Flower beds in your garden are a great way to keep your yard looking fresh and welcoming to your neighbors. However, when you own a chicken, putting them together could wreck the flower beds you’ve worked so hard to build.
Chickens, on the other hand, can still be beneficial to gardens. Their manures are great fertilizers, and they eat bugs that might hurt your garden otherwise.
But if you want to keep the flowers healthy and beautiful, then you must learn how to keep chickens out of flower beds.
Here are several ways to keep chickens out of the garden.
Table of Contents
9 Easy Ways to Keep Chicken Out of Flower Beds
Method 1: Build Fences
What to Prepare:
- Branches and Strong Twigs
- Grapevine or Willow
- Pipes
- Nail
- Hammer
One way of keeping chickens out of flower beds is to build fences around those beds.
When you surround your flower beds with high fences, chickens will not be able to go on them, which will save them from being destroyed.
If you want to keep a pleasing look on your fences, there are a few ideas on how to put it, but the most common style is the Rustic Twig Fence.
The Rustic Twig Fence has a traditional appearance and is made of natural materials that go well with your flower beds. Here are the steps you must follow to do this.
- Pound pipes into the ground.
- Insert branches or upright twigs inside the pipes. These will serve as the fence posts.
- Create a frame by using branches or strong twigs. Bind them together using grapevine or willow.
- Attach the frame to the posts by wiring them with twigs or nail them for stronger attachment.
- Wrap the twigs that act as the “net” around the whole post vertically or horizontally, depending on your preference.
Remember that as long as you have the necessary supplies, you can always explore designs and choose the right style to match your flower beds.
Method 2: Install a Motion-Activated Sprinkler
If you want your garden beds without fencing, you should try this method. Chickens don’t like being sprayed or drenched with water.
Installing a Motion-Activated Sprinkler can keep chickens away from your flower beds when they learn that they will get sprayed whenever they set their feet at your beds.
If it was time-consuming before to watch your chickens and spray them whenever they are in your flower beds, then this method is beneficial to you as well. You can save a lot of time by simply letting a motion-activated sprinkler do its thing.
Method 3: Place Realistic Decoys
Raccoons, weasels, eagles, hawks, and skunks are among the top chicken predators. Chickens are often terrified of them since they know they could be attacked and get eaten by them.
Using realistic decoys near your flower beds to scare chickens away is one approach to keep them out of your yard. To do this, follow these recommended steps:
- Disperse your decoys around your flower beds
- Alternatively, if you don’t want your chickens to realize that they’re simply toys, you can put two of them in at once and replace them with another set.
Method 4: Plant Chicken Repellent Herbs
What smell do chickens hate? One of their features is that they despise strong smells.
If your chickens are getting out of hand from going their way to your flower beds, then it’s a good thing that there are specific herbs that chickens don’t like due to their smell.
You must consider planting herbs that would be impossible for your chickens to go near.
- Lavender, for example, has a strong aroma that chickens hate.
- Marigolds are one of the flower-bearing plants and are also a good example with a strong scent and don’t signal a food source for chickens.
- Mint and Lemongrass are also good examples that carry a smell of citrus that chickens hate.
Try planting these herbs for a more effective way of deterring your chickens away from your flower beds.
Method 5: Use Chicken Repellent Spices
Planting strong-scented herbs in your flower beds is surely an effective method to chicken proof your garden.
However, if you wish to grow a sweet-smelling herb, you must try using strong-scented spices on your garden bed instead.
Cinnamon, Paprika, Chiles, and Garlic are a few spices that irritate the sense of smell of the chickens. Sprinkle these in your garden, and they will stay away from it.
You can also try making a chicken repellent spray as an alternative. To do this, follow these steps.
- Crush 2-3 Garli
- Make 2.5 Cups of water
- Mix them together
- Spray the areas around your garden using this mixture
Method 6: Get a Dog
We all know that when dogs are properly trained, they perform admirably. Most of them are highly intelligent; that’s why some are used for military support, farm work, stage performance, and a variety of other things.
Buying a trained dog or training your current dog is one effective way to keep chickens out of mulch beds.
Consider getting an Airedale Terrier, Australian Cattle Dog, Border Collie, or German Shepherd, as these dogs are highly intelligent and have specific farm talents, such as guarding your flower beds.
However, it is important to note that you should train your dog to befriend your chickens to avoid some attacks.
The Great Pyrenees are recognized for being calm and friendly with people they know and excellent farm helpmates.
If you want a dog that can do both, the Great Pyrenees is a good choice.
Method 7: Get Rid of Bugs
The bugs are one of the main reasons chickens flock to your flower beds. To stop chickens destroying garden, get rid of the bugs they want to eat.
One common method of killing them is to use insecticides. However, most gardeners prefer a more natural kind, and you may want one as well.
Botanical insecticides are natural, have a low toxicity level for people, and effectively kill insects and pests.
They are organic because they contain environmental substances such as Spinosad, Neem Oil, and other plant-derived essential oils.
So if you prefer an insecticide that is most likely natural, botanical insecticides are a good alternative to conventional insecticides.
However, if you want to save money and use a more natural form, you can also build your repellents.
- Sprinkle salt around the area where the bugs are to help dry them out.
- Another option is to kill the bugs with dish soap. Mix the water and dish soap in a bottle and spray the bugs in your plants.
Method 8: Create Their Own Flower Beds
Another method is to create your chickens’ flower beds. Your chickens will be less likely to go to your flower gardens if you build their flower beds beside them.
To make this strategy more effective, plant herbs that they will enjoy playing with and scratching, such as parsley, chicory, and nasturtium plants. Also, check this guide to know the best time to plant nasturtium seeds.
They are not only enjoyable for your chickens, but they are also nutritious and excellent for their health when consumed.
Since chickens like to scratch the ground, surround them with green materials that are safe to break up, such as grass and weeds.
Method 9: Use Chicken Tractors
Portable coops are known as chicken tractors. It’s used to move chickens around and is most typically used by non-free range chickens, but you can also use it to protect your flower beds.
Instead of completely releasing your chickens in your garden, use a chicken tractor to get them out of their coop. They can still nibble on the grass without causing damage to your flower beds.
One advantage of this tractor is that, in addition to monitoring your chickens’ movements, you can also move it to fertilize the area you choose because their manures are excellent fertilizers.
These tractors can also protect your chicken from predators like hawks and raccoons.
Related:
- 8 easy ways to keep raccoons from digging up plants
- 8 methods to keep animals out of garden without fence
Helpful Tip
If you don’t want to do anything with your chickens, do something on your flower beds!
Raise your flower beds instead if you want your chickens to keep on roaming around especially if you only have a small space in your yard.
To assert more assurance that chickens won’t fly over to your beds, surround your raised flower bed with bricks. Remember, chickens prefer soil rather than solid ground.
Conclusion
Loving your flower beds doesn’t mean that you have to get rid of your chickens. You can have delight in both!
All the methods mentioned above on how to keep chickens out of flower beds will surely help solve the trouble and even make your garden more beautiful. Try them and find out what works best with your chickens and flower beds. Thank you!
Hi, I am William – Floridayards’ digital content creator. My job is to find answers to all your concerns with thorough research and our team’s expert advice. I will also bring you honest reviews on the best products and equipment for raising your beautiful garden. Please look forward to our work!
