And So It Begins....

This week, I moved the chickens to the second "paddock" area, and the pigs to the third. I then took down the fencing to the first, revealing the garden area below.

Pigs and chickens use their natural abilities to work the land.
The combo panels keep in the pigs. The chicken wire keeps in the chickens.
The end result? Fluffy, tilled, picked clean gardens.

The utter destruction these two species cause in succession is startling. And for a garden, that's a good thing.

To begin with, the cow grazes the area down to the nub. The pigs follow and root and till it over, and then the chickens scratch and peck what the pigs leave behind.

The pigs enjoying the new "pasture" after I let them in the third paddock.

Backing up a few steps, you can see what they will do the new land in a few days' time.

I especially love how the pigs find and dig up rocks for me.

The chickens do a really good job smoothing the land over. Their scratching breaks apart the big clumps of dirt the pigs cavalierly toss to the side whilst in search of roots. The chickens look for (and enthusiastically eat) grubs and greens.

The chickens, after leaving behind soft, fluffy gardening space,
move on to tackle new adventures. And bugs.

Scratch on, Buff Orpington. Scratch on.

The chicken wire gets tied to the combo panels via some 17-gauge wire cuttings.

I'm waiting for another good rain to begin planting in the garden, but I'm very excited at the prospect of "the system" finally coming together. It's been months of planning, research, and cajoling Wife into allowing me to enter into this craziness careful setup to get this far.

The next step is on the way.