How To Keep Chickens Out of Flower Beds and Gardens

[Jeremy Nesmith]

Did you get a Mexican breed of chicken? I didn't think they would eat hot peppers. My wife got really mad when our girls partly destroyed our beds. They stayed in their coop till the sprinkler arrived. Works like a charm and I think after a while their little chicken brains will figure out that the sprinkler gets them every time they go near the bed. There is a number of different automatic sprinklers out there on the market a lot of them are upwards of $60 or $70 dollars this one for $33 works real good. I think the one I got on ebay thats also on Amazon is actually like $60 but almost half the price on eBay.

 

[okie-chick93]

Yeah! I think I found the exact one ur talking about because it was around $60 when I looked it up on there. But I found a different brand for $32 and it had good reviews.
I didn't think they would eat peppers either but they ate them and just left the stems It's pretty upsetting especially because I had the plant in a pot and forgot to bring it inside one night and it almost killed it. This is my 2nd year to have it also with the freeze rescue bringing it back from the dead lol. So I was thrilled seeing lots of jalapeños on it but I saw the chickens by it and a bunch stems from the jalapeños on the ground by the plant and I had to chase the chickens off with the hose. (Which they haven't come back yet this morning) so the sprinkler is harmless but scary and waters at the same time. I really see no downside to it!! can't wait to order one I only wish I had thought of it in time to save the peppers lol

 

[Jeremy Nesmith]

Now all I need is a timer on the hose that turns it on between 3 and 9 pm (there is such a thing!) which is when their automatic chicken door opens and closes. That way it won't squirt us when we walk by unless it's between those times. You would think our advanced human brains would be able to remember that buy I'm sure we'll end up getting squirted again and again!

 

[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/

 

[Aztecsue1]

Did you get a Mexican breed of chicken? I didn't think they would eat hot peppers. My wife got really mad when our girls partly destroyed our beds. They stayed in their coop till the sprinkler arrived. Works like a charm and I think after a while their little chicken brains will figure out that the sprinkler gets them every time they go near the bed. There is a number of different automatic sprinklers out there on the market a lot of them are upwards of $60 or $70 dollars this one for $33 works real good. I think the one I got on ebay thats also on Amazon is actually like $60 but almost half the price on eBay.

They can't taste "hot". However, mine don't seem to like sweet bell peppers

 

[RodNTN]

The best option IMO is a fence

 

[chickengeorgeto]

The way to enjoy flowers and free range chickens is to fence the chickens out of your flower beds. 150 or more years ago that is how all livestock was raised. The early farmers fenced in their crops while fencing out their livestock which was allowed to roam or free range at will. One problem with that system is that you had problems if you wanted to have a superior bull lets say because only the strongest and most fit bulls did 90% of the breeding. That is when it was finally realised that free range wasn't free, it had a large disadvantage built into it that wasn't acknowledged by most farmers.

 

[TeenageRooster's Dad]

lol too late for me!

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

 

[Harley Chick]

Our girls go into the garden and dig around, peck at the tomatoes and cucumbers but to be truthful they have done a great job eradicating the bugs eating our garden. I plant extra of what we eat and just know that we will lose some but overall it's working for us. Now the flower beds and mulch are a different subject They LOVE mulch and digging under our plants so like most of you I will be installing a short decorative fence to see if I can at least keep the mulch contained????? stay tuned

 

[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.