefit of having organically produced eggs. This issue many have with owning chickens is they end up with too many. Proper hen to rooster ration will keep this from being or creating a problem. There are many people, not just farms that keep chickens and they wouldn’t have it any other way.

There are a few things you need to know before just going out and getting a few chickens and placing them in your yard. Here are some steps to get you started off right.

1. First you will need to consider if you want to keep chickens in the first place. If your bug issue and composting needs enough to have chickens in the first place? If you have a small garden you may need only 4 to 5 chickens and at the most possible 7 or 8.

2. Next, what kind of chickens are you wanting. There is a wide range of different chickens and you need to figure out which kind is best for you. Find out more about the different breeds of chickens, by clicking here.

3. Next, comes the housing. Chickens need a place to rest in the evening and if you go with the egg-laying variety you will need to provide them with an area to lay their eggs out of the harm of predators. Find out more about the right kind of housing here.

4. Food is the next item and even water. Providing your chickens with adequate water and food supplies is important. Find out more on how to achieve this here.

That is about the basics as far as chicken keeping. To read more on this, your local library has plenty of literature on this topic. As far as online sources, please try the following links.

• A Flock of your Own

• Chicken Keeping

• Keeping Chicken in the City

• Demesne