How To Keep Chickens Out of Flower Beds and Gardens

[katygirl]

We are using a green snow fence around out vegetable garden, not the prettiest thing, but at first you can't see it because it blends in with the green trees and grass. Chickens have toast my hostas, have an 18 inch fence around the flower bed, but they just go over it. So frustrated.

 

[hammytammy]

Mary
How Cute!!
mine eat the blueberries straight off the bush!!

 

[blackbelt]

Ya my girls got into trouble they ate about a dozen or more tomatoes this past year, along with my broccoli. So no more free range until I figure out how to protect my crop. Just in closing I figured I'd let them out and try again after my growing season was over, they tore up my bulb garden and the flower beds. Ya got to love em. I love my homestead.

 

[mommabasey]

My husband and I bought our house with the chickens and 1 duck and we have not had a problem till we started letting them out to roam all day. Now they get in my flower beds and yesterday I found them in our front yard by the road had to run out and shew them away to the back yard I am going to try waiting till the evening about 2hrs before sundown and see if that helps if not we are going to make a fenced in area to keep them in for foraging

 

[oopsadazy27]

I was hoping someone would have an amazing, easy, cheap idea. Alas, there have been none. I will share what I did last year. I put up a fence that was about four feet high. I used hog paneling upside down so the smaller holes were at the bottom (my little bantam can get through almost anything). I used metal fence posts that are about 6 high. Then I strung a single electric wire around the top (about three inches above the top of the fence). I lit it up with a battery charged fencer. I had one lady fly up and land on the fence. The wire caught her at the legs and she jumped back down quickly. She must have shared the information with the other hens, because I didn't have another one even try. I turned the power off after 1.5 weeks because they weren't even trying to get in. I guess I will plan on doing the same thing this year! Good luck all!

 

[lazy gardener]

You can buy a 100' L x 7' H roll of deer fencing, use a pair of scissors to cut it in half (easily cut straight through the whole roll) so you'll end up with 200' of fencing. Use a bunch of fiberglass posts to weave through the fencing, some bent wire U staples, or tent pegs as needed to keep it down at the bottom, and clothes pins to keep it up on the posts. Very inexpensive. Very easy to take down at the end of the season. The chickens can't see the top of it, so they get very perplexed. They will spend a week or so ramming into it, but won't even think to try to fly over it. (at least that's been my experience.) The only draw back that I can see, is that you have to be pro-active about grass and weeds growing up through it, or you'll have a difficult clean up job at the end of the season. One plus regarding deer fencing: it's practically invisible, so doesn't clutter up the visual appeal of your yard.

 

[nursepinch]

Here is a pic of my set-up at my old house: It is 4' chicken wire and t-posts. What you can't see in the pic is the "gate" at the wood fence side. We made a pole gate, so where the chicken wire ends, we cut it a little long, and wrapped the end of the wire around a wood pole. Then a wire loop in the top and bottom of the wood fence, and the pole went through the loop at the bottom, the loop at the top pulled over it, and it held the wire snug, yet was easy to get in and out. The last section of the fence could then be pulled open back to the first t-post, so I could get the mower in and mow around the raised beds (after this pic was taken, I added a third raised bed between the two that are there above). You can also see the compost bin sitting just outside the vegie garden. Although the chooks loved to jump up onto the compost bin, and it would have a been an easy "jump" from there into the garden, it never occurred to them. I had this set up for three years, and at the end of each season, I would open the gate all the way up and let them in there to clean up for me and fertilize for the following year.

 

[MyChickSheila]

I put ornamental stones (big enough the chickens can't scratch them out) around my plants and plant strong smelling herbs in amongst my flowers. Some of my chickens are much more determined than the others but so far they've not completely destroyed my potted plants.

 

[appps]

I use chicken wire, but on the ground rather than as a fence. I just cut holes so I can fit it round my shrubs and the chickens just scratch elsewhere.

 

[mommabasey]

Now that we have done our spring cleaning on their coop pulling out the top layer of dirt and mixed up the good dirt they tend to spend more time in their coop even with the door open and stay our of my flower beds.