Keeping the girls out of the garden!

[TommyTurkey]

Here's what I did...I used the hoop coop made from PVC and plastic poultry netting to raise the young chick in and the put it over my pumpkin mound...kept them out and made it easy to pick pumpkins when the vines grew through the netting and the pumpkins set on top...when the pumpkins grew I opened the door and the chickens went in for shade and dirt bathes...I'm going to make another one for my tomatoes next spring...I grew onions around it too...the chickens didn't touch them...just a thought...

 

[aoxa]

Mine don't hurt my garden at all.. not even my strawberries.. They only make a mess of my mulch surrounding the garden

 

[Carols Clucks]

If I were you, I would look to make a decorative fence that is at least 4' high, 3 feet and you might have just given them a new roost.

We still get a couple that can fly over our 4 foot fence, but just a couple of them. Next year I am going to add arches with runner beans or passion fruit vines over the gates to our garden to hopefully discourage them flying in over the gates.

 

[Ogress]

Quote:
It'll happen - took my girls a couple months before they realized the stuff in the garden is yummy; now I have it surrounded by deer net.

 

[mrsbos]

Quote:
Mine haven't eaten much of my produce either. They free range, and helped themselves to a few strawberries and some parsely, but left my tomatoes, raspberries (surprisingly), corn, potatoes, & onion plants alone. I did fence off the garden temporarily when I had just seeded it, so they wouldn't take dust baths where I had sown seeds, but once the plants were decent sized, I took down the fence and all has been fine. Like the above poster, however, my chickens make an absolute mess by scratching all my bark chips into the lawn though, and they eat the grass down to the dirt in a few select "favorite" spots even though my lawn is huge. I can't believe I let my 3 EEs get away with what they do to my --used to be beautifully manicured-- yard...

 

[write2caroline]

I understand that chickens do not taste garlic or hot pepper but if they eat the garlic you will end up with garlicy eggs so I don't think the organic spray will work.
Caroline

 

[GardenGal]

I'm wondering how you keep deer out of the garden!! I had a deer clear an 8 foot fence. Could be worse

 

[Smarcebird]

We are having some luck with a motion detector sprinkler. Just trying to keep them away from a small perennial garden in front of the house, the other 4 acres they can have.

It comes on for about 30 seconds, then resets. You can set it for small animals (rabbits & chicks) or big stuff (deer).

Works pretty well, scares 'em away till they try it the next day. We had some California Whites (evil) that would just hunker down, get wet, then stay in the garden - but they went elsewhere. All of my 9 run away on turbo boost.