Fence ideas

[Erin K]

So my chickens have a small coop with a small run. They get to be out every day all day. But they are tearing my yard up. I mean digging a million holes and generally driving us all insane. It is a chicken wasteland.

So I want to put two stretches of fence, connecting to the house and the existing safety fence around our pool. I don't need this fence to keep anything out, just chickens in. And if they get out it is not the end of the world, I'm just trying to define their area. (which will still be huge, we just want to take back some of our yard and patio)

I'm thinking then it doesn't really matter what material I use, I have some of the plastic chicken "wire" stuff that used to be on my coop, which I replaced. I like the idea of that because my kids won't be hurt by the raw edges.

I'm looking for ideas. I need easy and cheap. Doesn't really need a door, the pool fence thing has several access points so I can use that.

What do you use for fence posts? I mean so it is not all floppy... Will the chickens themselves dig under a fence?

Do your chickens tear up your yard so much? I had visions of them selecting a spot for the dust baths and sort of scratching some. It is a WASTELAND back there. I think my husband is going to eat my chickens if I cannot solve this problem.

 

[Farmettehopeful]

I don't have any helpful suggestions but am very curious at the responses that I hope you get. This will be my first year and I'm only getting 3 so I'm hoping they don't tear up the yard too much! How many do you have??
I'm still undecided on getting cheap chicken fence and posts so that they have a decent sized area that can be moved around every couple of days or fencing the whole yard for them to share with my 3 dogs-yikes! lol.

 

[tyjaco]

I recently had to add soem space for my girls, but I have experienced the "tearing the yard apart" thing, and I didn't want that again. And I'm not wealthy, so it had to be cheap (and only temporary as I'm building a new permanent, large coop/run).

I found some fiberglass, step in "T-posts" and I used plastic poultry fencing (cheap!). I zip tied the fencing to the posts, and I can move it anywhere I want - very easily.

My girls don't dig under, although they could if they wanted to, I think. I have one who like to fly over it, so I clipped her wings last night.
I'm mean

 

[tyjaco]

and yes...they ARE very destructive.
I too thought they would pick a favorite spot and stick to it.
NOPE! The worst was when I made the mistake of giving them treats on the back deck.
Never again - that ended up being their "hang out and wait for treats" spot.
chicken poo EVERYWHERE...

 

[Erin K]

and yes...they ARE very destructive.
I too thought they would pick a favorite spot and stick to it.
NOPE! The worst was when I made the mistake of giving them treats on the back deck.
Never again - that ended up being their "hang out and wait for treats" spot.
chicken poo EVERYWHERE...

Yup, we have been lazy and putting treats on the patio... sooo much poo.

I'm going to try your idea, that sounds perfect. Just make them a nice area and let them destroy that to their little hearts content.

Thanks!

Oh and Farmettehopeful: I have 5 right now, but I just got two, the 3 of them did the mess. I have friends with more chickens who leave their yard mostly alone. I don't know why mine are so bent on destruction. Maybe I had a huge infestation of some underground bugs or something?

 

[Erin K]

I got the step in fence posts, they are perfect for what I needed. I used a mix of plastic I bought and plastic I had, so all in all it is a mess looking,but if it works I'm happy! I made it nice and big, I hope they are happy. Oddly, the area I fenced in for them, the area right around their coop, they have left largely alone. I suspect it is because that is not where I have throwing treats, I'll have to retrain them.

 

[lilchick]

I often thought of buying the picket fences in 8 ft. sections and paint or stain it to match the surroundings. And attach chicken wire on the inside to keep them from squeezing thru the slats!. Just use a staple gun to attach the chicken wire.
And the posts would be set every 8 ft. and much sturdier and look better than flimsy fencing.

Might be costly up front but would last for years. Most temporary fencing is just that temporary and you end up replacing so cost will add up....

My hubby is not a chicken lover so I have to be careful to keep any pens neat and orderly here on the farm.

I bit the bullet and purchased dog kennel pens and they attach to the side of the coop. Netting over the top and landscaping on the outside to soften the look..

 

[Erin K]

The fence I made is working fine.

Eventually we are redoing the whole backyard with an extended patio and stuff. At that time I'll probably do a more lovely fence, but for now this is perfect.

 

[Carols Clucks]

We keep our chickens from our nicer landscaped upper yard, they get the area around our garden in the lower yard-we are on a slope, with a picket fence.

What we did that is different from the basic Home Depot gothic picket panels:

I put in PT posts, used 2x4"s as rails, kept the bottom of the pickets raised up off the ground several inches, the pickets are on the chicken side of the rails. This would mean that the fence is "backwards" but the rails on the chicken side means a smart hen will realize she can jump up and use the top rail to help her get over the fence. Because we assembled the picket panels, we could put the pickets closer together. They can still poke their heads through and eat a bit of the plants in front of the fence, it is pretty much only enough to keep that area cleaned up. Because the bottom of the pickets are raised up we stapled chicken wire to the bottom rail and used wire to tighten it up at the bottom of the wire, wrapped around the posts. And then a row of sandstone small (grapefruit or bigger) sized stones. We tried with the rails on the chicken side, but one smarty hen figured out how to get over. I put all my panels in so that we can easily remove a few long screws if we need access for something bigger to get in an area.

 

[Joe C]

Help! I thought my 2 girls (Rhode Is Reds) were all contained in my
big flower garden and Wham they learned how to get over my little wire fences.
So now am searching for garden esthetic fencing about 2 feet tall instead of
the usual 1 ft. tall which can keep them out. And then hope for the best. any ideas?

I have found that plants that have a dense spread away from their roots
are pretty effective in keeping chickens them away. An attractive solution to
garden paths having dirt messing them up is to put pretty small wood logs
between the plants and the walkway. I have a 50foot perennial rose bed
Which the girls love to play in and spread their joy all over the walkway.
I put cut up birch logs I was going to use for the fireplace and made
a border for the walk. Now I always (well, almost) have a pretty tidy
walk along that part of the garden.