Project Overview

Reports

Commodities

Target Pests

Practices

This project will measure the diversity and abundance of nonnative plants before and after the application of chickens to study plots for varying durations.

Firsthand observations at the Project Director’s home have shown that two summers of free-ranging chickens successfully eliminated a dense stand of invasive orange hawkweed (Hieracium aurantiacum), while leaving the native fireweed (Chamerion angustifolium) meadow community intact.  This project will use controlled trials of chickens confined to a smaller space and for shorter duration to see if similar results can be achieved.  If successful, this technique could be used within integrated pest management plans and provide a viable alternative to chemical treatments of difficult to control and high priority species.

While goats are commonly used in the Western United States for invasive species control, Google Scholar and web searches indicate there have been no controlled trials using chickens.  Given Alaska’s short growing season, the cost of feeding and housing goats for 9 months so they can be utilized for vegetation management for 3 months is a barrier to widespread adoption.  By contrast, chickens have an advantage over goats, in that they could be used in the summer months for vegetation control, then meat birds could be slaughtered for food, and hens could be moved into a coop for the winter and provide eggs.  Moreover, the local community hosts many backyard chicken coops, as well as small-scale and beginning farmers, who already have chickens, which would make this management technique easily adopted.

Additionally, many of the local Alaska Native communities have chosen not to use herbicides.  This often leads to little or no invasive plant management taking place on their lands, which has trickle down effects to subsistence resources. For example, where reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea) establishes along anadromous streams, it damages salmon habitat by filling in waterways (Schake et al. 2021).  Orange hawkweed is an herbaceous plant that establishes dense monocultures and outcompetes native vegetation (Klein 2011), which can displace native berries and other plants traditionally used by Indigenous People.

If this project is successful, it will provide a widely applicable tool – from public land managers to private property owners to Indigenous communities – for an integrated pest management approach that is chemical-free and less labor-intensive than many manual and mechanical options. Currently there is high demand for such options in the small-scale agricultural communities on the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska.  If successful, it is expected that this management strategy will be widely applicable throughout the Western IPM Center’s areas of interest.

The Homer Soil and Water Conservation District (Homer SWCD) provides education and leadership in the conservation and sustainable use of soil and water-related resources through cooperative programs that protect, restore, and improve our environment.  Homer SWCD has a strong record of working collaboratively with State agencies, Indigenous communities, local farmers, and the public.  The proposed project is relatively small scale, and as such can be carried out by Homer SWCD staff; however, project findings could be applicable throughout the Western IPM Center’s priority areas.

1. Preparation (March 1 – June 4, 2023)
   1. Secure study plot location and landowner support
   2. Obtain 12 chicks
   3. Establish study grid and inventory vegetation species and density prior to applying chickens
   4. Summarize soil characteristics
   5. Build three chicken tractors at the project site
2. Implementation (June 5 – August 27, 2023)
   1. Maintain a healthy chicken population at the project site
   2. Move the chicken tractors according to pre-determined schedule
   3. Inventory vegetation species and density according to pre-determined schedule
   4. Maintain accurate and complete data collection records throughout the project
   5. Keep photographic log throughout the project
3. Assessment and Reporting (August 28, 2023 – February 29, 2024)
   1. Compare vegetation species and density before, during, and after project
   2. Summarize soil characteristics for each tractor trial
   3. Complete final report documenting all project activities and findings (to include data analysis, photographs, and a PowerPoint presentation)