Best way to keep chickens out of our garden?

[Homesteader82]

Hi,

We are in the research phase of raising chickens. We're in a rural town; we garden and have several raised beds.

1. What are some suggestions on how to keep them out? Putting a fence around the area may be a little difficult with how the beds are laid out and ease of access for us might be a problem. We're open to suggestions though.
2. Do they pose a problem once the plants are established? We grow about 20 different plants.

 

[PirateGirl]

So just some posts at the corners of your boxes will allow you to string up a bit of fencing.

 

[TheAmundsons]

I think free ranging is each individual's choice. We have 10 acres or land, and half of it is wooded. Our coop and enclosed run are on the treeline. We let our chickens and ducks free range every day, unless we have seen a predator, or signs of a predator. We let them free range when we are gone, and have yet to lose a bird (yes, we are lucky). We have them for eggs, and will cull some soon for freezer camp. We won't be heartbroken if a few end up missing, so it's a risk we choose to take. Some people prefer to know their birds are 100% (or as close as you can get) protected from predators. I think it's totally up to you! If you only want to let them free range while you are out with them, that is perfectly fine! Just know there will always be the possibility that there is something lurking in the woods waiting for a quick meal.

Best of luck with keeping them out of your garden! We just have a small garden, that they haven't seemed to bother at all. I don't know how or why! We are hoping to establish a much better garden in the next few years, and that will have protection from chickens!

 

[feathermaid]

Basically there is no easy solution for any chicken keeping, it's all trial and error and figuring out what works in your situation, and whether you're willing to take risks and accept losses... either the chickens or your garden plants.

Loose chickens are always at risk for predator attacks. I've heard of foxes or hawks being so bold and taking birds right in front of people as they were supervising. Stray dogs are among the most dangerous attackers and will break through chicken wire or any netting. Electric fencing is probably the most effective deterrent, for both predators and keeping chickens contained.

I'm in the suburbs surrounded by 6' fencing so I don't see many predators. My girls have their coop and run and their own fenced yard with no vegetation. I'll let them in my backyard all day after my plants have died down in fall and winter, but I have to give them very limited access in spring and summer. Otherwise...

they take over everything.

before: after:

They also enjoy scissoring all the leaves off my favorite coral bells, scratching my ornamental grasses, groundcovers and most flowers down to the dirt, and plucking ripe (or unripe) blueberries, strawberries and tomatoes. Every other available veggie gets pecked or half eaten and my bark mulch, gravel and river rocks get nicely all mixed together. And I only have 4 chickens! Now I don't know if that's the cost of free bug control, or if they just enjoy destroying stuff. It may be in the eye of the beholder.

I'm still figuring out how to save my tender plants and let them loose as often as possible, as they can do a lot of damage in a short time. But they have plenty of space in their own yard and I always toss weeds, grass clippings and other scraps in the compost bin, which is also in their area. I think they find enough bugs and worms in the compost and also by digging through the deep mulch in their yard.

I thinks it just depends how tidy you want to keep your garden space, and how concerned you are about predators. Good luck!

 

[Maugwa]

I personally think they would be fine if you were out there with them. I'm not sure how big your wooded area is, but it would be best to keep them out of there if possible to prevent attacks. We live in a community, and have a little over half an acre fully fenced that we allow them to roam when we're home. When we are away they stay in their run.
I think teaching your kids about chores and raising chickens is wonderful!

Good dogs are a tremendous help here. I grew up on a very large ranch, 24k acres. Our nearest neighbor lived seven miles away, and the next was 14 miles. The nearest town of 80 people was 25 miles, and the "big town" 4800 people, was 45 miles. There were idk, maybe 100 chickens that roamed the corrals and outbuildings and structures, etc. but they hardly ever ventured off more than a few hundred yards into the sagebrush and prairie. There were usually five or six dogs around too. I didn't even know what a chicken run was until I was in my 20s. I think every other rancher we knew had chickens and chicken coups but not runs. They all had dogs though. As far as I knew as a kid, a dog that couldn't be broke of killing chickens only lived a short life. Once in a while something would get a chicken, but not as many as you would think. There were plenty of predators too. In the evenings after a BBQ, it was common to whip up a spotlight and pop coyotes from the back porch. But all the critters around pretty much stayed away from our dogs all day, and our chickens, ducks, turkeys, geese, guinea, and peacocks were in bed with doors all shut, or high in trees after dark. Like I said, we did lose a few birds, but not that many, and there were always more than enough chicks in the spring to make up for a lot more than we lost in a year, and put plenty in the freezer too. I think without those dogs, our birds wouldn't have lasted a month.

Now, 50 some years later, I'm a chicken herder a few miles from town. I have 2 acres fenced 6', some privacy fence, and some chain link, and 18 more acres, barbed wire for a horse. But in that 2 acre back yard chicken pasture is also a big 100+ lb Red Bone Coon Hound who doesn't mind chickens roosting on him when he takes a nap, but he hates coons, squirrels, cats, coyotes, and all those kind of furry intruders, and trees them all until I call him off. He jumps up and runs to see what they see when he hears excited chicken noises, and I have no problems with those critters in the daytime, or all night when it's warm out. I have had to go out occasionally and see what has been treed, but now they avoid my back yard. The chickens, even the rooster, tend to stay near where the dog is like they know he brings safety, but if he barks alarm, like a strange car in the drive, those chickens find cover, usually back in their run or under the back deck. At night my chickens are shut in safe, and when it's cold, I let the dog in the house after the chicken door is shut. In the last year, I've lost one chicken to a hawk. The dog was there, but just a few seconds late, or he'd of had his first hawk. A good dog like that is better than many fences in some situations. He is friendly too and likes people that I talk to, but I don't think you'd want to be sneaking around my backyard or shop if nobody were home and he didn't know you.

I often leave the gate open and let the chickens roam in the horse pasture when I'm home too, I don't need to watch the chickens too close then either, that's my dog's job. If I hear him onto something, (a coon hound, well any dog, but especially coon hounds, have very distinct different barking voices, for chasing, up in the tree, scary, hello, fight's on, car coming, etc.), my job is choosing the right firearm I need to go investigate with when I hear the wrong kind of barking. He hardly ever barks, but when he does, there is always a good reason, even if it's a snake or turtle or something, or I play a squirrel clip from Youtube on tv.

 

[kmom08]

I use chicken wire around my beds, and grow marigolds and other edibles for them around it. They will be attracted to anything red, so if you grow tomatoes they will steal them off the vine and devour them if you don't have a barrier to keep them out.

 

[Gray Farms]

Your going to have to put up a physical barrier of some kind. They will pick at your plants from sprouting to harvest. They'll do a number on your vegetables as well once they get set on.

 

[Henry&Friends]

Half of our property is wooded and half is lawn (2 acres total). The coop is going to go into the wooded area (it's fairly open in there, but shaded); would I be better off fencing an area for them to "free" roam in the woods instead of coming onto our property?

We did this with our flock, but woodland animals will pick off your chickens, and if something happens you gotta be ready to run through both the lawn and then the forest too, which doesn’t seem like much but those 20-or-so seconds could be the difference between a living and dead hen.

 

[Henry&Friends]

What I'm trying to say is, if I wanted the chickens out of a few hours a day while we were out, would it be fine to let them road in that loose fenced in area? Their actual coop and permanent run would be protected on all sides.

I would advise against leaving them unattended in the forested area, because animals will try to kill them, and fencing them in is just leaving a free buffet for anything that can get in when the chickens can’t get out. If you’re making a big run for them, you might be able to have it right on the edge of the lawn and forest, so you can keep an eye on them and get there quickly if troubles arise.

 

[Tsheaby]

Hi,

We are in the research phase of raising chickens. We're in a rural town; we garden and have several raised beds.

1. What are some suggestions on how to keep them out? Putting a fence around the area may be a little difficult with how the beds are laid out and ease of access for us might be a problem. We're open to suggestions though.
2. Do they pose a problem once the plants are established? We grow about 20 different plants.

I used deer netting! They kept kicking up our seeds and eating all the veggies