What Have Your Free Range Chickens Tore Up ???

[IndiesChix]

My bad chickens have just pecked at and pulled up paint from our deck that husband just finished painting yesterday !!!! They also manage to find and pull up any caulking on the farm. I knew I would have trouble with my landscaping and any flowers I have planted, but paint on a deck !?!? I'm just wondering what other people's chickens get into.

 

[beccawchick]

Mine flew into my raised garden and ate all my lettuce.

 

[chickenmom66]

Mine are eating my broccoli, kale and red cabbage out of my garden

 

[21hens-incharge]

Tomatoes, cabbage, flowers, lilac bush, strawberry bed, more flowers, squash, raspberries, oh and then there were the flowers. AND the entire mulch path leading to the chicken coop.

I think the list of what they did not demolish is shorter.

 

[Blooie]

Once upon a time these were two 5 year old honeysuckle vines, dense from top to bottom. <sigh> Bad enough they ate the bottoms - when most of the foliage was gone they figured out how to climb the fencing the vines are planted against to get to the top stuff.

 

[TBirdsTheWord33]

Our chickens are constantly scratching up new craters for dirt bathing. To the ducks' great delight, those craters fill up with water when it rains, so voila...we have instant mini-ponds!!! As for what our chickens get into, let's just say that dead, decaying, juicy baby birds and songbird eggs that have fallen from nests are on the list...YUCK!!!

 

[Peeps61]

Mine like to dig holes and get into the backyard where the dogs do them bodily harm. They've learned to avoid that. I have a garden with cucumbers and zucchini squash, but they don't bother it because I throw the overripe stuff to the side for them. They eat that and stay out of the garden itself. Don't know how I got that lucky, but there it is. They do get in my shrubs out front and scratch the mulch out.

 

[TBirdsTheWord33]

Once upon a time these were two 5 year old honeysuckle vines, dense from top to bottom. <sigh> Bad enough they ate the bottoms - when most of the foliage was gone they figured out how to climb the fencing the vines are planted against to get to the top stuff.

I wish ours would do that to the poison ivy. I've been pulling that stuff out all spring and summer, and just when I think I've won the battle, I find MORE!

 

[ameliadanielle]

Because we have chickens, ducks, a pig, and dogs running around in the backyard with our chickens we haven't purposely planted anything for them to tear up. However there is zero grass within 7 feet of the back door. They also prefer to roost on the back steps right next to the door. So it's always an acrobatic feat to get outside and back in without bringing a pound of mud and chicken poop back inside on the bottom of your shoes.

 

[IndiesChix]

Here is a picture of the deck, the white is where they have pecked and pulled up the paint. Not sure how they were able to do that but they did. I just hope they don't become ill.

And speaking of poop, I knew like all animals poop a lot, but didn't think that it would be all over the front porch, back deck, the shop, everywhere! LOL when ya free range that's what ya deal with, so everyday I'm sweeping it off. Also, I didn't know they lose feathers all the time, little feathers everywhere! I thought they only lost feathers when they molt.