The benefits of chickens in the garden
In general, we keep chickens for their meat and eggs. However, there are other benefits for the garden. Chickens and permaculture go hand in hand. As an integral part of a permaculture garden, chickens play an important role in enriching the soil and eating insects. Find out more about their benefits to the garden.
Why keep chickens in the garden?
Chickens offer many benefits in permaculture. They kill insects, enrich the soil and add to the compost.
To kill insects
Chickens are omnivores. They can eat anything. If you let them roam the garden, they will not bother to eat the insects and pests in the soil. These will no longer be able to invade your garden or vegetable patch.
They will also get rid of the grubs and worms that can ravage your crop. Their beaks and legs make it easy for them to scratch the soil. In the same way, it will aerate your soil a little.
To enrich the soil
Chickens, especially their droppings and litter, enrich the soil. Indeed, droppings and litter are excellent fertilisers for the soil. These are quality manures.
So, to enrich the soil in your garden, you can place the litter from the chickens directly in the garden. As well as fertilising the soil, it will retain water to prevent drought.
On the other hand, you can mix the litter with compost from the garden's vegetable waste. Bad odours will be eliminated and your soil will be more enriched.
To supplement the compost
In addition to the litter, the feathers left over from the hens can also be used to supplement the compost. They contain 11% nitrogen, which accelerates the decomposition of the plants. This will give you rich soil that will improve your crop.
Other benefits of having chickens
Chickens are not only good for the garden. They offer many other benefits.
For a start, they can reduce waste. Chickens can eat anything. You can give them green waste and leftover kitchen scraps. They can eat up to 150 kg of food waste per year. However, make sure you respect your chickens' appetite.
Raising chickens also provides good eggs. If you choose laying hens, you can collect around 250 eggs per year. Among the laying breeds, you can choose the Pekin, the Red Hen, the Sussex or the Marans.
Chickens are also very popular for their meat. In this way you can also control the origin of your feed. On the other hand, keeping chickens helps to promote biodiversity. You can choose rare breeds and protect them. You can also raise local or old breeds to ensure their survival. Among the most sought-after breeds, you can raise the Courtes-Pattes, the Crèvecœur or the Gauloise Dorée in your garden.
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