Chickens are the world’s best compost makers! If you are wanting to keep two or three laying hens to consume all the garden weeds (and caterpillars) plus turn your leftovers into incredibly fertile top dressing, let me help! Here are pictures of ways you can easily hide chickens in your backyard garden out of sight from predators:
How to hide Chickens in Your Backyard Garden
This article assumes you are legally allowed to own chickens but want to keep them invisible to aggressive dogs, passers-by, and predators. Since it only takes two or three laying hens to compost everything a small kitchen garden produces, they will be easy to hide from view. Laying hens do make noise so it will not be possible to keep them silent. Your next door neighbors will know you have chickens. If chickens are not legal, check out Coturnix Quail which are legal pet game birds who lay small eggs that taste and bake just like chicken eggs!
Hiding Hens in Raised Bed Rows
This idea requires some advanced planning. Hens need a run that is wide enough to turn around in (minimum 15 inches wide) and it must be a minimum of 16 inches tall to fit common chicken feeders and waterers (afflinks). Hens need a fully enclosed, safe, rain-proof shelter to sleep in. Each hen needs a minimum of 8 inches of roosting bar space. The girls also need a way to exit the run and you need a way to collect eggs from the coop or wherever they lay them. If thoughtfully executed, this can be a brilliant way to keep two low-visibility laying hens.
Issues to Consider:
Chickens poop continuously. You will need a way to get them out and fully access all the compost they are generating in their run (the open air part). You’ll also need a way to clean out the coop. Building in multiple doors is a good idea! Raccoons can open all common latches but not carabiners so purchase exterior grade latches that have the ability to be “locked” with a small carabiner.
Chickens will quickly ruin a vegetable garden with their scratching and pecking. You may need to own a small wire dog crate to keep them in while you clean their coop and run. It is also a good idea to have one of these should you need to bring them into the garage during a freeze colder than 20°F. The removable plastic kennel trays are very easy to hose off!
Remember: Crowded chickens are LOUD chickens. Keeping only two hens is quieter, cleaner, and easier!
Open Bottom Chicken Tractor for Raised Beds
This is a clever idea for putting your hens to work! Raised beds are all built the same size. An open bottom chicken tractor with the exact same dimensions as the raised beds is built to house 2 or 3 hens. The chicken tractor can move around the garden grounds until the hen’s labor is needed. Then their tractor is placed on the raised bed for them to weed, till, and fertilize it for the next planting. It will take 2 chickens less than 2 days to complete the bed preparation.
Issues to Consider:
Since your hens are going to be in a coop low to the ground, it is vital that they be protected from raccoons who will kill your entire flock in one night. You must use 1/2 inch hardware cloth (ideally 19 gauge) for building your coop and run. NEVER USE CHICKEN WIRE! Raccoons can reach right through it to grab a hen. Chicken wire is only used for keeping chickens out of vegetable gardens. (Afflink)
Chicken tractors that can be moved from bed to bed can also be knocked over by predators. Ideally raised bed tractors will be used in a fenced garden that will keep bears out. Raccoons will climb over the garden fence but cannot knock over tractors that weigh more than 40 pounds. Remember that ALL doors must be secured with a carabiner the raccoons cannot open; especially any door that leads directly to where the hens sleep.
Hens need a minimum of 8 inches of roosting space at night. These tractors work best if they only house 2 or 3 hens. A single hen should never be kept by herself; chickens are flock animals that need to be with others of their own kind.
Selecting Chicken Breeds for Garden Coops
If you want hens who lay a lot of eggs, you may want to opt for ISA Browns, Rhode Island Reds, White Leghorns, or some of the Red Sex-Link hens who are White Leghorn x Rhode Island Red crosses. If you’d like to have blue, green, and peach colored eggs opt to keep Easter Eggers. If you want to keep bantam (miniature) chickens, Silkies are popular. Opt for buff, partridge or other feather colors besides white if you want them to be low-visibility.
Easy Feeders & Waterers
While you can purchase the classic red & white feeder + waterer sets shown above, you really only need a chicken waterer. Chicken feed can be given in an open feed pan or a stainless steel puppy pan that is easy to hand wash. Rats and nocturnal predators like skunks or opossums will eat any remaining chicken feed so it is best to only give the hens 1/2 cup each in the morning so they can finish it all by sunset. (Laying hens eat 1/2 cup of feed per day.) Spilled chicken feed will break down into compost so I suggest feeding non-GMO layer pellets or crumbles if you don’t want it to sprout and grow the way whole grain chicken feeds will.
Garden Fed Hens
If you love the idea of your hens eating as naturally as possible, your garden weeds, clippings, and kitchen scraps are going to go a long way towards keeping them fed. Hens need fat, protein, and specific trace minerals so a premium chicken feed can help ensure they get the balanced diet they need while penned. (Free ranging hens can balance their own diets naturally but penned hens cannot.) If you want to make your own chicken scratch and chicken feed, click to view our recipe collections!
If You Can’t Keep Chickens, This Isn’t the End!
If your chicken dreams are on hold because of the HOA, seriously consider Coturnix quail! Some lay celadon (blue) eggs and they come in a variety of gorgeous feather colors. If you can keep chickens and want to start of with adult hens, learn how to find hens to buy fast. Chickens are lovely company when you’re out working in the garden. I think you will love having a couple around to give you fresh eggs and create compost!
You Might Also Enjoy Reading:
Do Backyard Chickens Stink? (Tips to easily keep an odor-free flock!)
How to Start a Backyard Chicken Flock FAST
Chicken Egg Colors Laid by Each Breed
Leave a Reply