Chickens in the garden

[hatcherkid777]

I need some drastic help! My grandmother is fretting over destroyed pachysandras and hostas any ideas on how to keep the chickens out of the garden other than fence! NEED HELP ASAP!

 

[happyfrenchman]

I don't know about Pachysandra, but I moved some Hostas to alot of new spots in my yard where the chickens roam and at first they decimated them, but it seems they now mostly leave them alone and they have pretty much come back... I don't know why. Maybe at first it was a novelty and it wore off... the Hostas seem to be evolved to recover from some grazing. (I guess they must taste good. But the chickens nolonger seem to bother them. I hope that is the case for you.

 

[ChickNanny13]

I'm trying pin wheels, it's been 6 days and my 6 pack has not touched my plants.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

I'm trying pin wheels, it's been 6 days and my 6 pack has not touched my plants.

Chickens and gardens just don't mix. It sounds so idyllic--chickens roaming the garden, eating bugs and weeds, leaving fertilizer--but it just isn't true. Chickens will completely destroy gardens, landscaping, mulched areas, etc. Fences are really the only way to stop them. The pinwheels will stop them for a bit, but as soon as they get used to them, they'll start to ignore them. The best way to use fear deterrents like pinwheels is to move them frequently so they seem more alive and the birds don't have a chance to get used to them.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote: x2

Fences!

 

[appps]

Yeah have to agree fences seem the only real option. I've fenced the back half of my garden bed so they can roam round the Shrubs but can't dig in my seedlings or vege garden and herbs.

Fences don't have to be chicken wire and ugly. You can buy plack plastic mesh in rolls that tend to blend into the background when in the middle of a garden bed.

 

[HeatherEmme]

I use deer/bird netting around my holly bushes to keep the chickens from eating the berries. I wrapped them twice. While the hens could technically stick their beaks through the netting holes, mine do not. In fact, they now seem to ignore the bush altogether. When I first began to free range them I had to run them away from the bushes. I think they must acknowledge the obstacle and decide it would simply be easier to peck something else. Maybe you could try that too?

I also have hostas around my qoi pond. The hens have yet to peck them, but should they start to I'll just get those mini white pickett fences sold at the dollar store. They're about a foot tall and slide into the ground with thin stakes. Can easily be removed when hens go up at night or left for decoration.

DH and I have a section of the yard where we don't cut the grass as often as the rest. This is the 'chicken patch' they like to forage in it and my GLW loves to eat the seeds off of one particular type of grass when it grows tall. They spend a lot of their time here. Maybe have a pile of leaves for them to dig around in (my hens love leaves!) or sprinkle around some scratch grains in a particular section of the yard so they'll scratch around there looking for goodies....also, maybe limit the time they're ranging so they don't have as much time to get into trouble. HTH

 

[happyfrenchman]

There are alot of plants that are chicken proof... Look for plants listed as deer resistant. They don't taste good. Chickens do like to dig and scratch and I fence them out of my vegetable garden, but they don't mess with Azaleas and Gardenias and most shrubs really. They show no interest in my black eyed susans and purple coneflowers, If they are really hungry they will eat more stuff they don't really like. Daylilies are good too. Roses, Crepe myrtles... I have a fig tree and they get the low figs but that is all they can reach.