Omlet cube and run

[dutchie]

OK, so my chickens ate most of my herbs and veggies since last summer. I've managed to rescue a few strawberry plants and herbs. And they've been pretty brutal to the some of the other small plants too, although I only had a few of those in the back garden.

 

I'm now rethinking my garden plan and layout totally. Any advice on how to make it a success having chickens freeranging. I don't want to just split the garden into their bit and the rest.

 

Any advice on which plants are good, and also the best way to keep them out of raised beds? I'd like to avoid ugly fencing everywhere if possible.

 

Cheers,

Dutchie

[jackian]

I can't really help a lot as mine are the same but I would rather see them running around and My OH always says ..just don't look down look up

All my herbs are now in the front garden except the chives and some thyme and that is in a hanging basket fitted at the top of the fence. Cherry tomatos and strawberry plants the same.I have a huge tub on the patio with Bay in and they don't touch that and the rose bushes against the fence are climbing roses and I protected the bottom with chiocken wire ate first until above chicken height and they leave the rest to grow.

They have a WIR and against the outside at the moment are a couple of small window boxes with mini daffs in and a few weeks time will be replaced with mini pansies.

we only have a small garden and they have the top half .The bottom half is fenced off with weld mesh and a gate below that is where my greenhouse is and any thing they would love for breakfast .

I hope this helps.

[Lavenders_Blue]

I can't be any help as my hens are penned in - and the pen is shortly going to be upgraded to a WIR (already nicknamed Guantanamo Bay) to stop my one naughty hen, Pearl, from hopping out and taking herself free ranging. She spends more time out than in and has pretty much trashed the lawn, dug out the raised beds and eaten anything vaguely green. I think unless you have a huge amount of space, hens and gardens basically don't mix.

[merlina]

It's interesting to see what they nibble and what they don't

For eg, mine have left the primroses and cowslips completely alone - as the garden is full of them at this time of year it's surprising to still have a nice show!

I think one of the truisms about hens, though, is that what one flock considers completely uninteresting, another will decide is the greatest treat ever

I've had some success with raised beds (a foot high), i think I've 'trained' them not to jump up there (ish)

[Olly]

I firmly believe it IS possible to have a garden and have hens, but you need to restrict the amount of time they spend free-ranging, and restrict the areas they can get to. I let mine out for up to three hours a day, but not all day - the risk of them being 'foxed' is so great that they can really only come out when I am in the garden, and I tend not to let them out if I am digging because they get in the way hunting for worms.

 

Hanging baskets, window-boxes, guttering on the wall for salads etc will keep things out of reach - I don't think it is really possible to 'train' a hen not to go somewhere where there are tasty treats, and tender vegetable shoots are too tempting, so I have the veg patch fenced off but they can roam freely anywhere else. You could use Omlet netting, which is not very visible once it is set up, or make the fence a feature and grow something up it.

 

Established shrubs are usually ok, and to my surprise self-seeding plants like aquilegia, foxglove and hollyhock still come up (I imagined all the seeds would be picked out and scoffed!) - it's mainly new tender plants and annuals that are at risk. I have had to plant the chives within the veg patch as they got razed to the ground, but sage, thyme and rosemary are fine. However, digging rather than eating is the worst problem in my experience.

[mollyripkim]

Hi, I agree with Olly that it is possibly, my girls freerange every day, although they are bantams so don't do as much damage as big girls. The first year our grass got ruined so we put green plastic netting down, then reseeded and the grass grows through it but the girls are unable to dig any holes etc. I have raised borders, they spend ages in the shrub one but as the shrubs are established they don't do any damage. My other border I plant bedding plants and just use a bit of trellis to stop them getting in.

The WIR is now at the bottom of the garden where the rockery/pond used to be.

[good_egg]

Mine are either absolute saints or disaster is yet to come! We have an average sized garden in which we have two raised veg beds and a couple of flower borders, lawn, patio and tubs..... Last year the veg remained safe as I planted all round the edge of each bed with marigolds and they spent so long eating these they weren't really interested in anything beyond (a couple of wee nibbles but nothing serious) - I am trying the same again this year and will probably have to protect the bed when (if) the shoots first come through. In terms of the rest of the garden then I moved their favourite weeping pear to a big quarter circle bed at the back of the garden and we have edged this and fill it with their finished with woodchip - they love this bit and spend hours here digging, sunbathing etc. The rest of the garden gets a cursory inspection but this and the woodchip under the hedge is their favourite. I tried to add some colour here in the form of primroses, but they kept being dug up and thrown over the garden so have since moved them. Bigger plants are ok though, they just need to get their feet down long enough.... The rest of the garden is full of snowdrops, crocus, pansies, daffodils and bigger shrubs like camelia, roses, rhodies etc and they all survive with the odd pointy beak shape out of the corner! So, my advice, find their favourite corner and make it amazing and they will leave the rest alone. We do have to tidy up a lot of woodhip though! Mine get out from 6pm onwards each night, all day saturday and sunday afternoons - so might not work for full FR but worth a go

[dutchie]

Thanks for all the advice.

 

Marigolds and others as a distraction sounds like a good idea. I'll try the aquilegia, foxglove and hollyhock too.

 

Training them not to go somewhere doesn't work with our two. They are pretty determined. Will even jump a 1.5m wall to get to the strawberries and chives, and that's with a clipped wing.

[charly1979]

Mine have made great work with the pampus grass that I have always hated so they can do some good, however my alpine garden is no more along with the gerianiums ! and my 7 seem to love nothing more than the old see how far they can flick the slate chippings across the lawn (or what is left of the lawn) needless to say the Hubby will be having a right old moan when it comes to mowing the lawn. Free Ranging is definitely restricted for them now

[Chortle Chook]

I too am a firm believer that you can have chickens and gardens with flowers. My chooks free range in mine all day every day. I use lots of climbing plants (though you may need to protect them intially) such as roses, clematis, chaenomalies and honey suckle. Bamboo works a treat because the chickens will clear the stalks at the base of you and show off the lovely stems. Though the perennials I used to have are gone, I do have lots and lots of lillies (both regale and hemarocalis).

 

Here is my garden from last summer (after 2 years of keeping 9 banties)

 

Cockerel under the bamboo

 

 

 

 

I also use a lot of devices to keep things out of the way of my chickens such as pots on top of pots and pots on old chimneys as here

Edited April 11, 2013 by Guest

[redsunset]

What a stunning garden shabby chic. Those pics give me hope, even with 15 hybrid yobs that gardening will be possible this year. Am going for lots of new shrubs in various colours this year as I know any fine delicate leaved perennials are out of the question as they free range all day (get themselves up after 5am and bed around 8.45pm now on account of the brighter evenings) On the plus side 12 eggs a day so far!

[dutchie]

Thanks for giving us hope Shabby Chiv, your garden looks lovely.

 

I'm reading through a couple of gardening books at the mo to get ideas for suitable plants, but of course much better to hear what works from people like you with experience.

[Alis girls]

Mine ate rhubarb leaves and lived to tell the tale. They now have their own mud(!) area. Raining again today so it will be mud. Wot joy

[Chortle Chook]

Just remembered, mini apple trees are good too. They look so pretty covered in pink blossom in the spring and then look lovely again in the autumn with all their rosy apples. If you take care of the root stock (mine are M27 I think) then they won't get any bigger than smallish shrubs. The bits underneath will make good chicken dust bath areas without things looking too bad. Also it is great fun watching the chickens jumping to get the apples when they are ripe. It's so much exercise for them that you can easily get there first and pick as many as you can use. I dot a few mini logs about underneath too to attract bugs for my chooks.

 

My wee cockerel next to one of my little apple trees last spring (no apple blossom yet this year )

 

Poland Dee Dee on the swing that hangs from the apple tree

[suebee]

Stunning garden Shabby Chic!

 

I agree that the most chook proof plants tend to be woody stemmed shrubs, bamboos, woody climbers and the like. If your chooks are likely to destroy all soft growth, then this may be the way to go, other than - as others have suggested - growing the pretties in pots and such, out of reach. If you keep an eye on what they ignore, you might be able to strike a balance and enjoy shrubs interplanted with a few of the more resilient softer leaved perennials that they are tending to leave alone.

 

Even a garden with just shrubs, using different coloured leaves/flowers, some deciduous and some evergreen, can be a very lovely thing, and the chooks will love grubbing around underneath them. And if you have room, a few fruit or ornamental trees for a little height.

[jeshen]

What a stunning garden, Shabby Chic - an inspiration! Good idea about 'pots on pots' and I loved the pic of the Poland on your swing! Useful info re plants to get too. Must get out in the garden once the rain stops!

[Chortle Chook]

One thing I should point out is that I don't have any grass - just flower bed areas and areas of shingle or slate pieces. mollyripkim does have lawn. I have seen it and her tip about putting down green plastic netting and then sowing the grass seed over that really does work. In the early days of my chicken keeping, I did try putting chicken wire down underneath an area I did not want the chickens to scratch up and it only resulted in cut toes so you would need to use the plastic type.

[auntielizzie]

Oh Shabby Chic, I love your garden I wouldn't know where to start to get mine to look like that - I'm just not very creative in the garden and I find it such hard work so I give up very quickly . Of course my girls have ruined the grass that I used to have In fact, they are busy clearing another area for me now

[sandyhas3chucks]

green garden fencing.. they can of course get their heads through, but it does limit.. my veggie patch is fenced too, and each raised bed is to, so they can help gardening when I want the help and removable so they can work i the winter. I also let them garden the fenced flower beds too in the winter,

It was their pre hens in a previous life.. to keep the dogs off...

[redsunset]

http://i1161.photobucket.com/albums/q514/redsunset6/2a48ad37-9c91-4511-aa9c-6d26fd0f368f.jpg My wee attempt at some gardening this last weekend. Planted about 30 hebe's and placed some large beach cobbles in-between some plants?? Ok after 72 hours but pic in another 72 hours may be diferent! Will try hard to plant and co-exist.........with said yobs!

[Chortle Chook]

How pretty, redsunset. I also use cobbles like that , but have to admit that my chickens think of them not as root protectors but as grub hiders

[dutchie]

It looks pretty Redsunset, but it wouldn't last long with my two. When they're in the mood mine are quite capable of moving stones bigger than your beach pebbles, feathered vandals!

 

I've spent the last week measuring up my garden and planning. I've decided to really go for it and do something I've always wanted to do, which is to create an edible forest food garden.

 

At the moment I'm researching which lower canopy plants to grow which are also beneficial for the chickens. Things like wormwood, tansy, elder, nasturtium, fennel and feverfew are supposed to be good natural wormers and/or insect repellents.

 

Lots to learn, but great fun.

[chickanne]

Just read Alysgirl's comments about the rhubarb. I was stunned when my pair started eating it last year and now it one of the major damages they are causing