Jessi Bloom > Quotes

“Atop the coop is a “green roof” covered with selected plants like sedums and hens and chicks (Sempervivum tectorum), and a nearby bog garden has carnivorous plants that eat any flies coming from the coop area.”
― Jessi Bloom, Free-Range Chicken Gardens: How to Create a Beautiful, Chicken-Friendly Yard

“By letting your chickens free range, you allow them to choose and eat what they need. Not all chickens make the best choices, but if given the chance, most will learn to eat only what they need. Chickens thrive on variety.”
― Jessi Bloom, Free-Range Chicken Gardens: How to Create a Beautiful, Chicken-Friendly Yard

“Clover (Trifolium species) has been called one of the best all-around feeds for animals because of the high nutrient value. And it also is a legume, so it fixes nitrogen in the soil naturally. Clover is also an important nectar source for bees and a host of other pollinating insects. There are several types of clovers, including white Dutch clover (Trifolium repens), which is low growing and requires less mowing than a conventional lawn, making it a great addition to eco-turf seed mixes. Clover is also good to use in seed mixtures with grain as a companion plant because it loosens subsoils and makes more nutrients available”
― Jessi Bloom, Free-Range Chicken Gardens: How to Create a Beautiful, Chicken-Friendly Yard

“Hens love to snack on sunflowers.”
― Jessi Bloom, Free-Range Chicken Gardens: How to Create a Beautiful, Chicken-Friendly Yard

“a simple chicken emergency kit A simple chicken emergency kit should include: STYPTIC POWDER. To help blood clot, use cornstarch or flour, or use Kwik Stop which can be found at most pet stores. ANTIBIOTIC OINTMENT. Be sure to buy a product intended for animal use. VET WRAP. This bandage clings to itself and inhibits bleeding without cutting off circulation. HYDROGEN PEROXIDE. Use this to wash wounds. STERILE GLOVES. STERILE COTTON BALLS AND SWABS. Use these to help clean and dry wounds. TOWEL. You can wrap the bird in this for safe handling. LIST OF VETERINARIAN PHONE NUMBERS to call in an emergency.”
― Jessi Bloom, Free-Range Chicken Gardens: How to Create a Beautiful, Chicken-Friendly Yard

“tip Use colored leg bands to keep track of different aged chickens of the same breed.”
― Jessi Bloom, Free-Range Chicken Gardens: How to Create a Beautiful, Chicken-Friendly Yard

“Consider growing an eco-friendly lawn, instead of the conventional, perfect lawn, to keep your hens and soil their healthiest. Ecological seed mixes, which you can get at your local retail nursery or feed store, contain a variety of plant types, many of which might be considered weeds to a gardener who prefers a perfect monocrop of grass blades, but are an excellent, diverse source of greens for chickens to forage. An eco-lawn requires less maintenance such as mowing, and requires fewer resources like water and fertilizers. Clover, one of the most important plants found in eco-seed mixes, fixes nitrogen naturally in the soil and eliminates the need for fertilizers.”
― Jessi Bloom, Free-Range Chicken Gardens: How to Create a Beautiful, Chicken-Friendly Yard

“While lawn is often an unnecessary element in many gardens, it is actually an important design element to consider for a garden with free-range chickens. Chickens and organically maintained lawns will have a good symbiotic relationship if they are managed well. Chickens graze on the grass blades as a choice food source for greens, which can also be collected and dried for food. Chickens will keep the lawn mowed, so to speak, because they will make the lawn a frequent stop in their daily foraging. Chickens will search out and eat insects in lawns, and leave behind their manure, which is an excellent fertilizer for lawns. The height of your lawn is critical: the blades need to be long enough to photosynthesize in order to be healthy and grow—3 inches is ideal; and chickens prefer a certain height of grass blade—5 to 6 inches is too tall for them to graze, and letting them graze below 2 inches can damage the grass. So for chicken foraging, it is best to keep your lawn about 3 to 4 inches, which may be a bit longer than you are used to cutting it, but the turf will be healthier and withstand the chicken’s grazing better.”
― Jessi Bloom, Free-Range Chicken Gardens: How to Create a Beautiful, Chicken-Friendly Yard

“sunflower Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) are a garden classic that produce tasty, nutritious seeds for you and your flock. With many varieties to choose from, this annual plant is easy to grow in just about any garden. Be sure to plant them in an area with full sun and well-drained soil. And remember that many varieties will grow very tall, creating shade to the north of them, so plant them in the northernmost part of your garden or where you need to create shade. Chickens love to eat sunflowers straight from the heads. If you want to save them for your family, when the leaves turn brown simply cut the head with a few inches of stem so you can hang them in a dry place like the garage, much like you would for garlic or onions. You can leave them on the stem in the garden, but you may need to put netting around the heads as protection since wild birds and squirrels also love sunflower seeds. Oil can also be rendered from the seeds, and the stalks and leaves can be used as chicken bedding or composted into mulch.”
― Jessi Bloom, Free-Range Chicken Gardens: How to Create a Beautiful, Chicken-Friendly Yard

“shelter plants for chicken gardens CANE BERRIES: Blackberry, raspberry, salmonberry (Rubus species). This genus contains many deciduous shrubs or cane plants with upright branches, berries, and thorns. Cultural conditions vary with each variety. Zones 4–8.”
― Jessi Bloom, Free-Range Chicken Gardens: How to Create a Beautiful, Chicken-Friendly Yard