How To Keep Chickens Out Of Your Yard?

Deterring chicken from digging up the garden is not a problem solved overnight. The chickens and your garden can “live together” as long as they know their places. If you are still wondering how to keep chickens out of your yard, we have a bunch of effective ways that can blow your mind. Follow these tips to keep peace on your homestead and maintain your lovely garden.

How to keep chickens out of your yard?

Discover the attraction to the yard

There are 3 primary reasons why the chickens keep coming to your areas: food, comfort, survival (or reproduction).

The chickens love to free roam. They have a good sense of smell and normally seek out worms, ants, bugs, and other insects. The chickens are intelligent; hence if they know the source of food, they tend to come near.

Furthermore, finding shaded areas is a must for the chickens during boiling weather or downpour. Your yard, garden, patio, and porch become the ideal places for them to take a break and look for comfort.

When it comes to survival, they also want to enter places offering safety and protection from predators.

Now you have identified the reasons why the chickens continue wandering around your yard, you can start taking actions to repel these unwelcome garden visitors.

“Water” the chickens

It may sound strange but this is the most straightforward way to drive the chickens away from your yard. Spray the chickens with the water pressure light so that it does not hurt them. If you do this technique continuously enough, the chickens may connect your yard with the water and begin to avoid it.

As it requires your presence all the time to spray the chickens, consider a motion-activated sprinkler to work for you. This is a quick and profitable win to prevent chickens from your yard.

Use specific spices around the area

Chickens are not picky animals and tend to eat what is given to them. However, they do not like the smell of strong herbs and spices.

Sprinkle the ground in between plants and around your perimeter with spices such as curry powder, cinnamon, garlic, pepper, salt, or herbs: chamomile, sweet woodruff, thyme, mint, lemon balm. Those kinds of spices and herbs do not harm the chickens but they will teach them not to come to the area again.

Read More: Can Geese and Chickens Be Kept Together? If you plan to raise birds, see if these two make a good fit!

Install fencing around your garden

If you want to keep the chickens from digging up your garden and protecting newly-planted seeds, fencing is the most effective method.

Fencing for chickens does not need to be tall, about 5 feet is generally sufficient. Many options arise but we have wrapped up 4 types of fencing solutions: Chicken wire, Electric fence, Chain-link fence, and Full fencing and rail. Each option depends on your budget, personality, and what is going to do the best for you.

Plant in containers

If you do not want to create a barrier around your garden, this is also an efficient way.

Hanging baskets and tall pots plantings can push the chickens out of vulnerable or low-growing plants. Put the plants on a porch, deck, or other places where the chickens cannot reach them. Netting as well as surrounding the containers with bricks and stones will also protect the plants and keep the chickens from scratching and digging them up.

Create a specific garden for the chickens

This may be the most tried-and-true method of restricting the chickens’ presence. Remember to plant edible bushes and fill the chicken garden with loads of healthy food for your chickens garden. Also, build a steady coop to avoid torrential rain and plant low-growing trees for them to hide from the heat.

Will fake owls or rubber snakes keep chickens away?

The chickens have an aversion to their predators, thus you can place some plastic fake owls or snakes to stop them from venturing around.

However, the chickens are smart and quickly realize that those predators are bogus. Many farmers spend relatively money on purchasing animated owls or snakes that move around and make a sound. Then, the frightening tools do limit the access of the chickens to their yards.

Will mothballs keep chickens away?

Mothballs may deter the chickens away from your yard, but they occasionally do not work. The chickens have a good sense of smell and tend to avoid foul-smelling things like mothballs.

Nonetheless, the mothballs can also be effective to punish these uninvited visitors. As chickens’ instinct is to eat everything off the ground, mothballs should be wrapped by delicious food to attract the chickens to give it a taste.

Even mothballs work for some chickens, some reasons make people don’t consider it as a solution for preventing chicken from entering.

• Mothballs are toxic to humans, the environment, and animals.
• Mothballs can be dangerous if they are chewed or eaten. Remember to warn your family, especially children about the risks of mothballs.
• The chemicals in the mothballs might leach into the soil causing contamination, then be absorbed by your plants and retained in tissues. Over time, they will harm the plants that you are trying to protect.
• Mothballs can endanger your chickens. According to some studies, 30% of chickens died because of eating mothballs. Otherwise, the toxic substances in the mothballs can pass to the muscle of the chickens and eggs. This poses a great risk to those who eat these chickens.

Conclusion

I hope after reading this article, you do know how to keep chickens out of your garden. The job sounds easy, but actually requires careful planning and lots of patience.

So, you will no longer think about shooting those uninvited chickens, won’t you? Don’t let these small poultry spoil your peace and neighbor relationship.