Pinkybijou Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 I'm having a bit of a dilemma at the moment with my chooks. I love them dearly and love to see them free ranging around our garden and especially dustbathing. However, they are totally wrecking my garden and I can't stand it! I have only just started getting my garden into some kind of order having huge leylandi trees cut down, getting some decking on our patio and re-gravelling one area. I've re-seeded the grass which is coming along nicely. Until recently both chooks have been great and just dug the odd hole, or threw a few pebbles about. THEN they started laying eggs a couple of weeks ago and they are becoming VERY destructive! Today I let them out for one hour, and when I returned they had dug at least 10 potholes in the gravelled area, kicked out ALL of the gravel from around the perimeter of the house and conservatory, dug up all of my Sweet Williams which have been fine all through winter, and also eaten most of my bedding plants. I am seriously considering not letting them free range at all, but feel so guilty. Does anyone else keep their chooks in the eglu run all the time? Are they OK? This evening when my son came home from school we let them out again, but 'supervised' and he had to spend the whole time chasing them off things they were digging up! On the one hand it is amusing that such small creatures can cause such destruction in such a short space of time, and they are adorable, but on the other hand I really do like my garden. What shall I do???? ANY advice whatsoever would be really appreciated. To freerange, or not to freerange - that is the question! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 Despite their sometimes hooligan nature-im still in favour of freeranging.Chickens are foragers and dont achknowledge the destruction left behind cause they're only after something edible,but i just accept what they do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajm200 Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 (edited) Double post - see below Edited April 17, 2008 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajm200 Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 Ours had full run of the garden until a couple of weeks ago when my husband got sick of the mess. Also, it was our little boy's mission to get into the run whenever he was in the garden so we needed to keep the chickens confined and keep him out. Luckily we have a largish garden with the bottom end used for a veggie patch and some spare Omlet netting so we were able to reach a compromise and give them their own bit of garden. I let them out into the rest of the garden for an hour or so when my hubbie is at work so that they can devour all the slugs and snails I don't like to see them stuck in the run all day so I know how you are feeling. I miss seeing them outside the patio door and having them run after me when I'm out in the garden. If I hadn't been able to give them a bit of garden, I think I would have looked into building a large walk-in run for them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 If I was in your position I would probably section off/net off/fence off a small area that you are happy for them to play in and destruct, that way they get to free range, you dont feel guilty and your garden stays nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frugal Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 Our garden is tiny. 2 hens completely trashed it over the first winter so we decided to build the run at the bottom of the garden where nothing really grew. It gets sunshine but has plenty of shade too from the fruit trees. The girls spend the whole winter in the run which is the width of the garden and about 1/3 of the length so plenty of room. As I now have 6 hens, they are allowed out on the little bit of grass during the summer but only for the afternoon as they're so destructive in such a small space. They are perfectly happy in their run so if they're getting the better of your garden, don't worry. As long as they have enough run space, they'll be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moomin Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 I can understand how you feel, I have always been very proud of my garden. My two chickens are only little (9 & 11 weeks), and so far have been confined to their run the whole week I have had them. But looking at what they are up to in the run - chicken dance - big powerful legs kicking the bedding out ALL over the place - I know they are going to destroy my garden. I can let them out in a weeks time so will let you know how I get on. But although I am not looking forward to getting my garden messed up I am looking forward to see them explore and scratch up bugs and stuff. I knew what chickens get up to before I got them, by reading the posts on this site, and I have decided that I love my chickens more than I love my garden. My husband threw a worm into their run this aft and it was so entertaining watching them run after each other to get it, we were crying with laughter. But I guess it's easy for me to say - as yet they've not been out of the run!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 We have our chickens in a walk in run and were not planning on letting them out into the garden because my parents love their gardening and plants. However we decided that they could go out and they went straight for the flowerbeds and started scratching about and i didn't realise how much destruction they could do(i thought they would just wander about and scratch around with their beak not do a whole dance to dig up the soil!) We are having a garage built in a few weeks so they won't be allowed out when the building is going on. I don't think they will get much free ranging in the summer either because of the plants. I would say sectioning off a bit of garden or building a walk in run would be the best option so you can have grass and plants as well as happy chickens. Emma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhotchick Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 I like having them come up onto the patio, so I have compromised by netting off the vegetable garden, but not the flowerbed by the patio. They've knocked the heads off a few tulips, but I don't mind. My lawn is destroyed, particularly the last 3 places that I have had the run! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckov Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 Maybe it depends on the size of your garden and whether or not you are especially proud of your garden? (Can you tell we're fairly relaxed about ours!!) We have I suppose an average to larger garden for a 3 bed semi, when we're at home the chucks free range all day. They've been great at aereating the soil, digging up the moss, eating weeds and demolishing an entire ants nest for us, oh, and the odd bit of fertiliser too! They do pick at some of the plants, but they are very sensible about it and move on before too much damage is done! The only area I draw the line at is them eating my veggies so we have used some nice willow trellis to fence off the veggie bed. Otherwise, I don't see the odd bit of plant munching, or having to sweep a bit of soil back into a border, as a problem - if anything my chucks are an asset to my garden, I'd say Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 I limit my girls ranging to a certain area, using Omlet netting. I have a biggish garden, but it is heavy clay soil and a water logged nightmare and the girls make a real mess of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 ...They do pick at some of the plants, but they are very sensible about it and move on before too much damage is done! The only area I draw the line at is them eating my veggies so we have used some nice willow trellis to fence off the veggie bed. Otherwise, I don't see the odd bit of plant munching, or having to sweep a bit of soil back into a border, as a problem - if anything my chucks are an asset to my garden, I'd say ditto (except for the willow fence, we have a recycled pallet fence, see my photos, link in my signature) and we have a fairly good sized run so i don't feel too guilty when they're 'housebound'. We also have shrubs and bushes so the girls don't really do a lot of damage to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 I love my chickens, but I love my garden too! It's a personal choice - and I'm lucky enough to have a big garden so they don't do too much destruction. However there is no way they will be allowed on the veg patch once I have got plants in there, or on the lawn while I'm reseeding it, and I will use the Omlet netting to contain them. They love a change of scene and scratching around in the borders, but they can only free-range if I am in the garden to supervise because of the fox risk, so they spend 20+ hours a day in the run, and they are fine. They don't have any behaviour or health problems. I love seeing them in the garden, but I don't think they care if they have 6' or 60', and I don't want to look out on a barren wasteland with only chickens in it! Restrict the areas where they can go, they will be absolutely fine and you will still have a garden to enjoy. Don't let your chickens blackmail you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
druids57 Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Omlet netting is wonderful - it allows you to compromise and love both your chickens and garden. The final straw for me was when they went into my fairy garden and danced around digging and covering all the fairies in mud and bark They wont mind your netting boundaries and will enjoy the space you give them - so dont feel guilty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gallina Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 I have no guilt feelings about keeping my hens in their Eglu/Cube run all the time, because I have a good excuse: we are plagued with daytime foxes and they would be killed on the first day if they were allowed to free-range. If I did not have this excuse, however, I would still keep them in their runs, because I like my garden as much as the hens. If you let them out, they will wreck your garden. (People who say they don't do any damage must mainly have grass and a few big shrubs.) I have made my hens a net pen which includes some of my grass and a soil digging area. When the latter gets compacted, I dig it over, and this stops them trying to make holes in the grass, as they are quite lazy and choose the easy option. Hens were traditionally were put under fruit trees in a cottage garden, and what you really need for hens is as enormous garden with a separate walled orchard area. If only! But don't feel guilty about liking your garden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheik Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 We've gradually been altering our garden to cope with our chickens, because yes, they will wreck an immaculate garden. However, if you're happy with a more "rustic" one, I think a happy medium can be found. Things we've done so far: - bought a cheap coldframe to protect strawberries (the netting we put around and over them last year was laughably ineffective - our chickens either forced their way through, or sat on the netting until it collapsed!) - bought a small greenhouse, for the ultimate in vegetable security! - let the grass grow long at various points on the lawn - put a layer of slate in every pot plant, to stop them pecking the soil out to get to the roots (they love lily roots especially...) - we're gradually replacing weak alpines and flowers with hardier plants that have "woody" stems. Now when we buy plants, we think "would a chicken be able to sit on this?!" - put a large (but moveable) branch in the middle of the lawn, for them to perch on. Provided you move this about now and then, it protects the grass from scratching. Note, this isn't a log, it's a curved branch that sits off the grass a bit apart from the two ends. - gradually amassed a large collection of big rocks, small logs, blocks of wood etc, which can be used as a border for when the chickens find a new area of gravel / slate / earth that they decide they need to fling around. The most recent work we've started is to make a small "meadow" area that we won't mind so much if the chickens wreck it. We've planted some small trees in it already, and sown lots of meadow seed. Not sure how much will grow as the girls have already been scratching it to pieces! It's currently not fenced off, but they seem to like it anyway. The bit in the foreground has grass seed in it, but basically the plan is to let the area grow semi-wild - although we'll remove the more objectionable weeds. It's all a bit bare at the moment as we only started doing it last month. ...and no, those tulips aren't going to last very long - they kep getting dug up already! /\dam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedusA Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Having my girls free-ranging last summer, they ended up wrecking the whole garden. I then confined them to a small lawned area with chicken netting to free-range-in-a-limited-space. When a fox got one of them last autumn and I got 2 new girls, I decided to make the whole space into a walk-in run. It's semi-circular but equates to about 5 X 2.5 metres in total. So now they get to roam safely and I get to keep my garden! A fair compromise, I feel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 wow, some great tips there, Sheikh! I particularly like the branch on the lawn, and the slate in the plant-pots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paintingbird Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Hi everyone, Many thanks for you advice on how to have a nice garden and chucks. I do love my chucks but also my flowers. We have taken your advice and sent off for some Omlett fencing. The garden is quite long so the ladies can have the bottom half just past the pond. Lettie ( the wrecker) Clara ( the dumpy one) Flo ( the shy one) very elderly cat Beau aged 18. with no tail, no ears and one eye they do have the cube to themselves so are not cramped when in their run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...