Chain Link Fence Add-ons?

[lunerenne]

Hi there! I'm new

I'm not currently planning to raise chickens (at least not yet!), but my next door neighbor does, and we're separated by a chain link fence. The chickens regularly poke their heads through to my side to nibble on bugs etc. on my side of the fence. This is all fine! However, we just built a play structure for our daughter and I ordered a bunch of rubber mulch to go underneath. Only a few feet of the planned mulching area abuts the chain link fence the on the chicken run, but it occurred to me that I would hate for a chicken to poke its head through and eat a piece of rubber and get hurt! Would it be enough for me to, say, zip-tie a few pieces of cardboard or something along that section to keep the chickens from poking through where there's rubber? How high would said cardboard (or whatever) need to go? I know this won't be enough if the chickens fly over to my side, but I'd like to do my due diligence when they're where they ought to be Alas I don't have a shared language with my neighbor or I'd be having this conversation with them!

A second question is, we're doing additional landscaping projects and one of the things I'm planning is to plant a few more privacy/screening plants along the fence, but I don't know what's "chicken safe" as far as being harmful to chickens or anything like that. Any favorite shrubs or vines for chain link fence on chicken coops?

Any tips would be appreciated! Thanks in advance.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Chickens generally won't opt to eat toxic plants, so I wouldn't worry too much about what to plant, if there's something you'd really like to use.

As far as keeping their little heads from poking through the chain link, if you want to leave it open mesh you can use anything from hardware cloth to bird netting (I like this type of heavier material: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RN3LHXG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 because it's thicker and easier to cut/maneuver than the flimsy stuff) to keep them out. Or if you prefer something solid anything from wood to greenhouse panels would work. I wouldn't want to use cardboard simply because it won't last very long before it starts tattering and disintegrating, and I wouldn't want to have to reinstall it each year.

Install your barrier of choice up about a foot or two, that should be more than enough to keep them from being able to reach in and pick up anything.

 

[aart]

Eh, it would really be up to the chicken owner to control their birds.
I would be more concerned about the birds flying over that fence and into your yard,
to leave 'gifts' and tear up your landscaping.
How tall is the fence?