Keeping chickens from eating house? How to discourage chickens from certain areas

[lysmandor]

Here's the area I'm talking about - it extends all the way around the house. Some of it is over dirt and some of it is over asphalt (driveway area). It's the area between the ground and where the siding ends.

You can see a blue spot below where a chicken pecked a hole.

And then here's a spot on our patio with a lot of damage (haven't gotten to patching this area yet).

 

[lysmandor]

That’s interesting, I don’t think I’ve seen a house designed like that with exposed styrofoam. My suggestion, since you don’t want fencing, is directly cover the styrofoam. Board it up, cover it in a layer of concrete, something like that that a chicken can’t easily get through.

Apparently it's not super uncommon for concrete slab foundations.... and I was reading that you don't want to cover it with something solid (like wood boards) for exactly the same reason you don't apply house siding all the way to the ground - https://inspectapedia.com/exterior/Siding-Ground-Clearance-Specifications-Codes.php

I have been recovering it with a concrete-like product meant for this specific application, but apparently they think it's fun to peck it until they can chip it back off.

My only thought is somehow putting metal mesh over it a few inches away? Although it's not pretty, and I assume they'll just manage to reach through it somehow.

 

[lysmandor]

Or maybe something like window screen? I guess it doesn't even need to be particularly strong. Just keep chickens from pecking through it easily, not look too horrible, and not be a barrier to keep moisture behind it or let bugs live there.

 

[maryn7]

I was thinking more window screening. I'm not even sure if they make metal screening anymore - but I think you're right that hardware cloth they'd probably peck through.

Could also do two layers of hardware cloth - cutting one on the bias- but that seems like a LOT of work. I'd try the toughest window screening you can buy.

 

[lysmandor]

I was thinking more window screening. I'm not even sure if they make metal screening anymore - but I think you're right that hardware cloth they'd probably peck through.

Could also do two layers of hardware cloth - cutting one on the bias- but that seems like a LOT of work. I'd try the toughest window screening you can buy.

I'll definitely look into it! And since I only need a 4-6" strip a roll should go a decently long way. I guess I'd just glue it into place? Hmm, I'll have to think more about that. We didn't even realize it wasn't 'real' concrete until we chipped it with the weedwhacker. Who knew it was a thing?

 

[Ron in Sebring]

A thick mortar with vermiculite or perlite mixed in should cover it and harden up enough to stop them from eating it.

Spread it on with a trowel. Is flexible and light (vermiculite makes it extremely light but tough) and shouldn’t hold moisture behind it like a board would. Might take a little time but not sure what else to offer to stop them from eating it or using something that holds moisture against the house.

 

[maryn7]

I'll definitely look into it! And since I only need a 4-6" strip a roll should go a decently long way. I guess I'd just glue it into place? Hmm, I'll have to think more about that. We didn't even realize it wasn't 'real' concrete until we chipped it with the weedwhacker. Who knew it was a thing?

I'd cut some 2x2s/1x3s, mount those to the Styrofoam about every 4 feet, and then screw the screen into the wood with 1" screws. In fact, you might even be able to get away with hardware cloth doing that, since the material would be an inch or two away from the house.

Though, if your girls are determined - and the ringleader looks determined - you might come out to find beaks stuck in the grid to get at that delicious, delicious styro.

We've got a piece of pink styro under a big kiddie pool we set out for the summer. Couldn't believe it the day they found it - I came out and the yard is covered in little pink bits. Every time we let them out to free range, off they run to eat some more literal garbage.

As to the house - never heard of it! But I feel like every house has a couple things where you walk around going, "ok, why'd they do *that*?"

I would like to stress again that I'm not a builder or a contractor - just suggesting what I'd try if it were me! Good luck - they are tenacious little beasts.

 

[thepick4uchicks]

She's teaching my two new BOs her styrofoam pecking ways, unfortunately! They have a whole acre of things to peck, but clearly eating the house is more fun. At least it's just insulation foam and not structural or anything, I guess.

I thought about this, but would even hardware cloth be small enough mesh to keep them from just reaching through the holes and eating it anyway?

I have seen some very small gauged hardware but if you don’t get it situated far enough away from the styrofoam I don’t think it would be small enough even to prevent their tiny little finagling beaks from getting through there to do their dirty little damaging work!

 

[rosemarythyme]

I thought about this, but would even hardware cloth be small enough mesh to keep them from just reaching through the holes and eating it anyway?

1/4" hwc should do. I have a similar/not similar problem in that my chickens were picking paint off their coop. After repainting the damaged sections, I surrounded the bottom 16" of the coop with heavy duty bird netting. In my case I was able to screw it to the coop itself (you'd need to use supports to install it, most likely).

 

[lysmandor]

You said it's about 4 inches tall?

About the size of a brick? Or the kind of blocks used for garden edging?

You probably wouldn't even need to mortar them in place.

A lot of garden edge images here: https://www.google.com/search?q=gar...UNVN8KHWJxAKcQ_AUoAnoECBAQBA&biw=1600&bih=786

Sadly that would be a LOT of bricks! I calculated I need about 160ft of coverage around the edge of the house. And the house is on a hill, so some places the gap is 4 inches, other places more like 6-8".