Single hen

[Happymama]

Hi, It's just occured to me, while considering taking the plunge and getting ourselves an eglu and 2 hens to go with the dog, two cats, three kids under 5 etc, that they will love our garden rather too much. I have strawberries, blackberries, tayberries, rasps, blackcurrants, redcurrants and windfall apples (or proper ones if I forget to clip them - then there will also be neighbours plums, cherries, and pears too!) - are these all going to be at risk? What about the elderberries?

 

Only I like to make my own wine!

[can]

Yep - they'll eat anything that is reachable . Our eat strawberries, blackberries, apples, pumpkin, courgette ... and so on.

 

We have to make sure the vegetable patch is fenced off.

[jackie]

I keep my veg safely on my allotment, but do they eat all the flowers?

[can]

SOME flowers. Not all. But yes, they do eat flowers.

[Stephanie]

I was worried about our vegetables before we got our girls, but they don't seem to be interested in them at all (although we only have carrots, leeks and tomatoes). I even tried giving them a tomato from the plant as a test to see whether I would need to protect the plants, but they just left it on the ground. I think that it just depends on their individual tastes - I keep reading how much chickens like grapes, raisins and marmite, but I have tried all of these and they just turn their noses up! They do seem to like apples though...

[glowingsheep]

We tried a couple of slightly long-in the-tooth cherry tomotoes and at first they didn't seem impressed but one firm peck and seed explosion changed all that. Now they'll run up the garden after one!

 

David

[chuckie egg]

Other than fencing off areas of my garden, can anybody suggest any other ways to stop our young/tender/juicy plants from being eaten.??

[Guest]

My chickens .. Ginger and Pepper, not very original I know, but keeps it simple for my 2 boys, are pretty destructive. We have a veg area, though this summer they did not touch the beans or pumpkins, but demolished the lettuces!!!. They have also dug up alot of flowers and especially pansies in pots. As a solution we now have pots on the patio with decorative stone ontop, this stops them from scratching out all the soil. Also you may consider tomatoes and lettuces in hanging baskets for next year ... keeps them off altogether!!!. I think some mods have to be made for the fun and egg gain we have from being omleteers!.

[lesly Batcheler]

We have our girls in their eglu cube in an oak wood. Thats all that is left after one summer a 300 year old oak. Grass is a thing of the past as it will not re grow very fast under trees ...we removed all the low shrubs because at home time they hid. We have several mature shrubs and 6 chickens but I would not part with them now. We have not had a spring yet but somehow I dont think

there will be violets and primroses this time. Incidentally when they all 5 go back into the run how can we persuade the hen with attitude to go back aa well, Food bribes do not work she grabs and runs. At 70 this is my daily workout but as it gets colder I may not be so keen. I stay around out there all the time they are out because of the fox but she really takes liberties and keeps me on the move. Lesly

[little chickadee]

I use some soft fencing (like omlet sells) to actually keep them contained in a certain area rather than fencing other areas off.

[Guest]

Hi, It's just occured to me, while considering taking the plunge and getting ourselves an eglu and 2 hens to go with the dog, two cats, three kids under 5 etc, that they will love our garden rather too much. I have strawberries, blackberries, tayberries, rasps, blackcurrants, redcurrants and windfall apples (or proper ones if I forget to clip them - then there will also be neighbours plums, cherries, and pears too!) - are these all going to be at risk? What about the elderberries?

 

Only I like to make my own wine!

 

when they come into fruit then just net them off, you'd have to do that anyway or the wild brids would eat them, never mind the chickens.

 

we have all our fruit and veg at the end of the garden and we've put up temporary netting to keep them off which my husband may change to fencing with a gate. Or build your girls a permanenet large run if you don't them free ranging in the garden.

 

you can see from this daft home video how DH has netted off the end of the garden where all the edible stuff is

 

oh yeah, by the way along the back fence we have raspberries and blackcurrants, runner beans in front of them, in the raised bed we have garlic, onions, spring onions, strawberries and turnips but room for more stuff in the spring, there is also an old bin for growing spuds then near the girls run is a blackberry bush which will be netted off and at the front of the house there are redcurrant bushes against the garage wall, not to mention the 3 dwarf apple trees, pear tree and plum tree! Oh a small lean to green house which you can see in the video growing young plants and herbs, amazing what you fit in a small area, oh and there's some rhubarb at the back somewhere too

 

Edited November 10, 2007 by Guest

[Guest]

Other than fencing off areas of my garden, can anybody suggest any other ways to stop our young/tender/juicy plants from being eaten.??

 

cloches

[Carol U]

"Incidentally when they all 5 go back into the run how can we persuade the hen with attitude to go back as well, Food bribes do not work she grabs and runs. "

 

Hi Lesley, Have you tried putting their evening treats in a bowl, showing it to the girls and then actually putting it in the run? That way they would have to be inside to get some. I think the reluctant one would soon learn. Mine nearly flatten me in the rush to get in first.

[chocolatedog]

My chickens .. Ginger and Pepper, not very original I know, but keeps it simple for my 2 boys, are pretty destructive. We have a veg area, though this summer they did not touch the beans or pumpkins, but demolished the lettuces!!!. They have also dug up alot of flowers and especially pansies in pots. As a solution we now have pots on the patio with decorative stone ontop, this stops them from scratching out all the soil. Also you may consider tomatoes and lettuces in hanging baskets for next year ... keeps them off altogether!!!. I think some mods have to be made for the fun and egg gain we have from being omleteers!.

 

Yay!! I have a Ginger and a Pepper too!!! (And a Spice....!!)

[chelsea]

apart from grass and a few summer patio flowers my girls dont touch my plants.

[Guest]

Mine didn't touch my sweet peas or geraniums but a Cosmos got chewed to a stalk until I resuced it and planted it in the FRONT garden. Lots of shrubs and stuff which if they are being chewed isn't noticing. Wild Cyclamen which havn't been touched. Oh and a Bouganvillia that has been left alone.

 

I've started growing veggies in the FRONT garden. Little bedding plants also go out there in the troughs and planters to keep it colourful and welcoming.

 

The chickens are not harming my garden at all. There is no damage to the grass (well the house is in the middle of a 1/2 acre plot so there is a lot of grass) and the flowerbeds in the back garden are nicely dug over and weed free as the chooks have seen to this. My only minor niggle is that there is one area on the side of the garden where they have kicked so much dirt onto the lawn you can no longer see where the flowerbeds end. Mind you I'm gonnna start flinging grass seeds down and pushing them back anyway.

[bronze]

I think HMs garden will have had it by now

[Christian]

 

She originally posted this in September 2004!!

[Guest]

 

She originally posted this in September 2004!!

 

well spotted, wonder why someone would drag up a thread from 3 years ago !!!!!???

[Christian]

Credit goes to Miss 'eagle eyed' Bronze!

[Guest]

Well spotted! It was a freshly laid egg who dragged it up- must have found it so interesting here she trawled through lots of posts!