4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[x*Lauren*x]

Can anyone help,

our chickens arrived recently and since we have been letting them free range around the garden they like coming onto the decking and up by the patio door, and then they like to pull up the mastic, they are now creating holes in our patio doors.

 

is there anything we can do to stop them? Anything we can put on the mastic to stop them pulling it up?

 

Thanks x

[Stevie]

Mine were doing the same and i ended up building this...

 

It may look extreme,but the trellis alone just gave them somewhere to perch-while pecking at the door seals higher up so had to install the mesh too.

[Gamebird]

You have to create a barrier. Talking to them doesn't seem to work.

[Stevie]

You have to create a barrier. Talking to them doesn't seem to work.

 

Neither does shaking a box of Paxo at them either...

[mrs chook]

lol!

[dancing cloud]

You could try spraying it with bitter apple to make it taste disgusting, though I like the look of the trellis barrier.

 

Mine are too busy destroying the garden and terrorising the cats to attack the door frames, but I'll keep and eye out now you've mentioned it

[jools+6]

my lot do that too . we're waiting to re seal the french doors . monsters .

[frenchlayer]

It may look extreme,but the trellis alone just gave them somewhere to perch-while pecking at the door seals higher up so had to install the mesh too.

 

Sorry I know I shouldn't chuckle but aren't they clever.

[Stevie]

You could try spraying it with bitter apple to make it taste disgusting, though I like the look of the trellis barrier.

 

Mine are too busy destroying the garden and terrorising the cats to attack the door frames, but I'll keep and eye out now you've mentioned it

 

They laughed in the face of antipeck spray so i then tried mustard which made them peck at it even more.Trust me to have chooks which like mustard...

[Stevie]

It may look extreme,but the trellis alone just gave them somewhere to perch-while pecking at the door seals higher up so had to install the mesh too.

 

Sorry I know I shouldn't chuckle but aren't they clever.

 

I tried framing the mesh at top with timber last week so it didnt look quite so industrial and raw.Within 1/2hr they had worked out that if they leapt onto the top then leaned forward hard enough-the entire barrier would lean nicely on window-allowing them to peck at the seals once more.

 

So i had to remove timber and leave it with the raw mesh edge as it is now in photo.If i didnt see them with my own eyes-i would never have granted a chicken that much intelligence!