I've done bits over the years but every single bit of effort i've ever made in the garden has been destroyed by OH's chickens. They fly over netted fences and scratch everything up. He WON'T fasten them up, they are completely free range and they make a rotten mess.

I'm looking for ideas to make the garden unattractive to them, maybe by planting some spikey plants and things they don't like. I've been told that if I lay chicken wire on the ground they'll not scratch that and I can plant through it. But what should I plant to deter the pesky blighters?

Any ideas welcome

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whatever you do, they will get through it, they will eat it, they will scratch it up and they will poo on it. Especially the latter.  They will even pick the lock on your greenhouse and eat your tomato plants.

They are like The Terminator but with feathers.

We tried fully free range chickens, it doesn't work, they wreck everything.  I built a pen for them now that's 1.2m high (about 4 foot) and the only way we keep them in that is to clip their wings (tip: clip one side only, the hen then becomes unstable in the roll axis and experiences the chicken equivalent of a VMC rollover when it tries to fly - which keeps them in and is also funny to watch )

I just can't bear the garden as it is and there is no way OH will lock them up

I was looking at electrified netting on ebay and prickly plants at the garden centre looking for some hope

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The only solution we found was to 'release the hound' and after a few 'chicken sticking out of dogs mouth' experiences they tend to steer well clear now

Drive me mental - I make a lovely tidy bed and they come in and mess it all up, they sh*t EVERYWHERE and the cockeral... how's he's not ended up as my dinner I dont know BUT when you watch them they are funny things and my favourites are Mimi and Betty

BUT they are at the yard and not in my garden! Tell your OH to put them on leads or something

 Picture Perfect Partnership

Kindest Eye

Handy Equine

Could you get away with swopping them for ducks!!

Alice & Alejandro (dont ask about the name) our pet Aylesbury ducks are awesome, they do still poo everywhere but they are so comical in everything they do it makes up for it

 

There's a bit of a rockery in the garden and that seems to be the only place they don't like, so i'm monitoring what they avoid in the hope I can get some clues to maintaining a garden they feel uncomfortable in. Apparently, scented and prickly plants are not their favourites

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We never had problems with chickens in our garden...hmmm