Hire a chook

Four professional chicks for hire. Pecking bugs. Scratching weeds. Bork bork bork.

What the heck is this all about?

Well, friends, maybe you have an absolute wasteland of a garden. What should you do? Maybe you can make chickens do the hard work for you.

Everyone has joked about setting your garden on fire or spraying toxic chemicals. Maybe your dodgy uncle Keith knows a guy who puts wire in his line trimmer and douses everything in diesel afterwards. You’ve held off these insane methods for good reason. Now try our insane method.

We introduce an eco friendly, cheap, low effort solution to all of your overgrown problems: chickens. Egg producing, weed eating, spider consuming chickens. They will leave nothing in their wake, except an egg or two.

What do chickens do?

Left for long enough, chickens will destroy and leave your patch of land bare. Left for a little while, they will stop you from needing to weedeat your section, and will keep scratching up small weed trees. Left in a vege bed, in a controlled setting, they will turn over and poop all through your soil, leaving it fertilised and bare. You get the picture!

Chickens will eat:

• Oxalis bulbs

• Tradescantia (wandering willie)

• Grass, most weeds, pretty much anything in their wake

• Spiders, larvae. Grass grub (but the grass will be an absolute mess after)

Chickens will scratch up and expose:

• Blackberry roots

• Convolvulous roots

• Well… all roots!

Chickens will destroy and leave your patch of land bare. You get the picture!

Ok, ok, ok. How does this work?

A chicken wrangler will set up everything the chickens need for an enjoyable day of hard work (access to water, shade, laying boxes). They will leave the (rather cute, GPS tracked) chickens to do their thing.

At the end of the chicken’s visit, the wrangler will take everything away, chickens included. You will have cleared land, yay!

How much does this cost?

Vege bed cleanup- this depends on your location and the area you would like cleared. Anticipate $50-100. This service is preferably performed on the weekend.

$140 per day (8am-5pm) for two chickens in a maximum fence area of 21m2. Four chickens at a time by arrangement ($190/day).
$70/day for additional days, if we are able to leave the fencing up overnight (the chickens go home every night and return in the morning)

Travel costs added if you live outside of Wellington City. We service the entire Wellington region.

I’m an existing client, or I am booking other gardening work. Does this change things?

Yes! We can bring the chickens to you as a part of your usual visit. We just need you to cover any additional time/expenses (set up, pack down, taking them home afterwards).

Quickfire Q&A

Eggs?!

You can keep any eggs they lay while at your property. We bring their nesting boxes, so they feel safe and are able to carry out their usual routine, so they won’t be hidden in the garden. We do not guarantee that they will lay for you but they are daily layers. We do not usually have spare eggs for sale but you are welcome to check.

Can I feed them other green waste?

Yes, of course. It will slow down anything else you have hired them to do. Please don’t feed them kitchen scraps or anything else without checking first. Lots of things can hurt a chicken’s tummy.

Is this stressful for the chickens?

These chickens are very well looked after and well suited for this work. We will only visit if this helps them to live their best life (and for you to live yours!). They are rescue chickens, we do not contribute to chicken breeding, egg or meat industries. If you have had chickens before, you may have other specific questions, ask away!

Terms and conditions

• We have to be able to set up the fencing in a way which is secure for the chickens. Complex sites (very hilly, rocky, or full of trees) may incur an additional fee.

• We must ensure the chickens are safe. This is something we will actively confirm ourselves before booking the job.

• Every job is quoted individually and depends on every site. We reserve the right to alter our rates to reflect your particular situation.

• If your land area has general waste (rubbish) in it then we may ask for it to be removed prior to our visit.

• We are more than happy to dig out whatever the chickens are unable to destroy- convolvulous, blackberry, shrubs and trees- this is charged at our usual hourly rate.

• Chickens eat what they choose to eat, and destroy what they choose to destroy. Desireable plants need to be removed or protected; do not anticipate all of the weeds to be removed unless you book them for a solid period of time. We do not guarantee that the chickens will do what you want them to do, we only guarantee that they will tear up your land and eat what they find appropriate.