Chickens
Chickens are a great pet to have in your garden; they're useful in many ways.
Egglaying is usually why people have chickens, of course, but they are great
for turning kitchen scraps into fertilizer. If you're happy to let them have
the run of your garden some of the time, they'll do some pest control too.
Unfortunately, they can also dig up your plants, or even eat them, so do fence off your
vegeatables.
If egglaying is your main reason for having chickens, then I'd recommend Isa Browns,
as they are one of the best egglayers around, at least here in Australia. They are
also intelligent, friendly birds.
Sometimes they are almost too friendly, especially when you are trying to dig the
garden and pull up weeds. My two have nearly lost their heads countless times,
because of sticking them into the hole I was digging. They know where the worms
come from!
Chicken manure is great for adding nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium to your garden,
and when they are running around freely, it gets naturally spread about. Remember,
though, that it is very strong, and should be dried out before being spread around
the garden if you're collecting it from a pen. Chicken manure is
stronger in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium than cow and
horse manure.
Another way of using it, although very smelly, is to put a spadeful of manure into a
bucket of water. You can also add some weeds to the mix. In a couple of weeks,
the weeds will be dead, and you'll have some very dark brown water.
This is too strong to be used on your plants as it is, but a mixture of 3 parts water
to 1 part brew is fine. Just water your plants with it, taking care to put the water
on the ground, not on the leaves. Your plants will really appreciate the meal.