Having chickens is just good for the soul. They are easy to care for and provide you with food, what else could you want! Many say, “But what about my garden?!” Well before you start thinking about the destruction they may cause in your garden, think about all of the benefits there are to chickens and gardens co-existing together.
They are great bug eaters, they will eat the harmful insects from your gardens without you even asking. These bugs are a tasty treat for chickens and one less thing to worry about destroying your plants. Chickens will gladly take care of beetle larvae, aphids, caterpillars, Japanese beetles, and their larvae!
When they are wandering around your garden they also poop in it, but this is good! This fertilizes your garden without you having to lift a finger. Better yet, they scratch it all around the plants along with spreading your mulch. This also assists in tilling your soil and bringing much-needed nutrients to the surface.
They help you weed! They’ll eat the seeds of weeds and help you keep weeds at bay, keeping your garden cleaned and happy.
In case those benefits aren’t enough, letting your chickens free-range eating those bugs, weeds, and sometimes your plants – makes your eggs taste even better and adds more nutrients!
So the next time your chicken digs up a plant (or two) or even decides to make one of your plants a comfortable seat, think about how much good they are adding to your garden (and to your life) by roaming it freely (except maybe your veggie garden, too much temptation there). Overall, gardening with chickens brings benefits not only to your chickens but also to your plants.
