how do I stop chickens from eating my flowers?

[nassyjs]

Does anyone have any suggestions regarding stopping the chickens from eating my flowers and plants? I have tried fences and wind powered moving chakas....nothing works for long. They are ruining my flower gardens!
Thanks!!
DEE

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Hi,
You'll have to fence the chickens or the gardens.
I've noticed most 'toxic to chickens' plants get nibbled then left alone (lantana, brugmansias, etc). There are exceptions, I have some birds that LIKE brugs and will eat brug bark if they can't reach leaves.

BUT last year, my eggplants (supposedly toxic foliage) were eaten down to nubs as well as the tomato plants (ditto on toxicity) they could get to --- my solution was fencing

Plants I'm seriously cultivating, daylilies mostly (and anything with new growth, transplants, sprouts), are chicken fodder' without fencing

Good luck,
Lisa

 

[nassyjs]

What about a garlic spray or some natural remedy they may have an aversion to?
I fenced the flowers. They are hoodini chickens!

 

[jefra]

I'd like to know about this too - bitter apple? cayenne spray?

 

[kcfuerst]

My chickens love garlic. For 12 hens, I give them 3 cloves everyday in their feed mixed with yogurt. They go nuts for it. So I'm guessing garlic spray won't work as a deterrent.

 

[silkiechicken]

Yep, you've gotta fence.. or make your only flowers invasive blackberries... even thoes can't grow in the chicken areas.

 

[nightshade]

My free rage birds are good, more content sitting under the bird feeder while the wild birds throw half the feed out then eatting my flowers. We have 5 free rang to keep the bugs down.

But my girls in the fenced in run are a whole nother thing when it comes to mommy's plants. They littlerly dug a hole under the fence to reach a hosta alittle over a foot away from the fence over the weekend. Bad girls They only thing I found that makes it in side the fence is evergreens such as arbs, hemlocks ect. They clean off the bottom branches so they can under the plant to make little dirt holes and sleep. But they don't kill or really eat them. I planted a small round shaped cedar bush in the run last week and I had more trouble with them tring to dig it up for the bugs in the broked up soil then anything else.

I agree though if you are having problems with the in the flowers go with fence. Chicken wire would be best of corse if you can deal with stepping over it and staring at it all the time.

 

[Picco]

I have never had a problem with my chickens eating flowers, vegetables are another story though! The problem I have is that the girls get into the flower bed and scratch and dustbathe which makes a horrible mess and kills my plants. Chickens can be trained to not use certain areas but it takes a while. Everytime I see them in the flowers at yell at them or chase them out. After a while they will get the point, but chickens don't seem to remember the rules well so they have to be reminded often. I place a lot of rocks and sticks in the garden to make the area more uncomfortable for scratching and this has worked well.

 

[eggchel]

Gaaaaah, 3 naughty girls spent the day locked in their pen today because yesterday they kept digging up my flowering groundcover. I chased them out repeatedly, but they were determined to find any goodies that might be hiding underneath. Now Im going to either keep them locked up, fence off the flowers, or have a BBQ, lol. I guess I'll fence!!!


chel

 

[Whirlwind]

eggchel wrote:

Now Im going to either keep them locked up, fence off the flowers, or have a BBQ, lol. I guess I'll fence!!!