Free range poultry, whether chickens, duck, geese or even the odd turkey, seem to be all the rage now with gardeners. We’ve liberated our livestock from their coops and and are now – apparently – enjoying the fruits of that decision. Or are we?
It’s really only been within the past 10-15 years that the gardening populus has even contemplated free range poultry. Prior to that we spent many weekends building chicken coops that rivalled the Taj Mahal and treated our birds to the most comfortable surroundings. The chicken coop became an establishment within the garden much like the potting shed, greenhouse and compost bin.
Then we joined the bandwagon protesting that birds shouldn’t be kept in cages and fought for free range eggs. And, as if somehow the two ideas we connected, we decided to let our fowl-feathered friends out of their ‘prison cells’ at the same time. The guilt and shame of keeping them “locked up” became too much for us to bear.
So how have we, and our free range poultry, faired?
Well, on the positive side of the ledger, the upkeep of the coop has become a little less tiresome. The door that always seemed to take an ox to open and close now sits ajar and no longer needs to swing on its rusting hinges. Plus, the mesh wire fencing is sagging but won’t need to be fixed anytime soon.
Another advantage is that our free range poultry have become the ultimate in weed removalists, tearing them from the soil in their focussed drive to grab the next tasty bug that meanders through the backyard. Their scratching and fossicking help the soil breathe and they keep pests to a minimum.
Plus, if you opted for geese then you can bet your life savings that they’ll be guarded by these security-minded patrol birds.
However. like most decisions we make about our gardens, allowing our chickens, ducks and geese to become free range poultry can have some negative consequences as well. The prime one is the amount fo waste these birds produce and their care-free attitude when it comes to leaving it right where you planned on walking.
Overnight the backyard lawn can become a quagmire of poultry faeces as they defecate wherever they please. Not only is it disgusting but can also become a health issue for small children who are still experimenting with some of the tastes of life. My apologies for that mind image…
Free range poultry aren’t that discriminating either when it comes to removing those weeds. They don’t know the difference between plant and unwanted weed – they just know that a meal is hiding under one of them. So it’s little wonder that your veggie patch has just become a savannah where once it bloomed in abundance.
IMHO, I’d prefer the controlled free range method. It allows your feathered animals to roam outside of their coop but only where they are allowed to go. Barriers are placed in convenient positions to hinder their “free roaming” into areas that I’m not comfortable with them having access to. Plus, they can still be put away for the night to protect them against foxes and other wild animals which are happy to treat them as an easy meal.
I’m with you Stuart! My chooks have a sizeable run but every few days they are let out to free range in the rear third of our block. The fence keeps the chooks in, the dogs out and the vegetable garden safe. Their poop is confined to just one area so when I go to visit I choose my footwear accordingly!