My chickens free-range on our 35 acre farm all day and we still had to put poultry fencing around our two biggest vegetable gardens. Each garden is 50 by 25 feet so it takes quite a bit of fencing, but it is worth it! I also have a potato garden with 60 hills of potatoes and 10 hills of sweet potatoes and they haven't messed around in that one. For my flower beds I have the decorative wire fence up around the tender plants - and my 26 dahlia plants! I also have a low fence around my herb garden and it is enough to keep them out. They are pretty good about leaving all the zinnias, tithonia, sedums, delphinium, marigolds, cosmos, cleomes, artemesia, pholx, lavender, celosia and general plants like that alone. I think if they have enough other stuff to do, they won't need to rip into the flowers! During the hot part of the day they like to lay under the weeping willow trees with the ducks. Poultry fencing is the only way I can keep tomatoes, string beans, snow peas, brussel sprouts, pumpkins, squash, cucumbers, corn and beets away from them! I also make sure they have a nice area of fine dirt under the pine trees to "bathe" in whenever they want! I actually till it up with the rototiller for them and they know it is theirs! You can keep gardens and chickens together with proper fencing.... Good luck!!!!!!
