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

[lysmandor]

What about brick slip cladding? It gives the house a better look too. I used it to cover the concrete base under the wood of a shed.

https://brickslips.co.uk/news/external-brick-slip-cladding-wall-brick-bond/

Thank you! That would be a great longer term solution. Kind of hoping for something relatively cheap for now. Also not sure it would mount well over the styrofoam.

 

[Thesa]

I had a problem with my free range chickens jumping on my deck and eating my succulents and nesting in my fern. My son decided to bring the hose with spray nozzle on the deck stationed near by. The first time they came on the deck they got sprayed. A week later they tried again and were sprayed. They have not been back since.

 

[WindingRoad]

I realize the obvious answer to this is fencing a dedicated chicken run, but I'm wondering if anyone has any other ideas.

The concrete foundation of my house is covered with sheet styrofoam insulation, painted over with a concrete-like coating. Unfortunately, the chickens have realized that it is obviously a fun source of their favorite food - styrofoam.

They are currently allowed to free range most of the day over our fenced acre property - our house is located in the center of the property, so to keep the chickens away from the house would involve either fencing them in a dedicated chicken run, or fencing the entire perimeter of the house. We enjoy having the chickens out in the yard, and the dogs run around with them for a good portion of the day and (hopefully) deter predators. We have 4 pullets at the moment.

The problem started when there were some chips in the grey concrete coating, exposing the tasty blue styrofoam. I've tried recoating the foam, but they pull off the paint to get at the foam now that they know it's there.

Ideas to deter them from this area? It's about a 4 inch border around the base of the house, some bordering dirt, some bordering concrete.

Have you tried the garden hose on a soft spray setting. My birds hate getting wet.

 

[WindingRoad]

Have you tried the garden hose on a soft spray setting. My birds hate getting wet.

Have you tried the garden hose on a soft spray setting. My birds hate getting wet.

Opps didn't see post above mine. 2 votes for hose . LOL

 

[margaretbyrd]

I plead ignorance too. I do appraisal work and renovate housing. I've never seen styrofoam over the edge of a concrete slab that I know of. Taking wood to the ground can cause rotting from water but covering it with vinyl siding wouldn't invite insects or rot. Another consideration is that styrofoam doesn't digest I would think. I had trouble with the chickens getting on my old deck. When I replaced it I didn't want them up there pooping all the time so I put rails around the deck. Then I went through a period of chasing them with a broom every time I caught them on the porch. They caught the drift after a while.
I would probably cut some hardware cloth to size and then use the concrete covering stuff to hide it. If it was cut tight pressure might hold it there. Or I'd invest in some fencing a few posts at a time till I got it done.

 

[Citytransplant]

Applying a permanent mesh might rust over time, wood would rot. How about ( I know this is labor intensive) applying river rock with either concrete mix or a strong glue?

 

[RojoMarz]

Here's two pictures of the shop foundation. Showing evidence of lots of good meals have been had.

Also included a pic of our house, which has had the styrofoam removed. We actually had plans to "tile" the exposed cement, but realized there is not much concrete showing, in some locations. So have never done the tiling.

Our builder used premade permanenet styrofoam forms that have black plastic holders...you then put the rebar in the holders and pour concrete.

 

[Joeb1986]

What about brick slip cladding? It gives the house a better look too. I used it to cover the concrete base under the wood of a shed.

https://brickslips.co.uk/news/external-brick-slip-cladding-wall-brick-bond/

Dead easy to install as well, we used https://bricktilecompany.com for ours

 

[lysmandor]

I doubt anyone has ever had reason to test it, but would chickens be able to peck through aluminum or fiberglass window screen?

 

[Weeg]

You can try this! if you type chickens into the questions and awnsers column, below, its said it works to keep chickens out of areas! It might be worth a try!
https://www.amazon.com/RODENT-SHERIFF-Pest-Control-Spray/dp/B01HEHE28W/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=bird+repellent+spray&qid=1600197979&sr=8-2-spons&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFSNkYwSk5FU1o3TVUmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA3NTg0NjczQVFSTE5FTjBNNlczJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTAxMzk2MjJVOE81UFlDUTFFWkQmd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl&th=1