In December I wrote about testing the soil of my chicken run, to find out if any damage had been done by leaving the chickens on the same ground for longer than planned (4 years). When I built my chicken coop, I intended for it to be a mobile coop that I would move once per year, so that the chickens could help me expand my garden by fertilizing the new ground and removing weeds. Unfortunately the coop turned out too large and too heavy, and it’s now awkwardly stuck in the middle of my garden and completely immobile. I’ve tried all the ideas I could come up with to get it moving, but I now have resigned myself to building a new coop elsewhere and disassembling this one. I’ll be able to reuse most of the parts for future projects, but it’s a setback and a big task to add to an already overflowing to-do list. Oh well, live and learn.

Since I wasn’t able to move the coop, I wasn’t able to plant a big test garden in the soil of the chicken run this year as I had planned in my previous post. However, I did fence the hens out of a tiny patch of land in the run for just a few weeks. This was kind of accidental, but it did give me the information I sought. The small chicken-free area in the run sprouted a rich, healthy garden including a big blooming tomato plant! I feel confident now that my soil is good and I can garden here after the chickens have moved to the new coop.

Although there have been struggles in my journey with the chickens, I am so glad they’re here. They have taught me much about the world that I wouldn’t have learned without them. They have provided joy, companionship, laughter, exercise, a reason to go outside even on the tough days, and much more. The manure and compost they’ve made for the farm helps us to grow amazingly lush and healthy organic gardens, and their eggs have become an integral part of our family’s meals.