Chickens in the garden improve soil fertility, control pests and weeds, and boost composting for a self-sufficient, healthy garden.
If you’re building a self-sufficient garden, a small flock is like adding tiny, tireless farmhands. They lay eggs, eat pests, shred weeds, and turn kitchen scraps into nutrient-rich compost that supercharges your soil. This guide shows exactly how to put chickens to work—while protecting your veggies and keeping neighbours happy.
A well-designed system keeps nutrients flowing in circles rather than out the gate.
Inputs → Chickens: garden greens, weeds, trimmings, and safe kitchen scraps.
Chickens → Outputs: eggs, high-nitrogen manure, scratching/aeration, pest control.
Outputs → Garden: aged compost and mulches that feed beds, which grow more inputs.
“I don’t have a compost turner—I have six feathered ones.”
Why it works: Chicken manure is rich in nitrogen, making it rocket fuel for compost when balanced with carbon “browns” (dry leaves, straw, wood shavings).
How to use it safely
Age or compost first. Let manure/deep-litter bedding fully break down—commonly 3–6 months—before applying to food beds.
Hit the C:N sweet spot. Build piles around ~25–30:1 carbon:nitrogen. Think 1 part manure to ~2–3 parts browns by volume.
Deep-litter = fertilizer factory. Keep coop bedding dry and layered (shavings + straw + leaves). Turn weekly with a rake; remove finished litter to your compost when it smells earthy, not sharp.
Quick win: Use finished chicken-compost to top-dress perennials, fruit trees, and beds in the off-season; water in and mulch. For best results, top-dress then plant into a well-draining, fertile soil mix.
To supercharge your compost inputs, start a simple worm farm at home.
Chickens love slugs, snails, beetles, earwigs, and fallen larvae. Let them patrol paths, edges, and finished beds to break pest cycles.
Timing matters
Do: send birds into annual beds after harvest, during winter fallow, or pre-plant a week or two before sowing.
Don’t: allow free access to tender seedlings—they’ll “weed” the wrong plants first.
Protective tools
Removable low fences, mesh tunnels over rows, or strategic access windows (e.g., afternoons only) keep crops safe while birds snack on pests.
Let hens tackle seed heads and sprouting weeds in paths and resting beds. They’ll also shred straw and leaves into finer, faster-composting mulch.
Autumn clean-up: Open finished beds so birds can strip volunteer seedlings and weed roots.
Path patrol: Keep birds on mulched paths; they’ll constantly stir and de-seed them.
“Chicken tractors” (mobile pens) confine scratching to a footprint you control, preventing garden-wide chaos.
Daily moves stop over-scratching and manure hotspots.
Bed prep: Park the tractor 1–3 days per bed to clear residues and lightly aerate.
Recovery: Rest worked ground at least a week before planting, or cover with compost + mulch.
Sizing hint: A common backyard tractor is ~1–2 m² per 2–3 hens for short stints.
Zone A (Mon–Tue): Finished bed or cover-cropped strip
Zone B (Wed): Mulched paths & orchard/fruit area
Zone C (Thu–Fri): Next season’s bed (pre-plant)
Rest (Sat–Sun): Keep birds in run; spread compost on recently worked areas
Repeat weekly, advancing zones across the garden so every area gets attention and recovery time.
Rotate birds and crops together using this step-by-step crop rotation guide. Self Sufficient Garden –
New to growing? Start with easy wins from our best vegetables to grow in Australia list..
Coop & run basics
Space: ~0.3–0.5 m² per hen inside; 1–2 m² per hen in the run (more is better).
Predator-proofing: Use hardware cloth (not chicken wire) on openings; bury a skirt or apron around the run; lock up at dusk.
Bedding: Dry, carbon-rich materials (shavings, straw, leaves).
Water: Fresh daily; place on a clean platform; add a second waterer in hot weather.
Dust bath: A shallow tray with dry soil + wood ash + sand helps control mites naturally.
Shade & airflow: Prevent heat stress; ventilate high in the coop.
Garden interfaces
Fences & tunnels: Low garden fences (60–90 cm) deter most hens; use mesh tunnels for seedlings.
Gates on timers (you): Give access windows (e.g., afternoons), then herd everyone back for lock-up.
Compost corner: Keep a “scratch pile” of trimmings + browns where birds can safely go wild.
Chickens convert safe kitchen scraps and garden trimmings into eggs and compost. Think: leafy outer cabbage leaves, bolted greens, pumpkin guts, melon rinds,
spent pea vines.
Avoid: mouldy food, very salty/sugary junk, raw green potato peels, dried/uncooked beans, anything treated with pesticides.
“Yesterday’s salad becomes tomorrow’s omelet—nature keeps the receipts.”
Fresh manure on crops: Skip it. Compost or age first.
Biosecurity: Quarantine new birds; keep wild-bird access to feed minimal; clean waterers.
Odour control: Dry bedding + regular turning + adequate carbon. If it smells, add browns.
Noise & rules: Hens are fairly quiet; roosters aren’t. Check local regulations before adding a crowing alarm clock.
Pair healthy soil with rainwater harvesting to boost resilience.
Not sure what you’re working with? Identify your base soil using our soil types guide
Upfront: coop/run or tractor, feeders/waterers, bedding.
Ongoing: feed + grit + occasional health items.
Value back: eggs, compost (real savings if you’d buy fertilizer/soil), lower pest pressure, reduced waste.
Most households find 3–6 hens cover a large share of eggs and produce wheelbarrows of compost each season.
They can if unsupervised during the growing phase. Protect seedlings with tunnels or low fencing, and invite birds in after harvest or pre-plant only.
For most families, 3–6 hens provide plenty of eggs and compost inputs without overwhelming space.
Yes—once fully composted or aged. Keep fresh manure off edible beds.
No. Hens lay without one. Add a rooster only if you want fertilized eggs and your local rules (and ears) allow it.
Winter/fallow periods, after harvest, or a week or two before planting to clear pests and residues.