How To Keep Chickens Out of Flower Beds and Gardens

[TeenageRooster's Dad]

lol too late for me!

This used to be a flourishing basil bush... now there's a chicken in it.

 

[MIChickandGuinea]

I am not fond of chicken landscaping. They seem to think that the wood chips look much better kicked out onto the sidewalk than sitting in the foundation gardens around the house. I am actually thinking of building a much bigger run for the chickens this summer so that they can be comfy and happy in their “chicken yard” most of the day. They are so joyful free ranging, but they make my yard look like hillbilly hell, with the sidewalks covered with wood chips they kicked out of the gardens and dirt/grass they kicked out of the yard, not to mention chicken poop all over the porches. They loooooooove us and want to hang out as close to us as possible

 

[ChickenTender63]

Well, I'm sorry about your dilema. I have had the same issue last summer.
I set out 75 tomato plants last year and I ended up having less than 1 dozen
Tomatoes for us to eat. I had some of the nicest tomato plants I have had in
20 years, but I wasn't able to keep the chickens out of em.

The only solution I have found that will actually work is to install a fence. I
Don't think rubber snakes would work as my chickens love to go after snakes
And kill them, so that may just be an invitation to come on in. I'm not real fond
Of the stake method either, as I just feel someone may get hurt, and I'm not
Comfortable with that. Not really sure what the vinegar would do, but I just
Don't see that being an effective deterent.

I think your only 3 viable options that will really work are going to be:

Install a fence
Keep the chickens contained within the coop except for evening when you can gaurd the garden
Either don't plant a garden, or, get rid of the chickens

If your like me, the last one is not an option, so I opted for the second option
Because it was more feasable to implement. I keep them contained until I can
Be out there with them to shoo them out of the garden.

Good luck with what ever direction you go.

CT

 

[A.T. Hagan]

You can fence one in or the other out. It's the only way that works that I know of.

.....Alan.

 

[Saharr1]

as a temp fix I put plastic forks at a 45 deg angle facing out on the raised beds, when they look up they see an overhanging edge, I am sure they will figure it out will let you know

 

[ojust4today]

I found this link desperately searching for a way to have a flower garden and free range hens without the mess. I believe it is in expensive and purposeful to the task. Will let you know how it goes. Plan to put it together as soon as I can. Lots of comments provided with further insight.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/blog.m...-your-chickens-from-scattering-the-mulch/amp/

 

[RustyBucketFarmGirl]

This year I'd like to make a success of both my free range chickens AND my flower gardens!

I've heard these things can keep chickens away. Has anyone had luck with any of these methods??

1. Planting rubber snakes in the bed to scare the chickens
2. Sprinkling cayenne or chili powder
3. Sticking 12-inch wooden kabob sticks with sharp ends pointed up around each new plant (supposedly the chickens hate being poked and will leave the flowers alone)
4. Putting vinegar around the perimeter of the bed

So i have not heard of the cayenne and chilli pepper. I was told to use those things in wild bird seed years ago to keep dogs and pests from wasting the bird food as wild birds don’t have a sense of taste sonit only bothers those that you would want to keep out. I figured the same sense of taste applied to chickens so that’s not one i have tried.

When i am home i try to water the beds a bit. They definitely don’t like the hose or being squirted and that seems to help.

They definitely ate the hostas that were planted near the coop but the ones up closer to the house they leave alone. I try to plant enough for them near the coop to keep them occupied. They do still however like to get into the mulch and fling it out of the beds which drives my husband insane!

I did make them a dust bath in an old tire and that seems to have helped so far.

 

[Akane]

Unless the object you are using to scare them moves and changes they will eventually get used to anything. Chickens don't have the ability to taste spicy things so they won't even notice pepper. That only works for dogs and cats. Vinegar probably doesn't bother them either. I know a few people have installed netting or hardware cloth around the plants to stop the chickens scratching them up. Eventually they even give up if they can't scratch and dust bathe in an area. If your problem is pecking plants then fencing the plants or chickens is probably the only guranteed way.

 

[Willow's Meadow]

put a fence up?

 

[they'reHISchickens]

Joy, I'd worry more about the chicken poo on bare feet
Ours wander over and through the 2 ft high flower pots, try to come in our house, hide under the cars, the front porch
I've had them jump up on sawhorses I was working on just to see what I was doing!