Patridge bantam chicken poorly foot?

[Katy]

We've been very lucky with our girls not destroying the garden to date......

 

Today I ordered the Omlet netting with the idea to keep them off an area of the lawn so it could be poo free for a family bbq and to keep my Mum happy as she doesn't 'do' birds (It's brilliant there's been no sign of her since they arrived! shame it doesn't work for the MIL too).

 

I've just let them out for a wander this evening and within the space of 15 minutes they have trashed the place! In nearly 2 months the worst they have done is kick some earth around and had 1 or 2 pecks at the tomato plants. It's like they know it's their last chance!

[Babs&Ginger]

My 2 know when the dog is going out for a walk...they parade backwards & forwards at the run gate begging to come out!!! They know that it's safe to come out when he's gone a walk! They're cleverer than we think...Chicken Run was obviously not a stretch of the imagination!!

[Chickaboo]

If I keep mine in the run more than usual, when they are let out they just go mad digging - it doesn't pay

[Katy]

Ours are normally out for a couple of hours each evening and all afternoon at the weekends and so far have done very little damage - it was only last night they developed a destructive streak!

 

Saying that we have had to cover up the fresh ground where one of our cats is buried (it was snowing, the ground was frozen, so he isn't that deep ! )

 

Hopefully the netting will arrive soon, I'll just have to distract them until then!

[Seagazer]

 

Today I ordered the Omlet netting with the idea to keep them off an area of the lawn so it could be poo free for a family bbq and to keep my Mum happy as she doesn't 'do' birds (It's brilliant there's been no sign of her since they arrived! shame it doesn't work for the MIL too).

 

quote]

 

Thats so funny - unfortunately mine like the chickens

[Katy]

 

Thats so funny - unfortunately mine like the chickens

 

The fact was instrumental in getting the OH to agree to getting them in the first place!

[chocchick]

They are little chickeny horrors

I think the description feathery land sharks is very apt

[Valkyrie]

We let ours out big time on Sunday for a couple of hours. Not too bad, didn't venture far. Yesterday they discovered an alpine strawberry (self sown, but had grown into a lovely little bush) and it is now bald. Also they discovered the border and lots of bark - I'd swear they dug down to Australia. Forget-me-not seedlings have disappeared (yay) and some vetch (even bigger yay, that is a really pesky weed). They ignore the spurge, and that amazes me, but I am relieved as well. Apache went for a ladybird - one of the Harlequin varieties and spat it out - DD disposed of the nasty insect because I couldn't bring myself to do it. They jumped up a dry stone wall to the veggie patch and found the onions, turned up their beaks and jumped down again. Thank goodness they didn't find the other stuff first.

[Steph101]

You've gotta love 'em!

[Hen Huggers R Us]

They are little chickeny horrors

I think the description feathery land sharks is very apt

 

Very funny that needs adding to the omlet dictionary!!

[lindyloodles]

I used to have some gorgeous hardy geraniums. Now I just have stalks.....

[BarbaraJ]

Why oh why can't they eat bindweed???

[Abbey Road Girl]

Why oh why can't they eat bindweed???

 

Oh but they love bindweed! They cleared my garden of everything, including ivy which is supposed to be poisonous.* A small garden chocked with weeds is now one big dustbath.

 

*While they were wiping out the bindweed and another unidentified garden usurper, they would peck at the ivy. I thought that they were merely pecking at insects on the ivy as someone on the forum had suggested. Uh. The ivy is gone.

[mrs chook]

I think the description feathery land sharks is very apt

 

 

 

Never hear that before, spot on! Made made lol. Brilliant.

[Poplars]

Mine are let out at weekends and they absolutely wreck the place!!

 

My Mum is a very keen gardener but doesn't have much time and she hates it because they kick everything onto the paths and eat/pull up all her best plants (some very old or very rare) we also had to get a new lawn recently because they had put it beyond repair!

 

They are complete menaces in our garden... but when they are not wrecking the garden they are very very cute and we still love them to bits!

[Valkyrie]

Upside down hanging baskets over the plants you need to protect works very well. I also have a wopping great freezer drawer/basket over some blue geraniums - the girls weren't actually eating it, but were intent on slugs and other goodies that they were scratching at the side. I've done the upside down basket on the poor strawberry plant that they were devouring too. I guess the real reason for calling a particular type of wire "chicken wire" is not to keep chickens penned in, but strategic placing over tender and tasty plants!