The strawberry plants are dormant right now, taking a break for the winter and getting ready for the spring. This is last years crop, which we will harvest again this spring and then plant a new crop to replace it on another part of the farm. Last year, we put the chickens on some old strawberry beds to scratch away the leaf debris, so that we could remove the woven plastic mulch. As we moved them down the field, where they had been the week previously, the strawberry crowns regrew. So I am thinking that I will try that for a very short period of time on this years crop. It will make the berries easier to pick and increase airflow around the plants reducing the risk of disease. My concern is that if it rains heavily, we will not be able to move the chicken houses and the chickens could cause damage to the plants and the future crop. Farming is a gamble, I have no need to go to Vegas, I gamble every day on the farm... Nigel