7 Tips; How To Keep Chickens Out Of Gardens, Flower Beds

Wondering how to keep chickens out of your garden areas this summer? This can be a real headache. Backyard Chickens can be hard on your gardens, and mulch areas and it’s maddening if they get into a neighbor’s yard causing further problems.

There are a number of ways for keeping chickens out. You can try store-bought remedies like fences, water deterrents, or natural distractions like a garden designated just for your flock. And even choose the right breed to avoid the problem altogether!

Raise Chickens That Are Lazy Breed Types

Maybe lazy isn’t the best choice of words, but there are breeds that are less likely to forage as far and don’t like to hunt much for food sources. These breeds aren’t great for free-range chickens so they’re ideal for the backyard chicken home that wants to have its vegetable and flower garden left alone.

Birds not suited for free-range

Some breeds of chickens prefer to have their food brought to them as opposed to wandering around and foraging for more tasty snacks. These and other birds generally like insects, worms, grubs, ticks, and fresh garden treats, but some just have a lower energy level and won’t roam so much.

These are ideal for the gardener who wants farm freshness from their eggs but doesn’t want to share their hard-earned vegetable harvest with their flock.

The more decorative breeds are usually less bothersome of gardens. They aren’t big into foraging and for a silkie or polish chicken, their feathers make it harder to see predators, thus their instincts (and yours should be) to keep in the coop where it’s secure and safe.

The more docile chicken breeds are also calmer and need less foraging activity for them to be content.

Eliminate the Chicken’s Source of Temptation

If you are finding that your property is attracting unwanted guests, such as chickens eating your favorite homegrown vegetables, then you should eliminate their source of food. One way to do this is by cutting off their access to food. This may mean removing ground-level bird feeders and bird seed, which can attract birds like chickens and wild turkeys.

Fake Predators and Scarecrows

One popular method is to introduce fake predators and scarecrows. Decoy predators may not be foolproof, as chickens are usually smart. Immobile figurines should look like predators that would actually scare a chicken away from your yard in real life. For some flocks, the fake owls and hawks can be effective.

Most feed and farm stores carry these or can special order a particular type you prefer. They don’t really require much to set up, possibly some stakes to keep them in place then let them do their job.

Install a Solar Powered Motion Sensor Sprinkler

One way to keep the chickens out of your yard is to install a motion sensor sprinkler. The noise of a garden hose may frighten them into leaving your yard temporarily, but you can’t sit there with a garden hose in your hand all day.

An automatic sprinkler system is the best way to protect your property from chickens. These great inventions will repel chickens and more from your yard. It’s solar-powered, meaning that it’s eco-friendly and efficient to operate. They are a reliable deterrent for unwanted pests like chickens or deer.

Add Leaf and Grass Clipping Piles as a Distraction

Chickens are attracted to gardens and seed piles, but more than that, they love insects! so you can discourage chickens from entering your vegetable or flower garden by adding a decoy garden nearby.

A nice pile of mulched leaves and grass clippings can be a chicken’s playground for hours of scratching and foraging for insects. This is a benefit to your yard too. Your flock will spread these natural nutrients all over that section of your lawn naturally with their scratching.

Deterring Plants

One of the best ways to deter unwanted animals and pests from entering your garden is by planting defensive plants. These plants have an instinctive need to protect their territory, so they will do everything in their power to keep animals like chickens out. Some great options for deterrent plants include:

• Geraniums
• Honeysuckle
• Hosta
• Jasmin
• Lavender
• Lobelia
• Periwinkle

Chickens Hate These Spices

There are many spices you can use to deter chickens from coming into your garden or flower bed. Some of these include paprika, cayenne, and garlic powder. All of these spices have a scent that chickens hate, so sprinkling them around your plants will help keep them away.

Additionally, citrus peels can be sprinkled over the area to achieve the same goal. The smell of citrus is unpleasant to chickens and will keep them away from your flowers.

11 Spices Chickens Will Avoid

• Catnip
• Chives
• Lavender
• Marjoram
• Mint
• Oregano
• Rosemary
• Peppermint
• Sage
• Spearmint
• St. John’s Wort

Distance ‘does’ make the heart grow fonder

One way to keep your chickens out of the garden is to place your garden far away from their coop. Chickens typically stick to small areas around their coop for safety reasons. If your garden is too close, they can wander into it and eat your plants more easily.

Plant a Chicken Garden

Try setting aside a garden area to attract chickens to a place they can roam, forage, find food and get exercise. A garden grown for your chicken may have some value for you all.

Make sure that all plants are safe and pesticide-free before planting them in your chicken garden. There are many effective ways to keep chickens out of your flowers and vegetables, but it’s important to use a combination of methods to be successful.

10 Ideas of what A chicken garden may include:

• Blueberry bushes (chickens will eat berries and not leaves)
• Beet Greens
• Broccoli
• Carrots
• Chard
• Cucumbers
• Kale
• Lettuce
• Pumpkins
• Turnip Greens

4 Field or cover crops to Plant for your chickens

These grow quickly and are always a hit with a flock of chickens. You could create a couple of areas for them and rotate your planting to keep something growing all season.

• Alfalfa
• Buckwheat
• Clover
• Rye

Raised Beds

Raised beds are a great option for those who want to keep chickens and plants together. They can be made out of many different materials, but the most important part is that they are raised off of the ground.

This prevents chickens from being able to get into the garden as easily and also keeps them from being able to scratch up the soil. It also makes it easier on your back because you don’t have to bend over!

Raised beds come in all heights and you can buy pre-made or build your own.

Shrubs for Barriers

Shrub barriers are a great way to keep chickens out of the garden. Chickens are not able to fly very well, so if you plant shrubs and bushes around your garden, they will not be able to get in.

You can also use an old door or gate as part of your fence; this will add to the look of your garden and make it more difficult for chickens to get in. That also allows you to get in and out without having to straddle over some bushes every time you need access to your garden.

Hanging Plants as a Hanging Garden

There are many benefits to using hanging plants in or as an alternative to your garden. For one, they can keep hens away from flowers and other plants.

Additionally, they’re a great way to display fruits and vegetables in an attractive way. Plus, this type of plant is easy to maintain and monitor. You can even place them in different parts of your yard, wherever you want an extra splash of color.

Use Chicken Wire Fencing

A chicken wire mesh fence is a great way to keep chickens out of your vegetable garden. The fence should be at least 5-6 feet tall. Honestly, a shorter fence of 4′ will discourage them from taking flight over and into your garden.

trim the chicken’s flight feathers

Trimming your chicken’s flight feathers on one side will stop them from being able to get any significant height over a fence or shrub area. This is painless and can be done easily at home with sharp scissors.

Scroll down further where we’ve provided you with a video that will show you how to trim your chicken’s flight feathers.

Cover the Soil with Wire Cloth

You can restrict access to your soil, naturally excluding chickens, by covering the soil with wire cloth. Added bonus is this is also known to deter other ground traveling creatures that may want to snack in your garden. This has been known to stop deer, bunnies, and even neighborhood dogs and cats.

Use PVC Hoops and Netting

One way to keep chickens out of your garden is by using PVC hoops and netting. This is an easy, inexpensive option that can be used anywhere–including indoors during winter. The chicken wire allows your chickens to roam freely and roam in the garden. It can also be used indoors if you want your chickens to have some fresh air during winter. The PVC hoops can be bent or broken, but they will last for many years with proper care.

What About Electric Fences?

Many people think that electric fences can be used to keep chickens out of the garden, but this is not actually the case. Chickens do not respect electric fences in the same way that other animals do, and they will often walk right through them or roost on top of them.

Train Your Dog to Keep Chickens Out Of Vegetable and Flower garden

If you’re looking for a way to keep chickens out of your yard, consider adopting a dog or puppy. Dogs are great at keeping unwanted animals away and can be taught to do this very effectively.

Adding a fence will help keep the dogs safe and prevent unwanted guests from coming in.

Chicken Tractors for Free-range chickens

A chicken tractor is a movable coop that can be used to keep your chickens in one area of the yard while allowing them to free-range in another specific area. These work well with smaller flocks.

The beauty of this system is that you can move the (coop) tractor around every day or so, giving your chickens access to fresh grass and bugs while protecting your garden from their scratching and pecking.

Building a chicken tractor is a relatively easy project and can be done using materials you likely have lying around your shop. The basic design is a rectangular frame with an open bottom, covered by wire mesh on all sides. You’ll also need some way to secure the tractor to the ground – either stakes or wheels.

To use the tractor, simply move it into position over your desired grazing area and let the chickens out. When they’re done eating, put them back in the tractor and move it somewhere else.

Read here about How Long Hens Lay and the Life Expectancy of a Chicken

Toxic Repellants to Avoid

When it comes to keeping chickens out of the garden, there are a number of toxic repellants that should be avoided. While they may be effective at keeping pests away, mothballs are toxic to chickens.

Another repellant to avoid is cedar shavings. Cedar shavings have a naturally produced toxic oil that can cause respiratory problems in chickens and should always be avoided.

Chickens can suffer from toxicosis when ingesting pesticides, herbicides, and rodents. These toxins can have serious consequences.

Remember, if these birds are yours or someone else’s, they are most likely producing eggs for human consumption; intentionally endangering someone’s food source is criminal.

Related Reading: Raising Backyard Chickens; Tips for Beginners

More Related Reading: All About Cornish Chickens Here.

FAQ’s

Will coffee grounds keep chickens away?

Do NOT allow coffee grounds near any chickens. Keep coffee grounds away from chickens regardless of your intentions. These can cause heart damage, kidney damage, causing seizures, and even death in chickens.

What smell will keep chickens away?

Planting these along the border of your garden areas will help deter chickens: garlic, chiles, chives, mint, marigolds, lavender, and citrus. They also avoid scents like those from cinnamon, curry powder, and paprika, although new plants don’t typically give off the desired scent so won’t do much to help with new plantings. You may be better off finding some inexpensive spices at a discount store just for garden use.

Do pinwheels deter chickens?

The right Pinwheels will help deter any bird. They need to be shiny and reflect light. You can make your own with tinfoil (or tin pie plates, soda cans) like in this youtube video (below) or you can buy a set like this sold on Amazon.

Will chickens ruin flower beds?

Chickens don’t mean to be destructive. However, by nature, they are always scratching and looking for worms and insects. As they scratch soil they are also digging up your flower garden. They are also happy to pick insects from leaves and in the process eat the leaves too!

What keeps chickens away from mulch?

Toxins in treated mulch can be dangerous for chickens, so you really want to try and keep them out regardless. Placing wire cloth, aka hardwire cloth on top of mulch area. This is like a heavy-duty screen. Chickens hate the feel of the wire beneath their feet and will leave quickly. Fyi.. this is rumored to work for deer and other garden pests who travel by foot, hoof, or paw.

How To Keep Chickens Off The Porch

There are a few things you can do to keep your chickens from roosting on your porch. One of the best ways is to figure out why they are there in the first place and remove anything that they like.

For instance, if they are drawn to the porch because of insects or seeds, get rid of those items. The hens will not do much damage but can be messy if left unchecked.

How do I keep my neighbor’s chickens out of my yard?

Try asking your neighbors nicely. They may not even realize their chickens are getting as far as your yard and will be happy to help come up with a solution. You can try some of our tips for keeping chickens out of your garden, but if you don’t want chickens in your yard at all, that can be awkward but not awful.

Call your local animal control and educate yourself on town laws regarding chickens, ask for suggestions and see if they can help with ideas and possibly a conversation with your neighbor. It is always best to try and resolve things together and hey, it may get you some free fresh eggs from time to time!

How tall should a fence be to keep chickens out of a garden?

We recommend 4-6 feet to discourage chickens. However, they are able to fly over that if they are motivated (chased by a predator, following another brave high-flying chicken). If you have one in your flock that is the ring leader, your frequent flyer (or you can do this with all of them), simply trim their flight feathers. It’s painless and can be done with the scissors you have at home. See the video below.

Can I Cut the Feathers on a Chicken?

You can cut ONLY the flight feathers. Watch the video above and see just how quick and easy the process is.

Will chickens destroy my backyard?

If you have a large flock and a small yard, then there is more of a chance your chickens will scratch and hunt in the same locations for insects, worms, and grubs (yes, ticks too!). Frequent scratching of smaller areas will ruin sections of your lawn

This may also cause them to go bother your neighbor’s lawn too!

Try to keep your flock size appropriate to your lawn size. A backyard flock of about 6 is plenty for most families and can actually improve your outdoor space with the insects they are eating. Then there’s also the benefit of a healthier, well-exercised chicken that will produce great eggs.

Related Reading: Picking the Right Chicken for Your Climate. Are they a cold-hardy flock?

Final Thoughts on Keeping Chickens out of Flower Gardens

There are a variety of methods that people use to try and keep chickens out of their flower gardens, but it’s important to remember that none of them are 100% foolproof. You may have to change up your methods every once in a while to keep them interesting for the chickens.

Chickens can provide a lot of happiness and entertainment as they flock around to hunt bugs and grubs, so many people choose to let them roam in their yards.

However, this can create its own set of problems for gardeners who want to protect their flowers. Too many chickens can cause problems for not just you but also your neighbor, that’s not what anyone wants.

Sometimes it’s the breed you choose right from the start. An educated flock owner is always good for everyone.