How To Incorporate Chickens In Your Garden (Without Them Actually Being In Your Garden)

Adding chickens to the garden can be difficult - but using them to help you garden (without actually letting them loose in the green beans) is easier than you may think!
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Gabe Brown's 5 principles of Regenerative Agriculture are:
1. Armor on the soil surface.
2. Least amount of chemical and physical disturbance possible.
3. Diversity of plants and animals, including insects.
4. Living roots in the soil as long as possible throughout the year.
5. Animals integrated into the system.
Point #5 can be tough for backyard gardeners to imagine. Are we supposed to put cows in our gardens? Or goats? Or chickens?
In my Grocery Row Gardens I've had great success inviting in wild nature by planting a wide range of plants in a permaculture garden system. We don't spray pesticides, so the insects and birds and toads stay happy. But beyond that, we're putting chickens in the garden indirectly by harvesting weeds and spent vegetables and taking them to the chickens to let them be turned into compost, which we then harvest and feed back to the gardens. It's a beautiful system and allows us the benefits of chickens in the garden without the attendant destruction.

[@jettyeddie_m9130]

Back in my motherland Mexico 🇲🇽 all the leftovers from dinner and questionable produce goes to feed dogs chickens cows , everything gets used and nothing ever goes to waste!. when you barely have enough money to buy food at all you feel different about wasting food scraps

[@davidthegood]

Definitely. It makes no sense to throw it away.

[@deborahandrews9728]

We do the same.

[@rosehavenfarm2969]

We don't throw away any foodstuffs, either. If it's so spoiled I can't give it to the chooks, it goes into a compost pile.

[@heatherk8931]

Same, I'm just 1 person. The compost bucket has egg shells, strawberry tops, maybe apple seeds, coffee grounds and filters. Not much there. But sometimes I'll have rotten carrots, celery etc. My compost is grass, paper, leaves and very little food.

[@midkiffsjoy]

I hung the rabbit cages along a wall inside the chicken coop. The chickens accelerate the break down of the rabbit manure and turn it into the nicest potting soil.

[@mjk9388]

I've seen others do the same thing. It's a great idea and very efficient use of space.

[@manjawarner3162]

I like this idea. 💡 Makes perfect sense.

[@heatherk8931]

Hmmm, great idea! Although it gets 105+° in the summer so not sure that would work here

[@jerrypackard6807]

Nobody sings like you Dave. It's one of my favorite things about your channel...you're a bit like Wierd Al Yankovic but...goodder... ;-)

[@davidthegood]

Thank you.

[@heatherk8931]

😂😂😂👍

[@Jabberwalks]

Woah. I'm pretty sure I spent a lot of my childhood in that wagon. I feel connected to those piles of old squash plants.

[@kraljo1]

You want them (chickens) running around in rain,that is when all the best feed comes to surface,worms,slugs,snails,etc. Lot's of eggs next days :-)

[@davidthegood]

I bet.

[@edwinrodrigues9747]

@@davidthegood lolz, and with the rain comes the wild dogs , cats , hawks etc to feast on your chickens. We have lost so many chickens because of wild dogs and cats here. Even at 2 am in the morning the cat will come to hunt our chickens. Now we have a big Iron mesh pen hope we sleep in peace at night time.:)

[@alexanderkronick2625]

@@edwinrodrigues9747 Get a pair of Geese they are magnificent at protecting your chikens.

[@LavenderSkyla]

My local store had a sale on chicken wire. So I bought too much. I made their run this spring and it's connected by a fence to my shade garden. A garden in a bad spot with a large tree in the way. Perfect for blueberries, peas n stuff that don't like beating heat. Well I chicken wired that too. And the beds. So when it rains I can let the chickens into the protected shade garden and they go to town. They get the occasional raspberry but they de weed the walk ways and stop slugs. I'm digging a new garden in the sun in a spot I had 10 rotting trees taken out and using David as inspiration to get that done. Once that's done I'll rotate them in there before I dump the 8 compost piles I have brewing on there. Wish me luck. Idk what the hell I'm doing. For science!

[@williamvillar7134]

That's amazing, David! I've been admiring other's beauty berry plants and the elderberry growing everywhere. Lo and behold, birds have seeded both for me. It seems when I go to the Father in prayer, He really takes care of me. It's amazing what happens when you plant things that bring in life, instead of a mono-culture. Providing water, flowers and a little bird seed here and there really has helped as well. I really want chickens at some point, just not there yet.

[@davidthegood]

Amen to that.

[@Lazydaisy646]

When I was pregnant with my third child i really wanted to eat topsoil. Watching you salivating over your compost took me right back there..

[@gurcsik]

I stumbled upon this technique, and its been working great for over a year. Saves some on feed costs too. I also compost directly under woodchip mulch. The material turns into dark compost in 10-14 days year-round in Zone 9 for me.

[@davidthegood]

Great idea.

[@pegsol3834]

My composting efforts always draw rats. Any suggestions?

[@heatherk8931]

​@@pegsol3834 are you adding in grass clippings, shredded paper, leaves, maybe woodchips if you have it. Then once that gets started, I bury the food scraps into the pile. Always burry the new stuff.

[@Carolynfoodforest355]

I knew you would love chicken poop. I I want to try to combine your swamp water good compost with large amounts of chicken poop compost. Years ago when I had 30 to 40 chickens I had them in an 8X8 coop that was about two and a half feet off the ground. I made the floor half inch hardware cloth. I always had hay in there thrown around the coop. Then I had three sections added to the coop. The coop itself was under three oak trees to keep it cool. The section right in front of the coop was a section the chickens had access to all of the time. Then I had a section on the right of the main secret and a section on the left of the main section. Each section was about 20x20 feet. The two sections on each side are in mostly direct sunlight. I grew my vegetables on one side at a time. Then when I was done growing on that side I opened that section up from the bottom so the chickens could get through and then I planted vegetables on the other side that I closed off from the chickens and rotated it every planting so the chickens could eat the remains of that garden and till through for bugs and poop so that section was ready and fertilized for the next planting. It worked out very well for several years.

[@davidthegood]

Sounds like a great system.

[@Carolynfoodforest355]

@@davidthegood it was all I had to do was rake out the composted poop from under the coop with a good rake. I didn't have to worry about the poop building up in the coop and getting smelly and unhealthy for the chickens. Never got smelly, even in the rainy season.

[@sawyerpillsbury6471]

Yesss more Chicken content

[@babetteisinthegarden6920]

David I totally agree with you chickens, compost and gardens all go hand in hand in hand I use my chickens more for weed control they free range the whole backyard and all my garden beds are in cages I have a 15 by 15 where I initially was doing my gardening then I worked into raised beds and hugel beds that everything has wire of some sort around them to slow down the chickens.

[@rosehavenfarm2969]

It's wonderful. Yesterday I recharged some raised beds with chicken compost. Last fall I piled spoiled coop straw in a row of one of our planting beds; intending to plant corn in that row this spring. Corn didn't get planted. Squash did. The Squash That Ate The Chicken Poop is So big, So luscious, So productive. Good thing we like butternut squash! The blue Hubbard next row over (sans chicken poop)? [plays Taps] 🎺

[@mio.giardino]

All the cool chicks hang out at DTG’s place.

[@shaneswing2016]

David, you dont have a chicken call when you feed them? Everyone has to have one, even if it's just to trigger the spouse and kids.

[@davidthegood]

I don't. I just say "Hey guys, hey. Hey chickens. Hey you birds. I got you something."

[@chasedavidson2855]

Heeeeeeereeeee chick chick chick! Heeeree chick chick chick!

[@georgegalvan9066]

Yea!!! Mine is CHICKI CHICKIS!!!!

[@ashleycampbell8799]

@@chasedavidson2855 that’s the one!

[@blessedbloominghomestead9134]

Mine is “hey chicky babies, momma’s here😂😂😂 They run/fly full speed.

[@LauraTeAhoWhite]

My chickens rule my garden. But thankfully I managed to work out a deal with them. I make sure that I have a few plants available for them to have a munch on and I cover everything else with bird netting.

[@OfftoShambala]

Yes, inspiring… the view from that spot with the canna and the amaranth w the forest in the background… just gorgeous

[@breaking_bear]

Yes! I'm so happy to hear the Compost Your Enemies rap! Best rap ever! Thank you for the outstanding video! We have been doing our garden like this with the chickens for about a year now. Ducks too. I am recently taking your advice on allowing the compost to build inside the coop. The smell got pretty bad, but the mandatory pine shavings help alot!

[@highlandscommunityclub1160]

You’re wacky and I Love all your vids DTG! After I run out of shavings in the coop I’m going to use dry leaves.

[@davidthegood]

Good idea.

[@skippy5506]

Cool video, thanks David 😁 The past week or two I’ve been spreading my chicken coop soil over my beds as I harvest and put new crops in, can wait to see the results 😊

[@davidthegood]

Awesome!!

[@betty8173]

Cool video, I am just getting the benefit of this, we let our chicks run free, daytime, it's very safe here, but we now have a deep bedding system, with greens and scraps, as you recommend, and my compost is looking better! And thanks for finishing with my most favorite commercial! I pray Rachel is doing well growing the next Good child.

[@lynettetucker5236]

Hello David I can see that your garden has gone insane on the chicken manure it has grown really well beautiful and green very healthy 👌

[@davidthegood]

It's flying. Wonderful to see. In fall when I started the soil was so bad I worried about 2021.

[@garden_geek]

Chickens are the best. Composting powerhouses! Btw I just received the Everglades tomato seeds I bought from your daughters Etsy store! I’m very excited. 😁

[@davidthegood]

Fantastic. Thank you.

[@mjk9388]

Everglades tomatoes are my favorite tomato. So prolific and (in my opinion) the best tasting.

[@berthaprince9097]

Thank you for the info, I love this one

[@thomasgronek6469]

Very nice, gorgeous soil. I do leave some (15% or so) of the rougher materials, sticks, chunks of chipper debris, etc to help retain moisture. Weather conditions would change the need for such additives, be it sand for drainage, or brown matter to help retain soil moisture. This might also help with mycorrhizal fungi (I disassemble hay bails and put a handful of hay that has the fungi, in the hole with the seedlings.

[@GrimbolTheDruid]

The best gardening channel soundtrack bar none. 👌👌👌💚

[@10Akizzle]

Why are the songs always one of my favorite things to look forward to in these videos? Answer. Because they’re amazing

[@NoahNobody]

Ohhh - how I've missed the video editing. Great job.

[@biggersmilesinasia8402]

Ahhh the tuna of the land...

[@christopherhickey5464]

Lol. Kindred sense of humor. I have been calling chickens "tuna of the land" for decades, unfortunately it usually goes right over people's heads.

[@biggersmilesinasia8402]

@@christopherhickey5464 Some quality dadjokery.... Except I don't have any kids haha.

[@chasedavidson2855]

Im not the only one! Simce I was a kid I'd say "if tuna is chicken of the sea then chicken is tuna of the land"

[@ibebebebabe346]

Don’t be beating up on my frogs 😂. They are a delicacy in my world. 🐸😂👍

[@zk1479]

Thank you.

[@gardengatesopen]

MAYPOP!!! 🍈🫒 WHOOOOHOOOOOOO!!! GO PASSIFLORA!!! 🌱 🌱 🌱 I think I may have planted that with my mind... Which just means I've been living vicariously thru you for soooo long now, things are actually taking root... Literally 😳

[@TheRealHonestInquiry]

Life... finds a way :)

[@davidthegood]

Astral planting.

[@gardengatesopen]

🧘‍♀️

[@chopis531]

You guys are so funny. Thank you for all of the great content and books!

[@davidthegood]

Thank you.

[@TheEmbrio]

Being in suburbia I'll stick to worms for compost but I do enjoy watching your hens ! Shiny and full feathered, I'm guessing very healthy !

[@bryantinnin27]

You kill me with the songs man🤣 i love your channel!

[@slaplapdog]

I've been harvesting my chickens compost pile, gallons and and gallons of compost to enrich the gardens. I have enough to set up my sisters and my mothers garden and still more left.

[@davidthegood]

Excellent!

[@lacklusterami]

Brilliant song. As always

[@davidthegood]

Thank you.

[@deborahandrews9728]

When my chickens haven’t escaped and eaten my plants, I will usually let them out in the garden when it’s transition time. I have neighbors on all sides of me with chain link fences and the ducks clean those up thoroughly. They save me so much work. Right now I’m stuck in hospital with COVID-19 and am chomping at the bit to get out of here and ready to start my seeds for fall. Thanks for the by, thanks for my tomato seeds, they’re in my fall lineup. Stay awesome, stay blessed!

[@davidthegood]

Thank you - good idea. Lord, please give Deborah strength and health and have mercy on her so she can return to her garden, in Jesus' name I pray.

[@deborahandrews9728]

@@davidthegood thank you so much! I’m going home today! Praise Jesus!

[@karen-hillshomestead]

Rachel the Director Extraordinaire!

[@larskristiansen9158]

Great song!!

[@mjk9388]

Gabe Brown is awesome and one of my heroes for many years. My Home Owners Association won't allow Chickens, but I have 4 TAMUK bunnies (heat-tolerant breed). I feed them with Mexican Sunflowers (Tithonia Speciosa and Tithonia Diversifolia), Mulberry Leaves, and a little bit of rabbit feed and fertilize the garden with their poop. I sometimes think it might be more efficient just to chop and drop the Mexican Sunflowers directly onto the garden, but I like having the bunnies because I can breed them if there's ever a need for greater food diversity, resilience, and/or selling/trading. Anyways, just another idea.

[@davidthegood]

Yes, definitely a good idea.

[@dylan8285]

If you want compost fast with the chickens just start piling grass clippings and leaves in there run too with all the other stuff

[@davidthegood]

Yes, definitely.

[@jessiemccartney4531]

Great video, just found you and I'm hooked :)

[@lovemybabygoat]

That is also why I have rabbits. Rabbit poo is a wonderful carbon source. And, if you have a way to collect, then dilute, the urine it is also awsome in the garden ... direct nitrogen application. Chickens do a better job of compost, but rabbits have the additional benefit of being a fast meat producer.

[@davidthegood]

Rabbits are useful.

[@TheVigilantStewards]

The "occasional omelet" is ok, but the "consistent compost" is what I want! haha occasional omelet < consistent compost... #alliteration

[@nevaehdoesstuff1092]

Nice!!!

[@jtsloth]

Wheel Barrow Man is my fav song now.

[@zone4garlicfarm]

My chickens live most of the year fenced out of the garden. For about a month in the spring from snow-melt in April until planting starts in May and in fall from the end of harvest until the first real snow in November I let them in the garden. During their time in the garden they turn the soil and eat a lot of weed seeds, quackgrass roots, slugs and more that I don't want to survive.

[@davidthegood]

Sounds like a good plan.

[@agrarianarc]

Great video David. You mentioned paper towel and shredded paper for the chicken run... anything else you use to stabilize all that nitrogen?

[@qualqui]

Missed the IRIE Premiere David, but such a privilege and a blast to see that IRIE Grocery row garden of yours! LOL....the thought of sifting through aged chicken poo....isn't as stinky or nasty asa fresh chicken poo, I can see how you'd enjoy sifting through it with your hands, hmm...kinda like Adalu in Spain, she takes off her shoes and goes in to work in the dirt, no gloves to cover her hands and if she steps on a rock or thorn no problem, she bends down to remove it. Thumbs up, thanks for sharing and gotta love the Compost comercial with Miss Rachel starring it!

[@reneebrown2968]

I used my quail to feed themselves. Meaning that i put catch pans under the pens and they filled with fly larva. The quail love to eat them. So the food that i feed them goes thru them twice before going to my garden and feeding that too.

[@heatherk8931]

I'm with you. It's time to plant seeds, start seeds. But my chickens have had the run of my entire 48' x 80' backyard. No matter how I think to fence them out, their area will be smaller. (Duh @ me). So... they gotta get corralled.

[@debheesen2097]

I don't have chickens yet but this looks perfect just bought my first couple acres and would really really love to see a little more about your chicken coop setup. Do you already have a video about that by any chance? Because I would like to incorporate this the way you have

[@cgc1581]

We’re new to our property too and built a hoop house, but really it’s just a green house with cattle panels under the plastic. Not sure if that’s ok for them through the winter or not but not sure how to build something inexpensive either. Great question!

[@davidthegood]

I don't have a video about how we put it together. It's touchy putting animal content on KZbin. People get weird about it. Basically, I just have kept a shed for chickens with a protected run outside.

[@machseven2802]

Barnyard chickens is a good site for all manner of chicken issues, including coop design. I built one, but you can certainly buy them or convert other structures. Dive in - chickens don't complain, they're entertaining, they give you breakfast, and they're pretty cheap. I'll bet Dave's is a converted shed with a run (open pen) that he most likely added himself.

[@homegrowntruth]

Thank you for this video! Perfect timing after meeting you at Noah’s and talking about it. Any recommendations on building a predator free coop? My hubby’s engineering brain is already designing it.🤣

[@roseannenorman7129]

Show us your worm bin.... I found a really expensive one, but I'll bet you have a good idea.

[@davidthegood]

I have a video on it.

[@heatherk8931]

It's there, just watched it. Several ideas

[@sandradelvecchio6894]

We moved to this property last December. I designed the garden area with duck and chicken runs within, also a rabbit house. Compost piles right in the center of those. The garden beds are all around all of that. I wanted the compost in the very center where we would walk past all the time so we wouldn’t have rodents because our compost was in a corner way out of view. It’s in a high traveled area. Compose piles are right outside the doors to all three animals. Perimeter is an 8’ high steel deer fence so we aren’t getting a lot of wildlife. At the same time im not getting wildlife so I’m not worried about my new fall crop. Deer are by the tens every night in my back yard tree area and then the forest. We could easily see 40 deer grazing back there sometimes over the area where the eye can see. That fence was a must.

[@davidthegood]

Wow. You prepared a garden in the presence of your enemies.

[@leegrumbling9623]

Ayuht, have some neighbahs....could use compostin'.... Had good use of turkeys before the bobcat and spruce hawks moved in. Did a good days work raking and thatching and pest reduction, for seeds. Hung feedahs ovah a spot, neah ten yee-ahs now. Near enough a good foot of the good da-ahk stuff. Ayuht.

[@ccccclark2605]

Love your songs! "Compost your enemies" 🤣😂😆😅😜

[@melanielinkous8746]

LMAO! Literally in the garden with the chickens and ducks right now. Right now they're being good. If they're naughty, I get the hose and squirt them and they move on.

[@briankFF247]

I use my chickens in different ways in my system. In my annual beds they can work it, and in a chicken tractor, I use them to start new beds and clean up old beds. I'm really here for the music though.

[@meloniepluth5037]

Love your videos! Even my husband, who can't sit through more than a minute of garden videos, will watch all of yours. We are building a chicken coop. My question is about the run. Do you have 2 separate runs? I have noticed in your videos with the chickens that sometimes you gather the compost from 2 separate areas in the coop.

[@davidthegood]

I have a closed in "dark" area with nest boxes and perches that is dry from the rain, then an attached run that is completely surrounded by wire so the birds are safe. Say "hi" to your husband for me, and tell him I'm not much of a video watcher either. I appreciate him tolerating me.

[@meloniepluth5037]

@@davidthegood awesome!! Thanks so much! That helps loads. And I will tell him!

[@Thracas]

Hey David! Did you get new camera? You look great like always , and you get more funnier in time heheheh. Im always enjoying your videos!

[@davidthegood]

Thank you. I switched lenses.

[@ashleye.4667]

I don't think you give the chickens enough credit for survivability 😆 but really they are pretty resilient and they could be let out only a few hours before sunset to get bugs while you're working in the garden. It helps a lot with bugs and they will go back in their coop at sunset. So it's the best of both worlds. And it's on your schedule when you can keep an eye on them.

[@user-gh9bj2ok7e]

David, I love this idea especially because I have a large garden, but I live in a suburban area with neighbors on all sides. My chicken run is visible to everyone. How would I keep the mice away if I were throwing all the scraps into the chickens? Right now I have wood chips in their run, would you recommend a better alternative? I know this video is 2 years old, but I hope you can answer my questions 😊. Thanks!

[@JuguruGaming]

Pine needles compost.... Off topic but would like to get a trusted view point on using them as browns in my compost and mulch in my garden. We don't have your typical fall here in southeast Asia so finding browns in bulk for free can be difficult. Tons of pine needles (pine straw) available right off the beach. They just burn it.

[@davidthegood]

Generally pine needles have a lot of oils in them that keep them from quick decomposition. They work slowly but are not an ideal "brown" for a compost pile. Better as longer-term mulch.

[@poshpoultry8721]

Guess it depends on what kinda chickens ya throw in the garden..........little bantams like silkies don't dig up things too bad. This past summer I had a lot of caterpillars. They were everywhere! They were all over everything like a caterpillar apocalypse! I threw a few of my little silkies in the garden and they cleaned up the caterpillars ^_^ They seemed to be more interested in the bugs than the produce

[@Bill-xs5vr]

I would love your opinion on Amaranth?

[@davidthegood]

See my video from a few days ago.

[@americanlostinvietnam3721]

so every time you shovel compost out of the coup, you have to shovel more dirt into the coup?

[@allanturpin2023]

Do you have a favorite hen?

[@DDWASH9595]

Hey David what do you think about using granular humic acids in the garden also appreciate the knowledge

[@davidthegood]

I have not tried but it certainly couldn't hurt.

[@zachyweezer]

david...hopefully you'll see this. does your son still selling his handmade gardening tools? if so, i'd love to check out the selection! i just purchased your newest book. it'll be in saturday. can't wait!

[@davidthegood]

Yes, he is, as he has them.

[@NoNORADon911]

Double rainbow, whoa.......... 7:24

[@reneebrown2968]

David you might look into ducks. Once the seedlings are up some the ducks won't bother them but will eat the bugs right off your favorite plants.

[@davidthegood]

I would like to get ducks again.

[@AuntNutmeg]

When you remove compost from the coop do you add bedding material back into the coop?

[@davidthegood]

Not necessarily at the same time, but yes, we add all kinds of material from leaves to garden waste to grass clippings.

[@melanielinkous8746]

Do you HAVE to sift?

[@bennywalsh2038]

I assume that you start the coop with some type of bedding? Do you add more carbon as it starts to smell more?

[@davidthegood]

If it smells, yes. Or if it gets damp.

[@NoNORADon911]

Sealy posture pedic

[@gunnerbakke5020]

If I did not know better, I would think Ace sponsored you!

[@davidthegood]

They are the closest hardware store. I like them.

[@gitrdone80]

Great video what size screen do you use for sifting.

[@davidthegood]

I think it's half-inch.

[@heatherk8931]

​@@davidthegood I've got a few scrap pieces, definitely going to make that softer. My 20 yo compost has peach pits, apricot seeds, avocado pits, all the chunky pots from dropped fruit from evil squirrels. Question: since my compost has been going so long, do I need to mix it with native dirt? Is it too strong?

[@MSTOutdoors]

Hey just ordered some more of your books off Amazon. Do you have growing caffeine and tobacco as paper books available anywhere or are they just kindle?

[@davidthegood]

Not yet, but I may publish them in paperback eventually.

[@MSTOutdoors]

I say the same thing about getting a kindle 🤣

[@MSTOutdoors]

I appreciate it! I'll keep an eye out!

[@jimoyler1780]

Chicken compost works great.

[@wcomalley]

Any thoughts on getting your chickens enough protein? Are you able to feed them bugs too? I've been thinking a grasshopper trap would be cool to feed the chickens.

[@davidthegood]

They get 16% bagged feed, plus meat scraps. Having more worms/bsf larvae would be good, though.

[@sandraburroughs3966]

Duck weed is easy to grow and is high in protein.

[@davidthegood]

@@sandraburroughs3966 We used to grow that for the chickens years ago. Thanks for the reminder.

[@christopherhickey5464]

Maybe a maggot farm? A 5 gallon bucket with holes drilled in the bottom. Rotting meat goes in, fresh delicious maggots fall out.

[@cgc1581]

Can you please help with something? I’m growing sorghum for the first time and I have a lot of birds on our property. Do you know where I would find those little net bags to tie around the grain heads to protect them from the birds? I can’t seem to find them on the internet but I’m not really sure what to search. We love the channel! Thanks 😊

[@evelynkorjack2126]

old knee highs, pieces of panty hose. cheap and easy

[@titanlurch]

if you don't want the birds near you garden make or buy a hawk kite and hang it where the wind will make it move.

[@sandraburroughs3966]

Organza giftbags

[@mjk9388]

At Lowes and Home Depot they sell Paint Strainer Bags which would work, but I'm not sure that would be the cheapest option.

[@karen-hillshomestead]

I just ordered some of those net bags off Amazon.

[@yoavkrayn4302]

What about Vermicomposting?

[@davidthegood]

I mentioned it in the video.

[@Danny6464]

Just curious if you think the chicken compost is superior to composting all the scraps in a big compost pile? I'm assuming the chickens would produce usable compost quicker but wouldn't they be pulling out more micronutrients than just composting?

[@davidthegood]

I think the chicken compost is higher in nitrogen, due to the manure. It sure greens things up. I haven't done a side-by-side, though.

[@jerrypackard6807]

@@davidthegood Hard to do a scientifically accurate side by side with random garden/kitchen scraps... :-/

[@heatherk8931]

Great question!

[@elirisner370]

If you feed your chickens grains you should look into fermenting them and the benefits of it

[@davidthegood]

I have heard of it but haven't tried it.

[@elirisner370]

Not trying to tell you what to do but I think you should try it

[@heatherk8931]

​@@davidthegood I gave it a 3 day go... the chickens LOVE THAT STUFF! I mix it into their food or just toss onto the dirt

[@patrapper7367]

Do you not want chicken manure in root vegetables?

[@rebeccapotrafka280]

We have fire ants, and putting scraps in the run in the summer time draws hundreds of them. Any suggestions on how to handle that situation?

[@davidthegood]

Usually the chickens tear them up and knock the piles out. But Amdro (where the chickens can't eat it!) works pretty well on piles.

[@WinkTartanBelle]

My birds run to see what I'm carrying. If they see the red bucket, they go nuts! The RED bucket has all the BEST stuff in it! Since the white bucket and the red bucket are identical except for color, I must surmise the chickens can tell the difference between the color red and the color white. I can't imagine gardening without chickens. I can't.

[@davidthegood]

That is really cool.

[@heatherk8931]

Yes! They definitely see red. NEVER wear your red sweat pants to feed the chickens! Sheesh! Now I carry a broom too!

[@beastumfan]

Do you sell eggs and/or chickens?

[@davidthegood]

I do not.

[@michaelkirkpatrick3026]

My favorite regenerative living channel. I got my PDC, I know this stuff, and I still love watching! It's like PD porn! Oh, that sounds dirty. I'm cool with that😁😎

[@kimberlybenton4246]

I to utilize the toodlers wagon, mine is red🤣

[@jabba0975]

Thank you! Got the same plastic wagon in our yard. Looks weird seeing a YT guy dragging it around.

[@davidthegood]

I borrowed it - hope that's okay.

[@jabba0975]

@@davidthegood No problem. Hope the wheels stay on for you. We may have to make our own carts/wagons.

[@jessicajueckstock6543]

How do you time everything so that you're not burning your plants with too hot nitrogen from the chicken poop?

[@PANTTERA1959]

Put ducks in the garden when it's raining. They will eat every slug that appears.They don't scratch or peck at tomatoes,cucumbers etc.

[@davidthegood]

Good idea.

[@joanstead]

How do you know what you can put the chicken compost on? I have tried this and it killed all of my marigolds. Are there only certain plants to use it with? I let the compost sit for a year and it smelled good. So I thought it was fine to use in my garden, but my marigolds all died. Help!

[@davidthegood]

If it's straight manure it can be really hot. That makes sense to compost in a pile with other stuff. In the case of this there is a lot of organic matter and dirt mixed in so it's not as hot. Try adding a little at a time first.

[@joanstead]

@@davidthegood ok thank you! I’ll try that next time! I’m a little scared though I will admit. I don’t want to kill my plants.

[@heatherk8931]

​@@joanstead I heard the same thing. Don't plant in strictly compost, only sprinkle a little into your planting dirt. AND always use regular DIRT. not just bagged potting mix

[@zemadeiran]

Dave, don't forget to throw in bones with bits of meat to the dinosaurs

[@titanlurch]

This is dark .I know. but Chickens may compost anything but pigs will compost your enemies .

[@karen-hillshomestead]

Fact! :)

[@qbeard1]

I have been 95 to 98 % ready to pull the trigger on chickens. I want the compost machine, the eggs and the meat. My wife wants the eggs and chicken life perpetuation. I don't want the ball and chain; we travel a bit. God help me make a decision.

[@angelbear_og]

You saw the world go to hell in a handbasket overnight a year and a half ago -- do you want to prioritize travel over self sustainability? That's the lens through which I look at things. I'm quite happy if I never travel anywhere again if it means I can get out of the beast system.

[@davidthegood]

Yeah, I think Angel Bear is right on this one. I think travel will be the least of our worries soon.

[@machseven2802]

Having someone take care of your chickens is no harder than taking care of a cat or a dog, much easier in my opinion. Clean water and food once a day, usually takes a few minutes at most.

[@MiddleAmericanMan]

Buy the tractor supply big feeder and waterer. I travel for work and I have 8 chickens in my backyard in town. They have a 30 by 40 foot run. I never hardly do anything to take care of them. I was gone for three weeks in the cold snap this February and they were fine when I got back.

[@heatherk8931]

​@@davidthegood And here we are, a yr later.

[@hands2hearts-seeds2feedamu83]

I don't want any animals in my garden, no chicken's no goats, NO effing cats either. I am to the point NOW, to start feeding the cats to my family, & we will call them long tailed rabbit's. 😆🎉❤😂

[@mowerds33]

"Incorporate animals" like your friends the squirrels? 🤔

[@ericdee2525]

Thats just when you incorporate owls :D

[@heatherk8931]

Oh, I'd love to put squirrels in a bucket to grow maggots to feed chickens. BUT, I cant bring myself to kill them. PLUS, I may need to eat them, lol

[@razpet20]

Imo ducks are the best livestock to keep inside such a garden, they will eat the least vegetables.

[@davidthegood]

I like ducks.