I regularly pick a stem or two of basil for my chickens. I was surprised when I snapped one off and came away with two little tree frogs. Oops! So I still have garden guardians, they are just tucked under basil leaves. I shook them back into the garden to keep guarding before taking the basil to the chickens.

I’ve found my best way to give the chickens the basil is to wedge it in a hole in their swing. I have drilled holes in the ends of the wooden board, and I push the fresh basil up through the bottom, and an old dried stem down through the top to lock the stems in place so the hens can pull off the leaves easily.