Chickens 'diggin' the mulch!

[jynnjynn]

your best option is to just put a little fence up to keep them out. both ammonia and vinegar water are likely to harm your plants and probably wouldn't keep the chickens out anyway.

 

[Autumnchicken]

My girls love my mulch. The upside to this is they eat all the box elder bugs in the mulch and for the past year I don't have any bugs in the house. Then everyday I have my son sweep up the mulch. Once I plant flowers or other plants my girls go back to their fenced area for the next few months and don't come out until fall. I figure its a way we can both share the yard over the year.

 

[allpeepedout]

Go bare! There was gardening and fabulous flower beds before mulching madness took over.

Get a good hoe, keep it super sharp, and simply drag the blade over the surface each week to keep beds clear. Excessive use of mulch is implicated in loss of native honey bee habitat (ground dwellers) and is contributing greatly to the loss of old Cypress groves. The mulched look is a style, and yes it's nice, and has some benefits. Or try alternative material -- rock.

 

[huckleberryfarm]

Yep. They will destroy the mulched beds. It's like a magnet. As far as going bare.... mine scratched all the way down to the roots on my roses. Ugh! They're quick about it too!