[slurp]

Greetings ,i am thinking about getting some chickens in the future and read a thread on another forum where it was stated warren hybrids were very helpful in the allotment keeping the pests at bay  :?  :? could there be negatives as well? would certain crops need protection [cabbage]? would newly planted seed beds/just germanated crops need protection ?

[poultrygeist]

Hi slurp and welcome.

I don't have an allotment so can't answer directly, but chickens do enjoy lots of greens and I doubt they'll be too fussy if they're picked or still growing  

I should think you'd need to keep them separate from your crops but they can be useful for clearing before or after planting, and I would guess you could let them roam between the rows if you use protection.

Hopefully you'll get some better advice shortly. Hope to see you around.

Rob

[orfy]

I don't think any seedling would stand a chance if they weren't protected.

[SnooziSuzi]

Hello Slurp,  both Orfy and Rob are correct; they will eat everything and anything that you don't want them to!

before I built the huge run that mine are in I used to let them free range around my lottie; they were useful when you are digging and find grubs and such because they go potty for them!

perhaps you could 'fence off' areas that you don't want them to destroy either by eating your crops or making a dust bath out of that freshly dug and sown seedbed  :roll:  

Be warned though (and this is from experience) that if you let them free range whilst you're digging and they spot a worm in the bit you are just about to bring the fork down into they will just stick their necks in!   There's been more than once when I've nearly had an impromptu chicken kebab!

[slurp]

Thanks for your comments i think i  will relocate the planned chicken house away from the allotment and fence it in as well

[raeburg]

Totally agree with SnooziSuzi, you can't let them freerange amongst small and vulnerable plants.  Mine have been very helpful in clearing weeds whilst the allotment is being cleared, but I don't dig in the same place they are roaming.  I even had to give up digging with a hand trowel because it disappeared beneath a sea of chickens whilst still in my hand!  I use some mesh and the posts for electric fencing to give them a temporary plot so I can work without fear of creating a chicken kebab!

[R66VEY]

what i would do is get some moveable poultry netting and net a square area of at a time so they can clear your land, eat your bugs. and fertilise your ground all at the same time !!

[Nogger]

i have let my chicks out on the lotty ,and they left all my mature crops alone   then i got clever and put some young cabb and brock in,and they had a feast  :oops: they say you learn by your mistakes  :!:

[Chookaholic]

Mine free range,I've had them for 6 days & they systematically worked their way down the garden like little JCB's!    The older shrubs & bushes were fine,but anything small & delicate ie fushias,geraniums,clematis,is all getting detroyed,so I should think young succulent plants on veggie patches would be a chicken's idea of heaven! :shock:

[sheridal]

When we let ours out in the garden, they don't go on the veg patch, but prefer to go into the bottom of the trees which is where they are more likely to find grubs and have a good old dirt bath. They haven't found the cabbage white caterpillars yet  

[chicken soup]

My chickens are in a pen separate from my allotment but I have one very, very tame silkie that lives at home who I often take up the allotment who spends most of her time running up and down rows of potatos and hiding under the rhubarb leaves.  She isn't keen on weeds but loves dustbathing under the rhubarb and generally manures everywhere she possibly can.   To be honest she is more like a pet dog and follows you around the allotment even to the point of following you to the car and jumping in for a lift home.   As for the other hens I think they would trash the allotment as they eat anything and everything except caterpillars. I collected a load from my sprouts the other day in a bowl and gave it to the hens and they looked at me as if I was daft.  :roll: I am not sure if they ate them eventually or if they escaped but at least they weren't on my veg.  

[SnooziSuzi]

speaking of caterpillars... mine would have needed a knife and fork to get through these two I found on my lottie....



Elephant Hawk Moth caterpillars - they're huge!

I should point out too that is a mans sized glove - they were each at least as big as my index finger and fatter than it too!

[Foxy]

OMG they are huge! you can see their eyes and everything! :shock:  :shock:

[SnooziSuzi]

I think they are just eye spots to deter predators, their eyes were smaller and just underneath, but that's exactly what I thought when I first saw them!

Aparently you will find them where there is rosebay willowherb because that is the host plant, so have a look around if you've got a local nature area or wasteland at the bottom of the plants