Best way to keep chickens out of our garden?

[Shanny123]

View attachment 1723583

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

Thank you for showing us how you put that barrier up around your garden boxes. Very helpful!! Thanks!

 

[Chickengene]

How do most people let their chickens run free for a few hours while they are out working?

Basically, I want chickens for the eggs and to teach our kids about taking care of animals and to have chores outside. We want the chickens to be able to roam around while we are outside, if we go inside, we'd have them go into their closed off pen. I'd love for them to take care of the slugs, bugs and tickets while they are out.

I think most missed your point. Most predators are hunting just before dawn and just after dusk. They also do not like open areas. Most will also try to shy away from human presence.
If you are planning to be working in the yard near the woodlot you and your birds shine reasonably safe.

 

[Chickengene]

I've done the complete opposite. I've allowed them to run crazy in my garden and they have been the best gardeners ever. My garden was getting a bit overgrown and now it's actually the neatest, most weed free it's ever been.
Okay, sometimes their gardening techniques are a bit haphazard and the 'flower beds' do resemble tattie fields, but my girls are earning their keep. The grass has been pecked short, the weeds are cleared, the soil has been dug and tilled and fertilised, snails and slugs have been attacked. My more established plants, peonies and crocrosmia are shooting up, despite the chicken onslaught.
Now I just have to train my chickens to use the hedge trimmer and we'll be laughing.

How big did your plants have to be to survive the chicken farmers?
I have a fenced garden area but lots of new planting all around the property.

 

[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.

 

[Shanny123]

What a wonderful dog! And thank you for describing where you grew up and how that lifestyle was for the dogs and the chickens. I enjoyed hearing about it. Your current place sounds wonderful too. Your dog is awesome! Good helper! Thanks!

 

[ChickenFlamingo]

How big did your plants have to be to survive the chicken farmers?
I have a fenced garden area but lots of new planting all around the property.

My perennials such as peonies and Shasta Daisies are growing from the roots and by and large my hens have left them alone, ditto my daffodils because they don't eat them. They do take a bit of a beating when the hens are digging for bugs, but things are growing.
However, there are plants that they love. My perennial cornflowers appear to be a delicacy and my hens are keeping those well trimmed. It will be interesting to see if they flower.
Sprouting seeds don't stand a chance though, and I will keep the hens away from my planters and tubs of annuals.
I should point out I only have three hens and they are not out permanently. A larger flock would decimate the area. But I am happy with the 'gardening' my hens are doing, they certainly keep the weeds down, even in my gravel paths.

 

[Chickengene]

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.

Great story and good dog..
I have had several of those "good" dogs in my lifetime.
I am sorry to admit I do not have a "good" dog at this time. Although I THINK he will/is barking at the occasional skunk, stray cat, possum or racoons, I cannot tell for sure because he also barks at my cows when they walk along the fence, and if a neighbor a mile awsacloses his car door a bit too hard. But he won't tell me that the UPS truck or the Jehovah's Witnesses pulled into the drive or are on the porch. Until they knock the he goes ballistic and can't be made to shut up with a few choose cus words.
The only thing possibly good about him is his disdain for other animals.
Unless an animal is aggressive toward him, he just ignores them. Which is good for the chickens,ducks, rabbits and my scurry of squirrels.

 

[Chickengene]

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...
View attachment 1727279
they take over everything.

before:View attachment 1727273 after:View attachment 1727274

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!

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...
View attachment 1727279
they take over everything.

before:View attachment 1727273 after:View attachment 1727274

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!

My wife has planted little parcels of every flower she could find that are known to attract hummingbird, butterfly and bees. I got her a roll of welded wire fencing which she cut, well, had me cut, to fit each particular parcel. Then she rounded it over to creat a tunnel. Soon as the seedlings are a certain size she removes the wire tunnel and let's the birds weed and cultivate. Seems to work pretty good.
I guess I am blessed in the fact my hens are too lazy or too cautious to jump up into my raised beds.

 

[RUNuts]

How do most people let their chickens run free for a few hours while they are out working?

Basically, I want chickens for the eggs and to teach our kids about taking care of animals and to have chores outside. We want the chickens to be able to roam around while we are outside, if we go inside, we'd have them go into their closed off pen. I'd love for them to take care of the slugs, bugs and tickets while they are out.

How much predator pressure do you have? How much disruption will you tolerate? Find your happy place.

I use 6' fencing to corral the birds and the dogs and the garden. Would love to let them mingle. Some have a high prey drive. I want the garden even if no one else does. I'm also in a neighborhood and deal with those limits. Not by choice at this point, but it was a good idea at the time. Find your solution. You've gotten some good insight on how others have solved this issue. So find your happy place.

 

[SW31]

I use the plastic stakes for fitting electric wires as they’re cheap. I put the stakes all around the garden beds I want to protect. Because they have several ‘hooks’ on each stake I can then take ordinary garden plastic type wire and wind this through the hooks so that after three or four strands it creates a barrier to the hens.
I leave part of one bed free so that the hens have somewhere to dust bathe. When the dahlias are fully grown I’ll let the hens use one of the dahlia beds as well as the larger plants will also shade the hens in summer. It’s all a bit of a compromise.