How to keep chickens away from house and bird feeder?

[Prairie Orca]

I'll try and keep this short.

Basically, the chickens have taken a liking to hanging around the deck and the bird feeder, which are about twenty feet from each other. The bird feeder hangs from a post so the chickens can't get to it directly, but they will hang around until the birds fling out enough bird seed onto the ground for them to eat. The bird feeder is emptying out much faster than usual as a result. (Lots of birds frequent the feeder but the chickens are eating most of it.)

With the deck there is a lower portion that the chickens like to hang around and poop on, and it's right beside the window of the room I sleep in. I haven't had a proper sleep in a long time due to the roosters crowing by the window.

So... what to do? The property is eight acres with lots of trees and grass, yet they have obsessed themselves to the point where their foraging area is usually only fifty square feet.

 

[NYRIR]

yep,lots of people on here feel your pain! Myself included....there is ALWAYS someone pooping on the porch

The only thing I can suggest is to put a "people" fence around an area for yourselves.I am currently in the process of fencing the chickens out of my flower beds and away from my back porch.I don't see any other way to stop them.At least you know they like you

 

[patman75]

Lots of fence.

 

[damselfish]

I'm confused, are they not cooped at night (crowing by the window while you try to sleep)?

Can you screen off the lower deck area? We ended up screening in our porch, partly to keep the chickens out, partly because we wanted to anyway.

And as the above poster says...lots of fence. You need to either fence 'em out or fence 'em in.

Stop using that bird feeder, put another one where you would like your chickens to hang out.

That's all I've got, good luck.

 

[Prairie Orca]

Thank you all for your insight!

@ NYRIR: I think they only like me because I'm the source of food. Otherwise it's "RUN AWAAAAY!"

A fence is certainly something to consider. I just wonder what kind of fence would look aesthetically pleasing while efficiently keeping the chickens out at the same time. The old rope fence lining between the people-friendly yard and the gravel driveway certainly isn't working.

I was also thinking of maybe putting up some sort of fence around the area on the ground where the feeder hangs over, like a garden border fence. Something like this - would this sort of thing discourage the chickens?

@ damselfish: They are locked in the coop every night. I'm just not really a morning person.

Screening might be an option - if I understand correctly, is it the sort of screen that covers the sides and overhead? I wonder if it would be a pricey venture as my parents plan to replace the deck within the next ten years because whoever built it did not do a very good job.

My mom would be really upset if I moved the bird feeder - we finally have some beautiful birds that are sticking around, such as American goldfinches. If it had to be moved I think it would have to hang from a tree or something because the hanger/pole/thing is meant to stay where it is.

 

[ralleia]

I'm planning on trying a little bit of electric fencing to keep my chickens away from the front walks and gardens. I love 'em, but they're trashing my flower beds with their incessant digging.

We've got eleven acres, so it would be too much to run a regular fence everywhere that we don't want them to go. One person also recommended deer fence, which is inexpensive and almost disappears from view from a few feet away. For my use though, I don't want anything that obstructs human travel too much.

 

[navychick]

Is it OK to have a bird feeder in my back yard if that is where the chickens will free range? I Love my birds but I thought I'd have to give them up as they might give my chickens diseases. Thanks for your help, as always. -Tamara

 

[NYRIR]

Quote:
That fence seems a bit lacking to me...how tall is it? i used american fencing tacked to 4 x 4's on the inside and have plans to put a four rail fence in between those posts.The tops of the posts have solar lights...all in all it's a campy look....which matches in with my house and the animal coops and runs.I plan to fence in an area for a "people" yard so they cannot tear up my plants.( yeah,around here the PEOPLE get a fence...the chickens don't!

) Right now i'm using scraps of the american fencing temporarily.

 

[Prairie Orca]

Thanks for all the input, guys.

It seems the problem solving was taken out of my hands - Mom grabbed the feeder this morning after spotting the chickens under it for the umpteenth time. She placed it in the trees over a hundred feet away in a place where it's okay for the chickens to hang out. Still in view of the kitchen window, so it's not a complete loss for bird watching from the house.

 

[Cetawin]

Quote:
Yep same thing here and I also get an egg in my porch swing everyday. I have 3 that love to swing A BO, 2 Delaware...one of the Delaware leaves her egg behind. *sigh*