Building a Better "Stealth Chicken Zone"

Hi to all,

In growing zone 7B x 44 inches of rain annually....

I am faced with a design issue, its a shame but even though local ordinances permit it, there may people in the community who will be "activist" in a bad way and try to get the existing local livestock laws changed in this changing, ever more urbanized environment. There may already be some community "harumph"ing at the weedyness of this Permaculture-inspired yard-stead.  Presently there are no anti-chicken laws on the books but I am nevertheless interested in building a "stealth" out of sight out of mind chicken tunnel.  Im open to any designs that might work. My first intuit is below depending largely on Junipers which are thick, friendly, opaque and produce edible berries that chickens enjoy. It also provides shade and food with some raspberries or blackberries which could further be combed over the the chicken tunnels. At its center is a mass of sunflowers. As I said Im open to all designs.  

Regarding roosters, I have seen Rooster collars---do they work? And I have heard that silkies are near voiceless.  I know that quail are very community friendly and quiet but this posting is about chickens.

thanks for any ideas..Mike

roosters are one thing, but hens can be pretty loud themselves. cackling and egg songs may make roosters crowing a moot point. aside from that, the design itself seems fine. a bit of not-always-accessible comfrey throughout the spiral would be a benefit to the chickens and the plants too. i’d love to see more edible stuff involved, both for you and the birds.

Thanks Greg, comfrey is a great idea.  Yes, I am still looking into black silkies which are reputed to be not such great vocalizers. I was just reminded looking at the design that it needs a front gate to prevent "wandering humans" from penetrating it.  It also gave me an idea for a more geometric European styled formal garden.

Hi Michael.

I would see if you could build upon the patterning you're already doing with trees and shrubs of different trophic levels. You already have it happening with the blueberries and raspberries/blackberries. I would get other fruiting shrubs, trees, and vines, with a bonus if they're nitrogen-fixing bacteria hosts, like Seabuckthorn. If you can get a variety that likes your specific climate, mulberry is good, too.

One of the ways to combat an overactive HOA in some cases is to design something resplendent and execute it flawlessly. If they want something reminiscent of topiary, make sure you have something, probably a nitrogen-fixing bacteria host, that grows quickly and densely enough, and that likes pollarding, that you could trim up every couple of weeks or so, effectively chopping and dropping.

This kind of thing can take the wind out of the sails of the opposition, if the argument against is neglect-based. If you are clearly designing attractive, functional spaces that require minimal upkeep, that have regular and recognizable maintenance tasks that you can be seen doing regularly, the neglect camp have no leg to stand on.

Most of this stuff is complaint-driven, so if nobody complains, you're less likely to have issues. I like the idea of using juniper in the plan. I know where I am, if I were designing for four-season stealth and cover, there would, of necessity, be an evergreen component or three, and if one or two of those were broad-leaved, fruit-bearing, and occupying different trophic levels, all the better.

Something like a shrub oak, that matures fast and stays shorter, for the most part, might be a great idea for cover and food, as might be a more traditional hawthorn or hazel hedgerow. Throw in some small fruit trees and bam, you've got a food forest that also yields chicken and eggs, never mind just a stealth chicken zone.

I suggest you see if there are any native species-related incentive programs in your area. I know that in my planning, there's at least one Ontario native plant catalogue that significantly cuts my living plant budget any time I can use them, and there are plenty of edible natives species, especially from a galliform point of view.

I would also look into the pre-maize grain complex prevalent in your area, and try to recreate it as completely as practicable as another set of food plants uniquely adapted to thrive in your area. Any holes can be filled in with more productive, perhaps vaguely decorative selections of grain, like a red amaranth, for instance.

This doesn't neglect the chooks one bit. In fact, by adding complexity to their chicken zone, there ends up being more cover, even in terms of scent distraction, as well as more food over a longer time period. There are many beautiful food-bearing plants in this category, though. I would exploit that fact, and the patterning suggested in the original design, and build upon it using principles of companion planting and trophic design.

And include things that might have other beneficial effects, but primarily have giant, flashy blooms. I would suggest that something like this is in flower for the whole season. Give them a gorgeous, patterned, scented eggstravaganza. Give them something to salivate over, to live for.

Give them what they never knew they needed, and baby your chooks, and feed and build your soil, all at the same time. Sometimes the best protection in this world is to be absolutely fabulous and appear huge. Just ask any peacock. Hide them in plain sight, just make the scenery something that would make peacocks blush.

I would love to hear about your newer design idea. Please keep us posted, and good luck.

-CK

"Free-range chicken gardens : how to create a beautiful, chicken-friendly yard" by Jessi Bloom has lists of chicken-edible plants and good ideas for doing the sort of thing being planned here.

I'm not sure from your diagram, it's hard to know if your plan is to have the chickens able to access the whole area on any day. The plan I'm working on will have the area divided into multiple areas I can direct the chickens to. An advantage of that from the OP's concerns, is that if one neighbor seems to be out working in one direction, you can intentionally move the chickens to a paddock further from them.