Friday, November 25, 2016

Rule of the chicken


The rule of the chicken just considers impact of use by all creatures who may interact. large, small, often or rare.

Cars leave trails and quite a deep impact on the environment.
So do the paths just left by a single person
Cows, rabbits even bees leave a trail

Garden is expanding out nicely and this is an important part of the progression.


mixed perennial gardens with big herb borders are getting chook strong enough. So can probably handle opening up to get chickens clear out annuals. For a few weeks at most twice a year.
light mesh fence with herbs growing through is fine.

Young gardens need anti chook fencing often per plant as well.

Chickens will have a big semi permanent, dragable by a few metres a year coop in middle of main vege garden area

Food forest in quarry is a little slow but moving along. A few plants I think too early. Needs establishment shelter trees. The strawberry guava, avocados and the hazelnut. Hope they make it through summer. If not they'll be replaced later.

I noticed there is a few types of places

Leave alone. Often native revegetation observation
Gardens. Maintained until can look after itself. Probably fenced.
Chicken run. place where the chickens are meant to stay. eg near coop or in a tractored area.
Lawns. Grass area cut flat. Cutting taken to compost. Good can do initial chop and drop, it dries a bit, the chickens probably investigate and eat seeds and kick around. then rack the area up to compost.
Chop and drop. The chickens favourite areas. A thickening litter of mulch. Can be wilderness or a mature garden.
Compost heaps


Poly cultures are useful in a wilderness garden. in a mono culture bulk planting would want to harvest at same time. in a poly want as wide a window of something ready to harvest.



A lot of the impact of creatures is dealt with by the simple "Observe and Interact" principal. Watch the chickens as they feed in an area, if it looks they will be too rough, protect it. This may be a fence of the plant, feature or an entire area.
In the example of chickens in a garden, their kicking of the mulch around has its uses, but too much makes a mess. Does the chicken kicking ground have ways to catch the flying mulch? Sturdy stems or edging or rocks.

Human paths are a significant factor in the landscape. Even a single person on a large area leaves a trail that strongly effects the plants along it. I find it interesting observing school gardens with the herds of fast moving little humans putting wear on the grounds. Stepping stones, changing the plants, gravel.


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