by Rebecca Nickols
As
a gardener and a chicken keeper, I’m always trying new ways to coexist
with my free ranging flock. I’ve given presentations through my local
Extension Center and Master Gardener chapter on how I take advantage of
the benefits of having backyard chickens (free fertilizer and pest
control) and at the same time protect my gardens from their foraging
frenzy!
Even though there are some plants that the flock are not that fond
of, I’ve come to the conclusion that the only way to truly protect your
garden from the chickens’ constant scratching, pecking, dust bathing,
nibbling – is a fence. Either contain your flock in a run or put a fence
around your garden. otherwise your garden will become their smorgasbord
and they’ll pretty much take over the new seedlings and freshly tilled
soil as their favorite spot.
To protect my vegetable garden I purchased decorative 4′ metal fence
panels from my local hardware store. They were easy to install and have
worked well for several years to keep the girls away from my harvest.
The panels were $10 each – for a large garden this might be a little
costly, but I like the look and the simplicity of the installation.
I also have a large butterfly garden that I have had much longer than
I have had hens… It’s full of wildflowers and around 15 host plants of
native Missouri butterflies. Host plants are the specific plants that
each species of butterflies will lay their eggs on. For example a
monarch butterfly will only lay eggs on milkweed and this is the only
plant the monarch caterpillar will eat. The chickens are not at all
interested in the established native wildflowers and shrubs in this
garden, but I’ve had trouble planting young transplants or sowing seeds.
A
couple of years ago I tried elevating bird netting above the seedlings,
but the plants were still too small to survive the hens’ scratching
when I removed the netting. Another attempt I had was to place chicken
wire directly on the soil and plant young bedding plants within the wire
openings. The chickens didn’t like walking on the wire, but it was hard
for me to weed around the plants – and it looked a little odd. Even if I
could protect the plants, the flock still made a mess of the mulched
paths throughout the garden…
This year I had a new idea –
which is really an old technique used by chicken keepers for generations
– a picket fence! If you have chickens, you know they are poor fliers,
but they are awesome jumpers. I have a 5 foot compost bin that they love
perching on. Actually – anything under 4 foot and they’ll probably
find a way to jump on and over.
A picket fence, however, lacks a good perching spot and they’re leery
of jumping over anything if they don’t have something to grab onto. I
figured a 4 foot picket fence would be the solution to my gardening
woes, but I didn’t want to invest the time or the money on installing a
permanent fence around the garden. I did find bundles of cheap
picket-like fencing at Lowes, but it was only 2′ high. I wasn’t
convinced that this would keep the girls at bay, but it was only $25 for
15′ and I figured if it didn’t work at least I hadn’t invested a lot of
money into the project. To install the fence, I pounded 2′ wooden
stakes into the ground around the perimeter of the garden and then
secured the fence to the stakes with screws. I ended up spending a
little more than $100 to surround the garden, but that was a lot cheaper
than hiring someone to install a larger fence or even doing it
ourselves.
It’s been 4 months now and the chickens have not attempted even once
to enter the garden! Since then I’ve stained the fencing and my husband
made a gate to match the picket theme. It’s not a perfect structure, but
it’s an affordable solution .
And I think it adds a vintage charm to a country garden…
Is a 2′ picket fence an option to enclose a chicken run? NO!
Will it protect the flock from predators? NO!
Will it work in anyone else’s garden? Who knows, but it is working in mine.
Will my hens eventually realize they can easily jump into the forbidden garden? Time will tell…
