Chickens for brush clearing

[fat brown hen]

I have several acres of poison oak, thorny brambles, and dense thicket. I know a lot of people use goats for clearing brush, but I don't really want goats.

So... Chickens are good at killing established plants. Has anyone used a movable fence for chicken-brush-clearing? I'm not sure I can even get a fence in, due to all the thick brush.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I can't imagine that going too well. Chickens are simply too small, and you'd need thousands to do anything close to the type of damage you're looking for. They could clear shorter grasses and smaller weeds here and there, that's about it.

 

[SourRoses]

Chickens are picky. They mostly like the plants we like and ignore the plants we dislike. Anything woody is too tough for them.
Although we do have a weed tree here, Paper Mulberry, the chickens just adore the leaves. But we have to cut the branches down for them to reach.

 

[fat brown hen]

Turkeys, then?
I'm not really expecting the chickens to eat poison oak and brambles. If they can scratch it up enough to kill new growth, that would increase the amount of time before I have to hire an excavator.

 

[GCrumb]

You don't buy goats to clear brush, you rent them. People come with temporary fencing and calf-huts and set it up where you want cleared and you have goats there for a month or two. If the area is already fenced off you may be the one who gets paid to run goats on it for a few months.

 

[GCrumb]

Turkeys scratch less than chickens.

 

[fat brown hen]

You don't buy goats to clear brush, you rent them. People come with temporary fencing and calf-huts and set it up where you want cleared and you have goats there for a month or two. If the area is already fenced off you may be the one who gets paid to run goats on it for a few months.

The local company that I know of (Rent-a-Goat) is not willing to bring fewer than 450 goats (!!!!) to a job and I just don't think my neighbors would be cool with that.

 

[GCrumb]

False advertising! They should be called 'Rent-450-Goats'.

Maybe somebody more in the hobbiest line has a more reasonable number.

 

[rosemarythyme]

If they can scratch it up enough to kill new growth, that would increase the amount of time before I have to hire an excavator.

Mine just walk around things like baby blackberries (which are my invasive bramble) or anything else they find unpalatable, they can't be bothered to kill them when they can go kill grass instead.

 

[fat brown hen]

In some areas of the world chickens are used to clear growing plots of weeds and pests. They really are very good at it.

Please elaborate, @Shadrach :b

(Am I allowed to cross-quote from another thread? Quote stolen from here )