9 Effective Ways to Keep Chickens Out of Garden

If you are a devoted gardener, you can feel it when your backyard chickens turn to be destructive.

These birds like foraging and scratching the ground. They can also destroy your nursery when they sandbathe.

Garden destructions caused by chickens are a big problem to many homeowners who share their property with them.

We have compiled 9 effective ways to keep chickens out of the garden. That’s the focus of this article. So, read on to find lasting solutions to the problem.

9 Effective Ways to Keep Chickens Out Of Garden

If you love both your garden and chickens, it can be challenging to eliminate one as the solution.

So, how can you keep chicken out of your flower garden? There are 9 effective ways of solving the problems, which include the following:

• Fence your garden or protect individual plants.
• Growing the herbs/plants that chickens hate.
• Add ground covers to exposed soil that chickens hate.
• Create your chickens a garden of their own.
• Using fake predators and scarecrows.
• Install a motion sensor sprinkler in a garden.
• Get a dog to protect the garden.
• Restricting time out of the coop.
• Ask the chickens to leave (fact, seriously!)

How well can these ideas help you get the best out of your garden without chickens getting in and destroying everything? Let’s get the details.

Fence Your Garden or Protect Individual Plants

Fencing your flower garden or backyard vegetable garden is, by far, the most effective approach to keeping chickens out.

The constructed fence will act as a barrier to prevent entry into the restricted parts of your garden.

Not all types of fences will keep chickens away. Remember, these birds are good jumpers even though they are poor flyers.

The wooden fence may look attractive but is not good enough to keep away chickens. Their stability allows the chicken to jump on them and hop right into your garden.

Use a chicken wire fence without a wooden bar at the top. It should be at least 4 feet high to be effective in keeping these birds out of your garden.

Fencing may be expensive. So, you can just fence around the flowers or trees you want to protect if you can’t cover the perimeter of your garden.

JQAQJU Chicken Wire Net

Growing The Herbs/Plants That Chickens Hate

Your flower garden will be the favorite spot for your chickens if you are growing their favorite flowers or herbs.

They are good at foraging. So, they will never take chances if an opportunity presents itself. Walk around your garden to inspect the extent of the damage.

Identify the flowers or herbs they mainly destroy and replace them with the ones chickens don’t care about.

These plants will keep your chicken away by emitting scents or not attracting bugs that the chicken will be tempted to eat.

Different plants chicken hate, some of which include the following:

• Lavender
• Chives
• Catnip
• Spearmint
• Marigold
• Petunias
• Rosemary
• Lemon thyme
• Lemongrass

With new plants in your garden, chickens will just taste them and move away if the taste is unpleasant. They will have no business being there if they get nothing in return.

Add Ground Covers To Exposed Soil That Chickens Hate

To understand how covering your garden works to keep away chicken, let’s recall the reasons for coming to your garden.

Chickens get into your garden to forage for food, eat bugs, and dust themselves on the loose, bare surfaces.

Planting herbs they don’t eat or those not prone to bugs will eliminate two reasons. That means chickens will still get into your garden if they see a playground.

You cannot just stop birds from dustbathing. It’s their favorite game. And when given the opportunity, they can destroy the entire bed.

Fortunately, you can deter them by covering the soil. You can use any of the following materials for the job:

• Landscaping or mulching sheet
• Wire mesh or synthetic net
• Small rocks
• Plants to cover ground

Create Your Chickens A Garden of Their Own

Chickens don’t like living in confinement. They want to walk as far as they can go. Or, at least, find somewhere to spend their time apart from the coop.

If planning on keeping backyard chicken, you should consider creating a garden for them. That will ease the pressure and attempt to break into your flower garden.

The placement of your chicken garden also matters.

Consider a site far from your flower or vegetable garden, preferably at one corner of your property. You can also consider a location close to the coop, feeding grounds.

Using Fake Predators and Scarecrows

Chickens are not intelligent enough to differentiate between the actual predator and a scarecrow.

You can simply keep them out by crafting something shaped like a human being and put in your garden. However, that may not be effective if they are used to human beings.

A fake owl, hawk, or coyote may look too realistic for them to comprehend. You can successfully deter chickens from your garden, but the position matters.

The model of a predator can scare your birds. If they feel distressed, the production will go down.

When using this predator trick, your garden should not be close to the coop or visible to the chickens when they are out of the garden. It’s meant to deter them from the garden and not to constantly scare them.

Install A Motion Sensor Sprinkler In A Garden

Keep chicken out of your garden while watering the plants at the same time. The motion sensor sprinklers are automated to turn on when there is movement.

If it’s for deterring chicken, the pressure should be mild enough to drive chicken out and not instill fear in them.

Animal Repeller

However, these automated systems may not tell the difference between chicken and other moving bodies.

That means they will be triggered by anything moving, including you. Maybe, you never want to go to the garden with your phone because you don’t know when you can have a surprise shower.

Get A Dog To Protect The Garden

Dogs are known for their help in protecting people and their territories. Apart from being your companion, a trained dog can protect your garden from chickens and any intruders.

You may need to buy an already trained dog or train one yourself.

Dogs have proved effective in looking after a herd of cattle. They can also keep chickens away from your garden by just barking or chasing them.

Not all dog breeds can be good at doing this particular job. You need to look for outliers such as:

• Welsh corgi
• Border collie
• Australian shepherd
• Shetland sheepdogs

Restricting Time Out Of The Coop

If you can provide enough feeds to your kitchen in the coop, then you can easily restrict their time out. You can let them out in the evening or when you are around to guard your flowers and vegetables.

This method works, but it’s also associated with some problems. If you are going to let them out of the coop, please do so in the evening.

By doing so, they will have a short time to forage and then get back to the coop on their own when darkness falls. Otherwise, you will spend much of your time chasing the chickens around to catch them.

Ask The Chickens To Leave (Fact, Seriously!)

This looks like a joke, and indeed, it is. It may seem outrageous to start ordering your chickens around, but it works. You can simply wave your hands or shout at the chicken to get out of your garden.

Birds are not deaf and will read your agitation. They will learn to avoid going to areas where they are not needed.

However, this is a game of chance that may not work if you have a huge flock.

The methods we described earlier are more effective and can be used even when you are not at home to ask the chickens to leave your garden.

Personality Thinking

Many articles talk about growing weeds and shrubs to repel chickens. I don’t think so.

In fact, chickens like to roam in grassy places looking for worms, insects, crickets, etc. They also like digging in the ground.

Not only that, but the chickens also like to eat the freshly grown grass. So, don’t think about planting grass to cover the garden because you will be inviting them.

Wrapping Up

Don’t let your backyard chicken ruin your gardening goals. We have highlighted some ways you can use to deter them from foraging or sand bathing in your garden.

It’s upon you to choose what works for you or is within your budget.

Thank you for taking your time to read this post at the Em Off-grid. We hope you have found the information worth it. If so, please share with friends. Sharing is caring!