Chicken coops plans

I have chickens and guineas and find them very helpful in reducing the bug population. They also are fun, lovable pets (which surprised me!) and are great company. And, of course, they are a great source of organic, free-range eggs if you let them roam around. You can’t just turn them loose and let them go, though, as they will dig and scratch in places they shouldn’t (like in a newly seeded bed) and they will “sometimes” peck at tomatoes and other crops that they shouldn’t, but you can work around that.

HOW THEY HELP: I can only compare what our land was like “before” and “after” we obtained poultry and turned them loose to roam during the day. At night, they are locked up securely in a predator-proof chicken/guinea coop. They also have a fenced-in chicken yard, complete with a chicken-wire roof to keep the hawks, racoons, ringtail cats and other predators out. The fully-enclosed yard is essential to keep them alive as we live in a very rural location.

Also, most of the vegetable garden is fenced-in. All I have to do is open or close the gate to let the chickens in or out as I choose. The guineas, of course, just fly over the fence but that’s OK as they are much less likely to bother the plants, although they LOVE to devour the bugs.

BEFORE THE POULTRY: Actually, we had poultry before we moved here, but I penned them up and didn’t let them roam the first year as we had oodles and oodles of foxes, bobcats, coyotes, skunks, racoons, etc., and they greatly enjoyed a chicken dinner if given the chance.

Before the poultry was turned loose to roam during the day, we had ticks, grubs, scorpions, piilbugs, fire ants, millions of grasshoppers, stinkbugs, squash bugs, potato bugs, aphids, etc., etc., etc. We also had a lot of beneficial insects like green lacewings, bees, parasitic wasps, and ladybugs. When I turned the chickens and guineas loose to roam, I wasn’t sure what effect they would have on the bugs.

AFTER THE POULTRY WAS TURNED LOOSE: The following pests were HUGE problems, but the guineas and chickens have virtually eradicated them from our rural acreage: ticks, fleas, white grub worms, grasshoppers, and other miscellaneous insects too numerous to list.

There are some pests that are “seasonal” in that they show up only when there is a crop to eat that they like, such as potato bugs, squash bugs, cucumber beetles, etc. With these, the chickens may or may not be effective–is seems to vary from year to year. I use other organic methods to control these pests,

I have not seen any real control of corn earworms/tomato fruitworms by the chickens or guineas, probably because the moth lays the eggs directly on the plant’s leaves, and the tiny caterpillars hatch and begin doing their evil work immediately and I don’t think the chickens necessarily see them and eat them. I also seldom see a chicken find and eat a tomato hornworm, but that’s OK since the hornworms are the larval forms of some of the hummingbird moths that we adore.

Chickens seem most effective on any bugs that dwell in the soil. They love to dig and scratch their way through the soil and mulch looking for tasty tidbits. You can use this to your advantage. For example, when I till up the soil in one of the raised beds in the veggie garden and till amendments like compost or manure into the soil, I then turn the chickens loose to dig and hunt. They will spend hours on that one bed, doing a pretty effective job of tilling up the soil themselves. The only drawback is that they will eat earthworms if they find them, so I usually turn them loose on tilled soil only in the January to March timeframe when the earthworms are apparently deeper in the soil, and thus safe from the chickens.

And, it goes without saying, the chickens MUST be kept out of the fenced garden when seeds have been planted and are sprouting. I usually won’t let the hens back into the garden until the plants are at least 6 to 8 inches tall, at which point they are large enough that the chickens won’t dig up the plants while digging for bugs.

In the summer, I let the chickens and guineas out of their pen around 7 or 8 a.m. and they usually put themselves up at sunset. Sometimes, like when a coyote or bobcat is lurking, they put themselves up and scream for me to come close the gates to keep them safe. They are smarter, I think, than we give them credit for being.

In the winter, they free-range less, and it is highly dependent on the the amount of wildlife lurking around. In general, though, I try to let them out to roam between about 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. If predators are lurking, esp. hawks, bobcats, or coyotes, the guineas (who are great watchdogs) squawk and let me know, and I go out and put the birds into their pen.

Poultry are NOT the total answer to insect problems, but they are a big part of the solution. More importantly to me, we enjoy their company. They follow me around the yard and “talk” to me, although I suspect that most of what they are saying is “Do you have any bugs for us?” They give us eggs, as well as adorable chicks.

We have lots of cats and dogs, having taken in numerous strays that have been callously abandoned by the humans who once “loved” them. The dogs have their own dog yard. The cats roam around pretty freely. I have a couple of more aggressive/mischievious male cats who like to lunge at or run at the chickens and guineas…..just to make them jump and squawk, but other than that, the dogs and chickens don’t mess with the poultry. I can turn the dogs loose to run around for what we call “puppy playtime” and they don’t bother the chickens or guineas. Sometimes a dog that is “new to us” will chase the chickens, but they can be trained not to do that pretty quickly.

The guineas love to roam around freely….often in a straight line somewhat like law enforcement officers or rescue workers/volunteers conducting a grid search….working their way slowly across a yard or pasture, eating all sorts of insects as they encounter them. They are a great method of insect control in a rural or semi-rural area but probably would NOT work out in town as they are very noisy and like to go wherever they want. Luckily, my neighbors don’t mind if our guineas come over and eat their ticks and grasshoppers and such. I do try to keep the guineas from crossing the road since they are slow, and the gray ones blend in with the roadway.

I have never seen a chicken eat a green lacewing, parasitic wasp or bee or a ladybug. I always have millions of ladybugs everywhere, so I assume the chickens and guineas to not like ladybugs as a food.

Some people use “chicken tractors” which are basically moveable pens to move their chickens around the yard and garden and yet keep them contained.

Roosters are optional. If you are in town where houses are closer together, the crowing of the roosters can be a big problem if the neighbors find it objectionable. Also, if you live in town, be sure poultry is not probited by a town ordinance. Of course, without roosters, you won’t have baby chicks, but you will have eggs.

If space is a problem, you might prefer banty hens to regular ones as they are smaller.

I can’t imagine living here without our chickens and guineas, as I think the ticks and grasshoppers in a rural setting are impossible to manage organically without them.

I’ve linked an old article from Mother Earth News in which some of their readers relate their experience with poultry. Some people use ducks and/or geese to patrol their yards and gardens, but we haven’t found that they are as effective.

Dawn

Incoming search terms for the article:

• oklahoma living magazine ()
• types of chickens ()
• different types of chickens ()
• best chickens for beginners ()
• types of chickens ()