How to Prevent Chickens from Entering the Garden

If you’ve ever been let loose in your yard by chickens, you’ll know in an instant how much damage they can do. But don’t worry, there are a few things you can do to prevent chickens from entering your garden from trampling, scratching, pecking and messing around.

Table of Contents

Chicken chase

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Spray the chicken with water. When you see chickens roaming in your garden, use a garden hose to quickly spray them with water. Just a small spray of water, just to scare the chickens without harming them. ^{[1] X Research Source}

Usually the chickens will return after a short while, but if you persist in spraying them they will eventually associate your garden with a water jet and start avoiding it.
If you use a garden hose, you should always be present when the chickens enter, but you can’t always see them. Therefore, you should consider installing a motion sensor nozzle to automatically chase chickens when you are not present.

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Sprinkle the seasoning around the garden. Sprinkle around the plants with cinnamon powder, paprika, garlic, curry powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, salt, or a spice blend containing one or more of these ingredients. You should also sprinkle the spice around the garden. ^{[2] X Research Source}

Chickens are often afraid of the pungent smell of pungent spices, so they will avoid unpleasant areas.
If the chickens still enter the garden and step on the ground sprinkled with spices, their feet will get sticky with the spice and burn or tingle. The chickens are not harmed, but this feeling will be so unpleasant that they will have to run away from your garden.

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Use citrus peels. Collect some lemon, orange, or tangerine peels to sprinkle around the garden and between the beds. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

You can also try lemon juice spray. Use the juice instead of sprinkling the peel or use it in combination with the peel.
For best results, you can chop a few lemons and spread them in the garden.
In general, chickens don’t like the smell of citrus, and the citrus flavor alone is enough to repel them. If a chicken pecks on a lemon, the sour taste of the lemon will make them throw it away. Lemons are not harmful to chickens either.

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Grow herbs that chickens don’t like. Some plants are inherently irritating to chickens. If you grow these plants in your garden, plant them around and in between beds with more pleasant-smelling plants. The unpleasant smell of these plants is enough to scare away unwanted chickens. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

Many perennial herbs are very effective for this purpose. Some plants worthy of your consideration include spicy marjoram, thyme, lavender, mint, perilla, marjoram, chamomile, and sage.
Mature herbaceous plants are also deeply rooted in the soil making it difficult for chickens to dig up if they are curious.
If possible, you should plant mature trees instead of planting seedlings or sowing seeds. Only rooted plants are sturdy enough to withstand the chickens that are always snooping around. Young plants are often too weak and can hardly survive.
Other plants believed to repel chickens include annual plants such as periwinkles, fingernail, marigolds, petunias, and marigolds. However, in areas where food is scarce, these plants also run the risk of falling victim to chickens that accidentally stray in.

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Selective weeding. Chickens generally prefer open ground, so places with a lot of weeds and other dense vegetation are often less attractive to them than well-maintained gardens with open spaces. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

If you find the weeds annoying, another option is to plant flowers or vegetables closer together than usual. This may limit the growth of some plants, but in return, dense vegetation can be the key to saving the entire bed.
However, some plants do not thrive in the cramped space. If the weeds are causing the plant to wilt, you can pull out the weeds but don’t leave the soil completely bare. Avoid creating chicken-sized gaps in the garden or yard.

Stop chickens

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Fences around trees. The easiest way to prevent chickens from attacking a tree is to put a fence around it. A simple fence of trellis and some other type of fence is usually enough to keep out pests. ^{[6] X Research Sources}

Snap a planting cage onto the tree you want to protect, or place 2-4 stakes around the tree.
Wrap the trellis around the stakes, knitting the stakes with the netting lengthwise to secure.
The fence net only needs to be 15-30 cm high to prevent chickens.

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Cover the ground with iron mesh. If you want to protect a large area with garden mulch, newly planted seeds or seedlings, you can spread a wire mesh over the entire area. Hardly any chickens like the feel of the grating under their feet, so they usually won’t come close. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

Buy wire mesh with relatively small holes and spread over the entire area you want to cover. Use heavy bricks or stones to block the edges of the net to prevent it from bursting.
You can also purchase stiff iron mesh and cut it into a rectangle large enough to cover the area you want to protect. Cut a small square at each corner of the net and bend the 4 sides down, forming perpendicular “legs” for the grid to stand. Place this iron cage above the area to be covered. It will stand without any further support.

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Place rocks around the base of the tree. Another way to protect an individual tree is to place bricks or medium or large stones around the base of the tree. Choose rocks that are large enough that the chickens cannot trap them.

Wait for the seeds to germinate before placing rocks around them. That way, you’ll know exactly where the stump is and won’t accidentally cover or block the tree.
Try to use stones that are at least 15 cm in diameter. Any stone smaller than this is too light and can be overturned by aggressive chickens.
Place bricks or stones around the base of the tree. Leave as few gaps as possible.

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Plant a plant in a pot. Usually chickens don’t care about tall potted plants because they need to work hard to reach them. Growing whole plants in pots may not be a practical solution, but if there are precious plants, potted plants can make them safer.

With chickens that are particularly aggressive, you may need to take a few extra steps, even with potted plants. Place plants on decks, patios, or other places where chickens can’t reach them. You can also place rocks or bricks around the base of a newly sprouted plant in a pot, just like you would in the ground.

Distract the chicken

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Create gaps away from the garden. Chickens usually like open spaces. If you cover the ground in the garden and make other open spaces within the chicken’s line of sight, they will leave your garden and run into open ground. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

Clear a square area of about 1mx1m. Pull up all the plants in it, including the weeds, leaving only the ground bare.
Chickens will be attracted to this area. They can scratch, peck for insects and bathe here. If there are plots that meet this need, the chickens may no longer want to enter your garden.
You should sprinkle diatomaceous earth every few months to prevent mites from multiplying.

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Plant a separate garden for chickens. If you’re looking to keep your chickens out, consider planting two separate yards: one for you and one for the chickens. Grow attractive edible plants for your chickens to eat in their garden.

This tip is most effective when used in conjunction with other methods to deter chickens. A dedicated chicken garden may not solve the problem if you just use this method.
Chicken gardens should have bushes and low-growing trees to create hiding places for chickens from the sun or from predators.
Plant more evergreen bushes to give the chickens a place to stay over the winter.
The edible bushes will be an added bonus for the chickens. Berries such as elderberries or blueberries are usually good choices. If it’s your chickens, the edible plants will also help you reduce the cost of chicken feed.

Things you need

Garden hose
Motion sensor nozzle
Cinnamon, paprika, garlic, curry powder and/or pepper
Citrus peels
Perennial herb
Mesh or wire mesh
Planting stakes or cages
Heavy stone or brick
Planters or other containers for growing plants
Chicken’s favorite tree or shrub

Steps

Chicken chase

Stop chickens

Distract the chicken

Things you need

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