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Get a Couple of Chickens

To those uninitiated into the joys of laying hens, those words may not appear to have anything to do with gardening. But having heard this same tip a few years ago, my family got some day-old chicks. A small coop, easily built by a carpentry-impaired couple, and a little laying mash later, our flock of five was earning their keep.

After a few weeks confined to their coop and run, we let them out daily to forage in the garden, because the old saying is true: a chicken returns to the coop to roost.
Want proof? Since moving to North Carolina, my husband and I had been unable to grow any squash in our large garden because of squash borers. As soon as the chickens were there scratching up larvae in the fall and early spring, we had a bountiful harvest that filled our bellies, freezer and neighbors’ welcome arms.

The organic free-range brown eggs, which would fetch $2-plus at a grocery, are an added bonus, second only to the fun we have watching the birds.

Try it and you will join me in crowing about how good the “ladies” are at simultaneously keeping the garden free from insect pests, scratching out weeds between rows, and fertilizing on the run.

Angela King
Walnut Cove
EnergyUnited

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