No Chickens in the Flower Bed

[Starcey]

Hey there,
We let our chickens out of the run every evening and they enjoy roaming around the yard eating bugs and other plants. I recently had my flower beds redone and want to keep the chickens out of the flower beds without having to put up a fence. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks

 

[LaceyMae]

The is an age old problem for all of us. If you figure out a way to do it without a fence, PLEASE LET US KNOW!! The only thing I can think of is one of the motion activated, sprinkler scare crows, otherwise...?

 

[Daisy8s]

Here are some ideas:

1. Water. Either you stand there with the hose and give them a mild squirt or you can buy things that go off when motion is detected. There'd be installation effort and cost with the mechanized version. Some chickens will learn fairly quickly to avoid a place if they associate it with a bad experience...others never will.

2. Add large landscaping rocks and/or a deep layer of gravel as mulch. This will deter them from scratching in the dirt. I was amazed at how strong a determined hen could be, though, as I saw my New Hampshire Red move rocks bigger than my hand to get at some tasty bugs.

3. I put up a 2 ft section of chicken wire, using natural twigs as posts intertwined through the mesh and then pushed into the ground. It is so faint it completely blends into the background and, even when pointing it out to friends, they couldn't see it until up close. Depends on what kinds of plants you have--it'll blend in against something big like hostas but probably wouldn't against delicate flowers. The fence deterred all my birds but one--she was a determined flyer and no fence ever kept her in. Luckily she mostly stayed with the flock.

Finally, it's really access to the dirt for scratching that they want. They are either looking for bugs or a place to dust bathe. You might be able to provide those things elsewhere on your property to lure them away from the flower beds. Note: most birds prefer shade in summer so think about that when placing a dust bathing area.

 

[Starcey]

Thank you for the suggestions. The water idea just may work. I will have to come up with something. Thanks again

 

[Daisy8s]

Thank you for the suggestions. The water idea just may work. I will have to come up with something. Thanks again

No problem, glad to help. I know how amazingly fast the little buggers can destroy a beautifully planted flower or vegetable bed!