How to keep the chickens out of the garden?!!

[chickenweirdo1]

My chickens keep dust bathing in our front garden. I was wondering if the there was anything i could put on the dirt, that won't affect the plants.

 

[Den in Penn]

I have heard of some using large rocks to cover the areas around the plants. I would imagine that you would have to put them tight around the plants. The best IMO is to use fencing either for the garden or the chickens.

 

[chickenweirdo1]

Would fox urine powder or any thing else dieter them? The plants are not vegetables so we are not eating them so it doesn't really matter what we put on the although i would like to keep the garden clear.

 

[chickenweirdo1]

Thank you anyways.

 

[Den in Penn]

If fox urine works at all it would only work till the chickens got used to it and never saw a fox. There was a fox who for a while hung around my place never bothered the chickens, at least during the day and they are safe in the coops at night. Saw her trotting around in the day many times. One memorable day I come out and she is laying curled up on the far edge of the garden in plain sight. The chickens are just wandering around in their fenced area, less then one hundred feet away, like nothing could possibly be wrong in the world. Once they get used to something, its business as usual for them.

 

[keesmom]

Would fox urine powder or any thing else dieter them?

Nope. A fence is your best bet.

 

[eleaserek]

You could try putting chicken wire down and covering with a layer of dirt, or whatever you have as mulch. It worked for when my dog was digging holes in the yard. I just used landscaping stakes to hold the wire down. It works by feeling yucky when they scratch (or in my dogs case, dig

) and once it's covered you can't see it at all. In fact in my yard, I planted grass seed right on top and never touched it again.