Bloody Butcher corn

One of the problems with unfenced chickens, is that they scratch the ground wherever they are able and feel obliged to.  This is my short term solution until the corn is large enough to survive chickens scratching around them.  Then I can put it up on posts and use it to give wind support to the broad beans.  This approach saves the need to fence off the area, but leaving it there too long is a mistake, because the plants it's laid down on may grow too big and make it impractical to remove.  I had this problem with potatoes last year.

Another problem is that I germinated the corn outdoors under an eave where the frost doesn't hit, so only two thirds of it has grown so far.  The rest is either still small, or is yet to sprout.  So there may be some time difference in when the corn is tasseling and cross-pollinating.

Corn var. Bloody Butcher