Grow Your Own Magazine

Hi Guys,

I have had my chickens for 4 weeks now and they have there own routine and have settled in very well. However I have my gardener coming tomorrow to start a vege patch and was wondering how you protect your patch? do you put chicken fencing up so that the little buggars cant eat all the veges?!

Any advise/help will be greatly appreciated as I used to grow in containers and am quite new to veg patches and chickens!!

Thanks in advance

(Its sad I know but it was the greatest feeling to have my first hen produce a perfect egg) I am on 12 now wayhay!!

Lisa

Hiya and welcome to the vine!

I'm no chicken expert (by a long shot) but if you put up a fence it's likely they'll fly over it unless you get their wings clipped

Other more experienced grapes will be able to explain about the wing clipping, or even possibly ways to keep them off without needing a fence?

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Shortie

"There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children; one of these is roots, the other wings" - Hodding Carter

I have a moveable fence Omlet UK | Shop | Chicken Extras | general | Chicken Netting - 25M and Extra Poles. It's not very high but the chickens rarely fly over.

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Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

Michael Pollan

My chickens are in a run, attached to their house, which gets moved every day. This means that I don't have to worry about them eating my fruit or veggies.

Currently they are enjoying scratching up my newly dug over beds (and fertilizing them at the same time!)

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"Its not who you are underneath, it's what you do that defines you" - Bruce Wayne

Hallo Lisa,
First of all, there's nothing sad about that feeling when getting that first egg - I've been keeping hens for more years than I care to remember and I still get that feeling when I clear the nestboxes! What's sad is the vast number of people who never experience that feeling...
As to your problem: you must fence your hens out of your vegetable patch or you simply won't have any vegetables! The damage even one hen can do in one hour has to be seen to be believed! Regarding the height of the fence - depends on the breed of chicken: mine are all heavy breeds (Marans, Sussex, Barnvelders) and a foor-foot fence will block them; light breeds, like Leghorns, Minorcas etc. will fly over that - they need something nearer six feet. Bantams will go even higher. It's a bit of work, but you only need to do it once, and it also keeps out rabbits and hares (if they're a problem - which they are for me). Also, you can use the fence to train raspberries, tayberries etc. against. Good Luck!

Thanks guys! I will look at some netting tomorrow, I like my chickens to free range as much as possible. They probably get about 5 hours a day to free range then there back in there run.

I think they have got the taste of herbs as one of them who I have named "wattles" managed to fly up to the worktop in the kitchen and help herself to some of the oregano on the windowsill whilst my back was turned!!

PS anyone who is worried about chickens and dogs just have patience and try to socialise as I have 2 big amercian bulldogs as guard dogs and they love the chickens now! they are even a little over protective of the chooks and thanks to them I have no problems with rats or Mr Fox!

EEK! Unfortunately my Boxers like birds a little too much for that! We've had 2 chicken fatalities (next doors chooks escaped into my garden) and 3 pigeon fatalities (snapped out of the air! )

My dogs don't go near our chooks now!

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"Its not who you are underneath, it's what you do that defines you" - Bruce Wayne

I'm in a similar situation to you! I've had my chooks for about 5 weeks (ex-batts) and they're now roaming all over the garden and eating anything and everything! I've got a very small vege patch, and I've put up (temporarily) some chicken wire to keep them out, though Hyacinth did help me when I was digging it over and found her some fat juicy worms. I'm hoping to put up a picket fence with a gate when I can afford it, and hopefully that'll keep them out. Failing that, I think I might have to resort to a fully netted cage (for the veg, not the chooks). The other problem is my cat - whenever I've dug and raked or hoed a patch, she thinks it's a new cat litter for her, though sprinkling chilli powder over does deter her a bit. Hope this helps

Maureen

Congratulations on the egg! First eggs are always exciting - one of my new girls started laying last weekend, and I was just as pleased as when I got my very first one, nearly two years ago

I would definitely put any edible vegetation out of the chickens' reach, as they are voracious eaters of leafy veg, herbs, etc, and will also scratch up smaller seedlings in their search for creepy-crawlies. I learnt my lesson last year, when one of my hens scratched up all my lovely purple basil just as it was opening its first sets of true leaves

I use chicken-wire on canes at the moment - although it's only 3ft or so high, even my flightiest bantam (a large Leghorn cross) doesn't try to get over it, because it's too flimsy. Chickens can get over quite high fences provided they can perch on the top of them (or use a nearby perching point to gain height), but they can't fly up and over a 3' barrier in one move.

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Small Plot? No Problem! - my blog about growing organic veg

Hi Guys,

Just to update you, the netting is doing the trick, I will post pics soon. The girls try to get in when I am in there though as they are very nosy little buggars!

Who knew it would be such hard work to ensure that 2 dogs, 3 chickens and a veg patch work together in a harmonious way!

Also for all you lazy vege ppl like me homebase will be selling a ready made veg plant kit containing carrots, potatoes, greens etc etc I think its £29 also so brilliant if you want to cheat!

Gosh I should get commission from Homebase!

Cheers

Lisa

Hi,

I have 2 chickens and recently our chubby one realized that she could fly (even with a clipped wing!). She managed to get over a 3 foot fence with ease as I stood there dumb founded. So we clipped the other wing too, still she managed to fly over! We have now put up 4 foot fencing in the form of trellis that does actually look rather smart and has stopped her. The destruction she caused was heart breaking. Before I realized that she was flying over I secured every tiny gap there was and each evening I would come home to trashed flower and veg beds. If you want any kind of garden they or the garden must be fenced off. My two have an eglu run which opens into a larger fenced off area so have loads of space, but they would love more!

I think if you clip both wings it actually halps them to fly better as when you just clip one it causes them to be off balance and therefore find it harder to fly.

Also if you do wing clip and prevent them from flying they really do have no protection at all from the fox as it's pretty much their only way of escape!

janeyo

Good point about only clipping one wing - though I don't bother with mine any more. The fencing around the veg patch seems to be keeping them out, and they don't seem interested in leaving the garden

Mind you, you'd be amazed how high a tiny pekin bantam - with stubby little wings like a bumblebee - can get!

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Small Plot? No Problem! - my blog about growing organic veg