Is there anyway i can keep them in 1 area?

[chickie<3]

I have 5 chickens that I LOVE...they r in their coop all day..but just b4 dusk i like to let them out to run free...i would love to let them out more but they wreck my backyard. They kick the mulch all over the patio and dig by the bushes all the way down to the roots. Is there anyway I can keep them closer around their coop and on the grass area and away from the patio and mulch beds around the pool. Is there something i can put on the lawn like a fake owl or something to keep them from passing over to the patio area???

 

[WVman]

You will just have to fence them off to the area you want them to stay in

 

[woodmort]

Tie cords to their little legs and stake them down. That'll work until they figure our how to pull up the stakes or untie the knots. In short, I am first of all kidding and second, without fencing it is impossible--chickens don't "stay in one area".

 

[chick-in-florida]

Quote:
TOO FUNNY!!

and he's right, you can't keep a chicken in one area. the owl thing won't work. just give up and let the chickens take over the world. we'd be better off anyway.

 

[teach1rusl]

Bird netting or deer netting are very portable, so that might be a quick easy way to fence off an area each evening. We went to decorative rock rather than mulch, and the chickens rarely (never say never) dig in our bedding areas.

 

[secuono]

Quote:
I agree, get bird/deer netting and fiberglass stakes[all very cheap] and make them a yard around their coop. Otherwise, you will have to learn to love the mess, lol.

 

[chickie<3]

THANKS EVERYONE...I will prob just let them wreck the yard a lil each night. LOVE MY CHICKENS!!!

 

[Judy]

I gave up on mulch when I turned mine loose and just trim with a weedeater around bushes now. I learned pretty quickly what they would dig up/eat/leave alone, and we made our peace.

Like you, I love to see them out running around where they choose.

Tie them out with a stake, indeed.

 

[jomoncon]

I'm like you & let the girls out for an hour or so before dusk. This i my first spring with chickens, got mine last fall. And they are destroying my once lovely backyard. Since I really enjoy their antics, I decided to just clean up as much as I can every time I let them out. I have fenced off one area where I have bulbs coming up. And I had to fence off the pond, both for plant protection & to keep the ladies from going after the fish.

There simply is no other way of doing it. They will go where they want to go. I still can't figure out why they are so interested in the carport where it is all concrete, but I can't keep them & their poo away from it.

 

[Fred's Hens]

I am convinced they save it up and when hit a sidewalk or concrete driveway? Boom! Bombs away. They are particularly good at pooping on walks and driveway my wife uses. I cannot tell you the joy that brings her.