Anything that will repel free-roaming chickens from my shade garden?

[mikes.chickens]

Is there any way to keep the chickens out of my shade garden? I had lovely ferns, hostas, etc. but they have scratched and picked till it's shot. Is there any kind of natural formula for keeping them out? I don't want to do something to kill them, like spreading moth ball chrystals, they would probablly eat them! No way can we keep them penned up..they are cage free and happy. I put up a 2 foot picket fence around it, but they still fly over it and continue scratching and rolling around in the cool earth there. Rats! Is there a solution?

 

[geoaware]

shotgun?

 

[JennsPeeps]

fence

 

[dancingbear]

Quote:
Taller fence!

 

[Renee]

A little electrical pet fence? Perhaps it they touch it once, they will decide to forage elsewhere.
Motion detector hooked up to the sprinkler.

 

[silkiechicken]

Tall "solid" fence. They'd just jump over wires or crawl under them since they know that the garden is the good spot to be.

 

[leslie]

You will either have to clip their wings and put them in side a fence or give up the flowers and garden..fact fact just that simple. and then one will get out and do in your favorite plant even with all the precautions you take.
I noticed the other morning that one of my fine ladies had flown the coop and i ran out the door to my one inch high turnip green patch and sure enough she had been out since day light and had done a job on them.. how tender and sweet they must have been..and i bet she clucked and gloated to the sisters behide the fence.. she got her wing trimmed really good that day.
im sure when i say wing clipped and behind a fence and that still will not insure a thing.. good luck.

 

[cindylo]

I have to be outside when my girls free range or the first thing to go is what you want to keep plant wise. They spent an entire day free in the backyard and ate every single one of my lettuces in the garden! I say "get out of the salad bar girls" and the dog sniffs at them, but other than that - they have good taste - so they head for the good tidbits!

 

[gryeyes]

Yup - a fence. Only way. There isn't much that can "repel" chickens from gardens, unfortunately.

 

[FarmCoe]

BTW