Chicken Gardening

Planting a garden for people and chickens.

I often get asked the question, what kinds of vegetables should I plant in order to supplement my chicken flock's diet?  Our flock of chickens ducks, turkeys and guinea hens, love all sorts of vegetable products and scraps.  In the winter months, I will often ask the local grocer for the trimmings from the produce and then a feast occurs!

Beginning in early spring, we plant the cool weather leafy greens such as romaine, kale, spinach, and cabbage.  Also, broccoli and cauliflower like cool temps.  Getting these plants started before hot weather hits is a must if you want them to survive a hot spell.  Greens are one of the favorite treats for our flock and we save every bit that is not consumed by the humans, for the flock.

Pumpkins are an essential treat on our farm.  Last year was a great year for pumpkins and markets in our area were selling pumpkins at the most reasonable price I have seen in years.  I supplemented what we grew ourselves, with a huge box of small pumpkins from the farmers market.  We had fresh pumpkins to give the chickens up until March.  An added, essential benefit of feeding fresh pumpkin is it's natural worming properties.  The seeds of the pumpkin contain a substance that renders the worms paralyzed.  The worms are then expelled with the feces.  We do not have a worm problem in our flock, but I still prevent it with fresh pumpkin.  Pumpkins are also high in Beta carotene which helps promote good overall health.  Make sure you give your pumpkins plenty of room to roam while they grow and provide well draining soil and almost full sun.



By far the favorite treat we plant is watermelon.  Cool and refreshing to humans and flock members alike, and nothing beats it on a hot sultry summer day.  I chop the watermelon into large chunks and they dive right in.  The ducks will gobble up the sweet melon center all the way down to the thinnest rind.  The chickens will eat the entire watermelon, rind and all.  So the pieces the ducks leave behind eventually end up in the chicken run for the chicks to finish off.  No waste here!  If you have leftover cut up melon from a cook out, you can freeze the leftovers to bring out on a super hot day.  Water melon Popsicles!   It's a nice way to keep them hydrated during the heat and watermelons do contain vitamins too.

Beans, such as green pole beans or peas are another item to plant in your garden for both humans and chickens and ducks.  My ducks particularly love cooked green beans.  Oh the quacking it brings on when I show up with leftover green beans.   Tomatoes and Corn are also welcome treats.  We have trouble keeping the racoons out of the corn.  They seem to know exactly when we are almost ready to pick the corn. The night before that, the racoons start partying in our corn field. 

These are just a few ideas to get you started on your chicken garden.   There are plenty of sources  out there for chicken gardens.  Here are a few more references to help you get started.

Fresh Eggs Daily

Free Range Chicken Gardens  by Jessi Bloom available through Amazon.

The Chicken Encyclopedia  by Gail Damerow

Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens, by Gail Damerow


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