Harnessing Chicken Power: Healthy Soil and Happy Chickens

We hope to transform our chicken yard from a barren, rocky patch of ground into a thriving, plant-filled space. Our goal is to establish a variety of plants that provide forage and shelter for our chickens, and to create a system that stabilizes and builds soil rather than depletes it. We began with rocky and compacted soil, overloaded with nutrients and prone to erosion. In the fall of 2023, we spread heaps of wood chips around the chicken yard, to soak up excess nutrients and improve the structure of the soil. Through the winter, the chickens tilled the wood chips into the soil. When warm weather returned in the spring, we moved the chickens back out into the pastures and gardens around the farm. At this point, the yard is given a break from the chickens for the duration of the warm season. This was our opportunity to introduce plants into the yard. We used a rototiller to loosen up some of the soil, and then broadcast cover crop seeds, and began transplanting plants into the ground. We are experimenting with a variety of annual and perennial plants that provide good forage and shelter for chickens, including comfrey, elderberry, hazelnut, currants, seaberry, apricot, sunchokes, various mints, tithonia, sunflowers, and pearl millet. Some of the plants are meant to be grazed down quickly as a living mulch, or as a kind of sacrifice to appease the ravenous chickens. Others are meant to grow into a multi-layered canopy of trees and shrubs that produce edible fruits and attract insects. However, many of these transplants are still small and would be pulverized by the chickens. To prevent this, we protected some of the plants using small wire cages. Big heavy rocks and logs also help protect plants, and create a more varied environment for the chickens. Over time, the system will become more sustainable, cycling nutrients from manure back into plant tissues and healthy soil. It will be a more ethical way to raise chickens, giving them access to all their favorite things so they can live the best and healthiest life possible. This system connects us with our food and the land, fostering a strong land ethic and sense of place. __ The purpose of this work is to demonstrate a variety of food production systems and engage the community in sustainable & ethical land management. It is intended to provide food as well as interdisciplinary educational opportunities for people of all ages & backgrounds. People of all ages and backgrounds reside on campus and participate in farming and gardening activities as part of their education. We hope to create more productive outdoor learning spaces and opportunities to demonstrate ideas such as agroecology, permaculture, and sustainable food production. Some of the work we want to demonstrate are so-called “alternative” or “non-conventional” agricultural practices. These include disciplines such as agroecology (agriculture that mimics natural ecological systems), permaculture (sustainable & self-sufficient design), regenerative agriculture (conservation approach that focuses on topsoil regeneration, biodiversity, improving water cycle, biosequestration, & mitigating climate change), agroforestry & silvopasture (integration of trees & shrubs with animals), organic agriculture (growing & processing food without the use of synthetic fertilizers & pesticides), and food sovereignty (the right to healthy & culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound & sustainable methods), among others. This YouTube channel and these videos are for educational purposes and for my own personal documentation of various projects.