5 Ways that Backyard Chickens Can Improve the Health of Your Lawn and Garden
Why do you want backyard chickens? If you are like most people,
farm fresh eggs is the primary reason for having a small flock of
chickens. Eggs from chickens that are allowed to free range in the yard
are tastier, larger, and so much fresher than eggs purchased at the
store. And because you control what the chickens eat, you know exactly
what's going into those scrumptious eggs.
I'm in my 6th year of
raising backyard chickens and along with a steady supply of organic
eggs, my yard has also benefited in many different ways. Here's how.
Free chicken manure
Chicken manure is one of the finest organic manures around and is
super easy to work with too. Whenever I clean the hen house, both the
manure and their straw bedding goes straight to the compost bin where it
turns into nitrogen rich compost in 5-6 weeks.
No pests
I used to have a horrible time with box elder bugs, earwigs, squash
beetles, slugs and other vegetable garden pests until we got chickens.
My chickens will graze on creepy crawlers all day long which keeps our
vegetable gardens, flower beds, and the rest of the yard pest free. For
organic gardeners like me, this is a huge time saver!
Great for the soil
Chickens are also quite effective at aerating and turning over the
soil. In the early spring before my veggies go in the ground, I'll turn
my chickens loose in the garden beds where they do an amazing job of
loosening up the dirt while removing weed roots and weed seeds.
Will attract other birds
Every since having chickens, I've noticed a huge increase in the wild
birds that come to my backyard as well. Wild birds take care of pests
that my chickens can't reach such as aphids, mosquitoes, and various
tree insects. Some species such as starlings, sparrows, and finches will
even gobble up those pesky elm seeds and other weed seeds that cover my
yard in the spring.
Improve the grass
It's not
just my vegetable garden that benefits from free range chickens but the
lawn does too. Chickens will aerate the lawn, remove thatch buildup,
tackle lawn pests and weeds, and even improve soil texture. Thanks to my
backyard chickens, the grass in my yard is the healthiest looking it
has been in years.
