Help! Our chickens (who we allow to free-range on our one acre of property) have started scratching in my window boxes (in fact, in all of my outdoor flowerpots). It's too late to save my flowers this year, but what can I do next year to keep them out? It's bad enough they eat my heirloom tomatoes and scratch in my strawberry patch, but now this. I feel guilty keeping them penned up, but it may come to that. Dianne in the Hudson Valley, NY
Sister #749
"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." --Leondardo da Vinci
Dianne, join the club! I can't have anything because I let mine free range too. I tried moth balls. HA! Didn't work at all and stunk so bad. I tried sticks stuck all around the plants. That works for awhile til they knock them all down. I used all my mulch bags for weed barrier when I did my foundation border. Now they are all sticking up through the mulch. That's just the price you pay if you want happy chickens and good eggs. I also have 9 almost 4 month old turkeys. They have started jumping the fence and are also out in everything now. Plus the dogs and cats.
I had to put the black netting over my raised beds. That does work. You have to nail it down. And I would run them out when ever I saw them near my tomatoes. I wish you luck. If you find something that works, please let me know. I do not want to cage mine up either. So I will have to live with it. I am ok most of the time but it does get old.
Kris, Not encouraging news but glad to know I'm not the only one. Plus, it's not the end of the world. As I say when I'm dodging chicken droppings...Now I know why they used to build the farmhouses on the opposite side of the road from the farms! Dianne
Sister #749
"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." --Leondardo da Vinci
Chickens in my Window Boxes
Posted - Sep 09 2010 : 2:08:43 PM
