How to keep chickens out of flowerbeds and such?!

[rainbowgardens]

I'm replacing my perennials in my beds with shrubs. I'm also throwing in all of the branches and sticks that fall in the yard to serve as a mulch that the hens can't scratch out as well.

It's hard, I love flowers and tidy landscaping but now I have little egg makers ornamenting my yard.
You have to change your perspective.

 

[JennsPeeps]

I'm starting my first full spring with chickens - they arrived in our lives last May. I had to fence off the veggies.

My back yard is, shall we say, well aerated. They're decimated it. I'm leaving them in their run for a while to allow the emerging perennials some chicken-free time to grow. My day lilies, bleeding heart, and hostas all need time to grow without getting scratched, trampled, and dug up.

I have been imagining using my penny bowling ball seen here as a form for little chicken-wire cages to put over the emerging shrubs and perennials to protect them for a while:

I'll let you know if I do it.

 

[Quizative]

I would be fine letting the chickens airate but they have dug all the way down to china. My azaleas have exposed roots! The mulch is completely thrown out into the yard and on the sidewalk while the brick flowerbox has no dirt left in it.
I dont want to use rocks because they are a pain to plant annuals in.
Netting too is unsightly and not to mention expensive for as many flowerbeds as I have.
I had to build a "playpen to contain them in". They are a pain because I wanted to let them freerange but they are like bad kids because they get into everything you dont want them too. I have 3 acres they can roam on and they want to be by the house and flowerbeds.