How make easy garden fence for chickens?

[lyndatu]

Hello, there!

I am planning to start a small vegetable garden in my backyard, but the yard is home to free-range chickens. According to some sources, chickens will destroy all the plants in their path. A fence around the garden patch would be handy to keep the chickens away, but I want a simple, easy-to-make fence because I'm an amateur at carpentry. We ha e lots of spare wood, wires and tools. Perhaps a simple fence of chicken wire/hardware cloth supported by some wooden poles would be enough? Do you have suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

 

[brooster]

I have found the best chicken fence to be wooden snow fence. It is perfect, i use it for pasturing my hens around the yard.

 

[Akane]

You want a permanent fence or what? An easy fence isn't made out of wood. It's made out of metal mesh, plastic mesh, or electric wire strands. I just get some fiberglass rods (dirt cheap at the feed store) and a roll of plastic mesh garden fencing. Use plastic cable or zip ties to attach it to the rods and you have a fence in less than 30mins. I can do a 100x50' garden in 30-60mins. It can also be removed in about the same amount of time and rolled up for next year so you can till or work on the garden with any equipment. If they still jump over the fence for a small garden you can get netting to throw over top. For a large garden if I need something sturdier I upgrade to tposts and 6' high metal mesh fencing. Then you have to use a post pounder to put them in and preferably a tractor to pull them out. Although it's possible by hand.

 

[lyndatu]

Thanks for the replies everyone!

Unfortunately we do not have wooden snow fence here in our place, but still thank you very much.

I might be able to do Akane's method - cheap, simple and easy enough for me. I'll look for the fiberglass rods in the stores, we have lots of mesh in our house. But I have another question: How high should the fence be? My planned garden size is a small 8' x 10'. How high should I build the fence to prevent the chickens from invading the vegetable patch? Sorry for all the silly questions!

Thanks in advance!

 

[MissPrissy]

Even my heaviest hens can fly over a 5 - 6 foot fence. You might be better off building the chickens a summer run and having your garden all to yourself. They will eat everything there and you won't get any.

 

[ranchhand]

Quote:
Amen, I replanted twice!

 

[Akane]

That is the problem with fiberglass rods. They are cheap, easy to put in, easy to take out, and plenty sturdy but it's hard to find any over about 3' high. With a stiff fence you can continue another 2-3' before it starts to tip at the top but that's about your limit. It's also right around as high as the chickens are likely to try flying over. Lighter breeds and bantams can make well over that. My japs make it 16-20' up when they feel like it.

 

[Brunty_Farms]

This works great. Keeps out the deer, rabbits, and ground hogs too.


http://www.premier1supplies.com/fencing.php?species_id=6

 

[Andora]

I plan on trying metal poles with farm wire fencing on them. The ones I have are about 5 feet tall. If any of my birds start flying over fences I have to clip one wing, since I don't want them flying into the neighbor's yard here in the suburbs!

 

[cmom]

I have several gardens. I had to fence in a range area. I originally let them free range but they were destroying my gardens, and spreading my mulch piles all over. I got tired of constantly raking up my mulch piles and replanting my gardens. I tried spraying them with my garden sprayer or sometime put the sprinklers on. They would run out, but when the sprinklers were off they would venture in again. The temptation, so instead of fencing in my gardens, they got fenced in. Also I covered their run. They can fly over the fences if they wanted to but they are now in part of last years corn field. Lots of stuff to pick at and I put some baled alfalfa in their area too. They seem contented.