Is there a Mulch that Chickens DON'T like? Look what they did!

[LeftAtAlbuquerque]

My 6 girls free range most of the time in my 1/3 acre backyard. Unfortunately their favorite spot is this small spot which we landscaped BEFORE we had the girls. There must be something in the dirt there that they've taken a liking to, because we go through this EVERY DAY........ they dig it up, I put it back, they dig it up, I put it back........... is there any kind of mulch that they really don't like? It's not like they don't have enough other spots that they could dig up!

 

[donrae]

I'm guessing it's not the mulch itself but what's under it. It's a self serve buffet

I think the only thing you can do is either fence it off, or try covering the ground with something they can't move like large rocks, etc. My birds scratch through everything--hay, straw, horse manure, wood chips, grass clippings, leaf piles. Thinking about it, I don't know if they scratch in areas with lava rock

Good luck, it's usually either chickens OR landscaping, not both.

 

[Carols Clucks]

You might want to pick a better spot for them to dig in, grab a shovel and start a hole and they will probably come help you

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I used to spend 20 minutes raking bark nuggets every time my older girls free ranged. Ugh.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

A mulched bed is chicken heaven.

That rubber tire mulch might not appeal to them, but I wouldn't use it myself. I can't think of anything organic that the birds would not happily scratch up looking for lunch.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Double post.

 

[gryeyes]

I even changed to the larger, bark mulch, not the shredded kind. Well, that looks even messier when the chickens get through with it EVERY SINGLE DAY.

I was just trying to fill in an old, useless, concrete surrounded "garden bed" that absolutely could not grow anything. Whoever built it either didn't do it for plants or they were .. I dunno... on drugs or sumpin. So I put bark mulch there and stuck some cute little metal chicken figurines in for whimsy.

The bark chunks get scattered as far away as two or three feet, sometimes. The metal chickens end up on their sides. I may end up putting big, heavy, round ROCKS in there and that's it.

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Gravel or smooth river stones - the only type of "mulch" that chickens do not care for.

 

[Rozzie]

Gravel of some sort. The bigger the chunks of gravel, the less likely they are to scratch there. Little pea sized gravel may be another story, though.