Hi... I’m Carol, I have 9 hens (various breeds), 1 rooster, all raised together. They are free range. I’m also an avid gardener, however my new chickens (last year) ate ALL my lemon verbena and Hydrangeas which I care for very much! I haven’t planted my veggies and herbs this year (obviously not time yet)...what can I do to protect them? Thanks
Hi Carol! I don't have a solution for your problem, but I wanted to welcome you. Great to have you here at BYC!
Greetings and welcome to BYC Carol! So glad you joined us. There's a wealth of info, knowledge and experience shared in the multitude of threads. Browse around and see what interesting stuff you can find. By all means post away when the desire strikes you, especially if you have questions (provide as much detail/info as possible and pictures truly help)... With all the great folks here, generally someone will respond in no time at all. Please make yourself at home!
Chicken wire is AWEsome for keeping chickens (and rabbits) OUT of where you don't want them to be. It is useless however to keep predators from eating your chickens (or rabbits), so don' use chicken wire for that purpose... Use hardware cloth instead. I recommend the 1/2" over the 1/4" spacing as it's a heavier gauge wire. Of course chickens can fly (Some folks claim their rabbits do as well... I'm sill dubious
), so to keep them from flying over the chicken wire, it's good practice to clip the feathers on one wing. (that way they are like NASCAR drivers and go in continuous circles in one direction 
). The wire can be held up by "step in" posts, or T-posts, or whatever you happen to have available really. For more permanent installation you can put up an actual fence (welded wire should be fine for just chickens) using T-posts.
Oh, if you haven't done so already, PLEASE put at least your general location in your profile. It could be very important if/when you ask for or offer help or advice. You know, climate issues and such. I recommend at least your state as most folks won't be able to figure out where if you put anything more specific (county, town, street, etc) by itself. Old folks like me
will never remember & look there first. (even though it appears to be in your name...) To add it, mouse hover over Account top right and a drop down will appear. Click on Personal Details and scan down. You'll see the spot for Location. Then go to the bottom and save changes. Thanks! Hope you enjoy the site!
Chicken wire is AWEsome for keeping chickens (and rabbits) OUT of where you don't want them to be. It is useless however to keep predators from eating your chickens (or rabbits), so don' use chicken wire for that purpose... Use hardware cloth instead. I recommend the 1/2" over the 1/4" spacing as it's a heavier gauge wire. Of course chickens can fly (Some folks claim their rabbits do as well... I'm sill dubious
), so to keep them from flying over the chicken wire, it's good practice to clip the feathers on one wing. (that way they are like NASCAR drivers and go in continuous circles in one direction ). The wire can be held up by "step in" posts, or T-posts, or whatever you happen to have available really. For more permanent installation you can put up an actual fence (welded wire should be fine for just chickens) using T-posts.Oh, if you haven't done so already, PLEASE put at least your general location in your profile. It could be very important if/when you ask for or offer help or advice. You know, climate issues and such. I recommend at least your state as most folks won't be able to figure out where if you put anything more specific (county, town, street, etc) by itself. Old folks like me
will never remember & look there first. (even though it appears to be in your name...) To add it, mouse hover over Account top right and a drop down will appear. Click on Personal Details and scan down. You'll see the spot for Location. Then go to the bottom and save changes. Thanks! Hope you enjoy the site!
Howdy Carol
Happy
to have you join the family. Enjoy your time here at BYC! 
Happyto have you join the family. Enjoy your time here at BYC! 
Welcome to Backyard chickens Carol, it's nice to meet you
Welcome to Backyard Chickens!
You will have to fence off the garden to protect the plants
G’Day from down under Carol Welcome!
Following a recent move and due to the Hawk population in residence, sadly for my girls, they are now confined to their run so my garden is safe
BYC has quite a few active gardening threads which a Forum Search should reveal, or even just a look in the New Posts section.
I do hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.
You might want to also Find Your State Thread and pop in and say hello.
BYC has Topic of the Week discussions which I have found to be a great resource, informative and sometimes entertaining; so definitely worth checking out. This one in particular may be of interest to you:
Topic of the Week - Gardening with Chickens
If you would like to share Pictures and Stories of your flock, you have come to the right place. BYC’ers never tire of these and do not back away slowly or commence eye rolling when the photo album or home videos come out
Welcome!Following a recent move and due to the Hawk population in residence, sadly for my girls, they are now confined to their run so my garden is safe
BYC has quite a few active gardening threads which a Forum Search should reveal, or even just a look in the New Posts section.
I do hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.
You might want to also Find Your State Thread and pop in and say hello.
BYC has Topic of the Week discussions which I have found to be a great resource, informative and sometimes entertaining; so definitely worth checking out. This one in particular may be of interest to you:
Topic of the Week - Gardening with Chickens
If you would like to share Pictures and Stories of your flock, you have come to the right place. BYC’ers never tire of these and do not back away slowly or commence eye rolling when the photo album or home videos come out
- Jan 30, 2015
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Hi Carol and welcome to BYC - thanks for joining us. Hopefully the advice and links above will help.
Hi Carol! As other greeters have said, your best bet is to confine your flock to a specified area and out of the garden. I learned this the hard way a few years back when my flock ate every last bit of my newly grown kale.
Thanks for joining us!
Welcome to Backyardchickens.com aka BYC!
We are glad you joined our flock.
Jump right in and make yourself at home.
Build something around the garden area, to block the chickens from being belt to eat everything.
This video will help you learn how to navigate this site:
CURRENT COOP CONTEST click here >>#1
The 9th Annual BYC Easter Hatchalong!
We are glad you joined our flock.Jump right in and make yourself at home.
Build something around the garden area, to block the chickens from being belt to eat everything.
This video will help you learn how to navigate this site:
CURRENT COOP CONTEST click here >>#1
The 9th Annual BYC Easter Hatchalong!
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