It was a lot. lol. When was your last frost date? How long is your growing season? Luffa takes off well if it has full sun and a good amount of even moisture. I used to grow it out of my greywater trench. It was insane with the moisture and full sun. They do sprout pretty easily...I've always had a 100% germination rate. Once the fruits start forming, that is when the real patience is needed. It takes them a LONG time to ripen / dry. Without knowing your frost dates it's hard for me to tell if you'll have enough time. I planted ours in spring for us so around April 20th and here it is Oct 27th and only about half are ripe/dry. They do require a long season. I hope that helps to give you a bit of an idea.

As for the chickens, we had a lush area for them all year but now that it is fall the grass dies back and we don't get grass in winter unless we plant an annual grass which is what I did. :) Winter rye. They'll love it. :) Ah yes, keeping chickens out of the garden....always an interesting task. ;)