Free range but destroys plants

[Kchicken1988]

I would love to free range full time but my chickens destroy my plants. They scratch and scratch until their roots are exposed and they die. So right now I let them out for the last hour of light to keep the damage to a minimum but it’s still maintenance for me to take care of what the destroyed.
we are talking about 50-100 plants. So caging every plant just doesnt seem do able. Especially when half of them are huge lelands.
any tips or tricks ?

 

[featheredplanets]

Is it possible to just fence the plants off with netting or block the chickens into one part of the garden?

 

[Mrs. K]

You either fence the chickens in or the plants out. They love gardens, and the more you pay for a plant, the faster they get it. Once I swear, I was only on the phone long enough to tell my mother I could not talk, I had let the chickens out, and lost my vegetable garden.

 

[Kchicken1988]

Not really. We have plants every where. And our property is huge to make another fence.
Maybe it’s just the name of the game.

 

[Kchicken1988]

You either fence the chickens in or the plants out. They love gardens, and the more you pay for a plant, the faster they get it. Once I swear, I was only on the phone long enough to tell my mother I could not talk, I had let the chickens out, and lost my vegetable garden.

Ahhh. That’s awful !

 

[Severne]

I don’t let chickens in the garden, last year I lost 16 Wayermelon and 25+ squash, never again!

 

[Severne]

I keep them out with bird netting now.

 

[Folly's place]

Stones around the root systems of younger or special shrubs and trees help; 2" to 4 rocks as mulch, because they do love to root around and destroy plantings and mulch!
Then it's about fencing of some sort.
Mary