Keeping Chickens out of Your Garden

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Are you wondering how to keep chickens out of your garden? Whether it’s a problem of urban chickens finding their way in, or a flock of backyard birds straying into unwelcome territory – facing the issue head on is essential. But don’t worry: there are many simple steps that can be taken to reduce the access and appeal of garden areas for both urban and pastured poultry. By applying an effective workflow, you will properly prevent unwanted chicken traffic from invading your precious green space! In this blog post, we’ll discuss how to do just that so you can enjoy beautiful blooms free from fowl disruptions!

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How to Keep Chickens out of Your Garden

Confine Your Chickens

Keeping your chickens confined and contained doesn’t mean imprisonment – it’s actually quite beneficial for them. Not only does spending time in the coop help their circulation, but by being organized you can also ensure that they aren’t getting into any areas of potential danger or mischievousness! The little critters may be curious birds at heart, so keeping an eye on them is a must to avoid any issues with garden damage due to feeding frenzies. With careful monitoring and attention, all your feathered friends will stay out of trouble while still reaping the health benefits from stepping outside every now and then.

Install a Garden Fence

Secure your garden from unwelcome feathered visitors with a sturdy fence! Building one may be costly for larger gardens, but you can save money by opting for more affordable alternatives such as hardware cloth. Your garden will stay protected and you’ll keep those chickens at bay!

do chickens lay eggs at night

Use Garden Hoops and Netting

Don’t let chickens and other birds ruin your garden! Get clever with a protective cover. Garden hoops are wooden containers, covered by netting, granting easy access to the sun while keeping out unwelcome intruders. Whether it’s snow or severe wind gusts that threaten you plant life – these ingenious creations will be sure to keep them safe from harm all year round!

Try Motion-Activated Sprinklers

Having trouble keeping chickens away from your plants? A motion-activated sprinkler can be the perfect solution: just install it and let it do its job! The unsuspecting flock of feathered fiends will flee in terror as soon as they sense water raining down on them, while giving a much needed drink to your precious roses. But beware – these powerful sensors won’t differentiate between chicken attackers or kind visitors; any movement detected may result in an unexpected shower!

raising backyard chickens

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Cover Bare Ground in Garden

By covering the bare ground in your garden, you can actually discourage unwanted chickens from coming around. That’s because a dust bath is no longer an option for them! The oil and dirt removed during this process helps keep their feathers clean, but also makes them less desirable to any surrounding parasites or pests. Any material such as bricks or stones will do wonders – just think of what that could mean for keeping those pesky critters away without ever lifting a finger!

Border Garden With Herbs

Would you like to hug a smelly person? It’s not the most exciting idea, is it? How about using the same concept on your chickens?

Don’t worry. You won’t be using real bad smells in your garden to keep them away. Instead, you’ll use good-smelling plants that your chickens don’t like. Some examples of those plants are Lavender, Salvia, and Spearmint.

If you have already grown your garden and don’t want to wait for some new seeds to grow, you can purchase those plants in small pots and immediately plant them in your garden.

save on chicken feed

Provide Chickens With Their Own Dust-Bath Area

We’ve mentioned earlier that chickens love to use your garden as a giant bathroom. So, how about giving them their own dust-bath area?

Here’s how to create a dust bath for your fussy birds:

  • Dig a 24-inch deep hole that’s 8-inch wide in your desired area
  • Add some dirt or sand into the hole. Your chickens will love it more if the added dirt or sand is grounded softly
  • Add some Diatomaceous Earth. It’s an insecticide that’s made from entirely natural materials
  • Add some sort of cover over the dust bath to keep it from any weather conditions that could wet it like rain. An umbrella is a good example.

Brahma-chicken

Clip Chickens’ Wings

Clipping chickens’ wings doesn’t mean cutting the whole wing off. We’re not trying to harm the chickens; the point is to just limit their ability to fly around.

Clipping the wings is harmless and painless for the chicken if done correctly. You would aim to cut only the terminal parts of certain feathers.

A chicken wing contains primary feathers and secondary feathers. You should only cut around half an inch of the terminals of the primary feathers. That limits your chicken’s ability to use its wings without causing any pain or harm.

Be Sure Chickens Have Plenty To Eat

If you’re looking to make sure your chickens are always happy and healthy, making sure they have plenty of food is essential. From juicy crops to seeds galore, the garden should be a go-to spot for them – just give it all in abundance! Otherwise you might find yourself dealing with some uninvited guests visiting local gardens late at night…

How-to-Create-a-Chicken-Garden

Build a Chicken Tractor Instead of Free-Ranging Your Flock

A chicken tractor is essentially a mobile RV for your chickens. It gives them all the benefits of daylight and the fresh air without letting them wreak havoc in your garden.

Don’t let the word ‘tractor’ scare you. You won’t be using sophisticated engineering mechanics. All you need is some woodworking skills.

Sprinkle Citrus Peels Throughout Garden

Citrus, lemon, and orange peels are some of the greatest weapons against chicken invasions. Start saving up those peels and draw an outline around your garden using them.

Chickens don’t like the strong smell of such fruits, and they will turn back the moment they smell them.

You could also spray some citrus or orange juice around the garden. However, besides being a waste of a good drink, you’ll need to re-spray the juice after every rain to retain its effectiveness.

How-to-Create-a-Chicken-Garden

Protect Individual Plants With Chicken Wire or Stones

If your chickens have a special interest in a particular plant, you may resort to protecting that individual plant.

You can try making a small housing or a ‘mini garden hoop’ of chicken wire around that plant. Alternatively, you could build a small housing of stones around the plant to prevent the chickens from reaching it.

Hang Fake Hawks Over Garden

Chickens aren’t the most brilliant birds around, but they still have the natural survival instinct. They know better than to mess with hungry birds that attack from above.

You can use their natural predator to your advantage. Make or buy fake hawk(s) around your garden to keep your chickens from getting too close.

Plant a Shrub Border

If having a fence made of chicken wire, wood, or hardwire cloth isn’t a good idea for you, why not settle for a natural alternative instead?

Plant a shrub border around your garden to prevent chickens from getting through. Not only would your garden be protected, but it would also look great!

silkie-bantam-chicken

Train Your Dog To Protect Garden

It seems that dogs are always there when you’re in a pickle. If you have a dog, you can train him to protect your garden from all intruders, not just chickens.

Dogs are territorial and would do anything to keep their belongings safe; that includes you and your garden.

Pick the right breed that’s defensive but not overly aggressive, and train the dog to chase off intruders only to a specific limit around your garden.

Supervise Free-Range Time

Chickens, like most living creatures, need to leave the coop occasionally to remain mentally and physically healthy.

When you decide to take your chickens for an outing, you should be there as they do so. We strongly advise against opening the coop, going back home for a coffee, then coming back out to guide the chickens back to their coop.

You may notice a few plants damaged or missing if that happens. Always supervise the free-range time of your chickens to keep them from getting in your garden or simply straying too far.

save on chicken feed

In conclusion, keeping chickens out of your garden can be quite a challenge. Fortunately, there are several ways to go about it. By installing a fence or chicken wire around the garden you can physically stop chickens from entering. Repellent sprays and homemade solutions can also deter chickens from entering your garden while natural predators like owls, hawks, and snakes can keep them away. You can additionally put motion activated lights and loud noise makers near the garden and also plant flowers that have strong odours that chickens don’t like. Lastly, you can mix in certain plants such as marigolds and lavender known to repel chickens from entering your garden space. All in all, these approaches will help ensure that you enjoy the fruits of your hard labours without worrying about pesky chickens intruding on your peaceful haven!

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