[dizzylizzie]

Ok, anyone that knows me knows how much i love my birds.....When i got my first 6 they had a big run down the bottom of the garden, but it was only a matter of weeks before i felt sorry for them and let them in the garden....that was fine but numbers quickly grew. We soon realised (after they had eaten everything) that we needed to take back something for us so we put up chicken wire to act as a barrier.For a while it worked well, no more poop everywhere and some grass/plants started to grow. Over the last few weeks severel of them have been flying over, so we clipped their wings and they still flew over . Yesterday there was a right racket coming from the girls. I had put the ducklings on the grass for a bit, and the chickens were not happy.....id left them to go shopping, when i came back 11 of the chickens had flown over, eaten anything that looked remotely green including the stuff i was growing for them :mad:sooooo now its time to put my foot down....all day the chickens have helped up dig holes, nearly got stood on, burried, chopped in half by spades, but now they are safely behind there NEW 1.4 METER FENCE......they are not happy i can tell you.....it sounds like the wailing wall...they are all in a line screeming for their freedom......if they get over this, never mind their flight feathers, im chopping their blummin wings off

On the plus side, the duckling dont fly over anything so may be they will teach the chucks how to behave

[Casey76]

I know exactly how you feel dizzy

Fortunately mine aren't really that flighty, and once I'd blocked any launch pads so they could hop over (and provided a new nesting palce) they are relatively happy to be confined.

I still get the odd one or two pacing the fence when it's laying time, but they are catching on quick enough that they have a new place.

You need to grow something up the fence (on your side) *nods*  my passiflora, honeysuckle and clamatis are so far pretty much unscathed (I can't say the same foe the mini dahlias and sweet williams I planted as bedding plants (the chooks just reach through the fence and nibble bits off the ends  )

[dizzylizzie]

The daft thing is that they actually have most of a very large garden!. Well yesterday they dug up a 6yr old wisteria and they have dug the clematis up (again). I have move things around in their bit of the garden. They have 2 very large *touch wood* foxproof runs theat the coops are in , and they stay in there if we are going to be back late, but the garden bit has a hug sandpit/mudbath, logs, tyres, perches, roost bars, shelters etc, and i have moved these around so they cant be used as launch pads .... i really do love my birds, but i want a little bit of the garden that isnt eaten or dug up, and i want somewhere nice to sit and watch my girlies that i dont have to wash the poop off first.....i know....im selfish, but what can you do?

[tosca100]

I know I shouldn't, but........

[dizzylizzie]

I know....they were pleased as punch with themselves when i arrived back....i wasnt really cross with them.....but they are still at the new fence wailing like the 'poor battery chickens' that they are

[nicky d]

hun your girlies are too clever for their own good, i can just picture them standing in a huddle planning there new tatics to get over the new fencing military style, you will have to search round for plans that they have made for the new escape   nickyx

[dizzylizzie]

Ha ha ha ha ...Andy said the same Nicky. He has been loosing his pencils all day, he swears the chickens have nicked them to design some great escape plan on the walls of the coop tonight...they have probably already started to tunnel under

[nicky d]

Ha ha ha ha ...Andy said the same Nicky. He has been loosing his pencils all day, he swears the chickens have nicked them to design some great escape plan on the walls of the coop tonight...they have probably already started to tunnel under

wouldnt surprise me hun, and i would check before you lock them up tonight that all the fun stuff you have for them to play with arnt missing, there probably constructing an areoplane like in "Chicken run" lol lol lol lol lol nickyxx

[joyfull]

either that or they are digging tunnels - check the coups for missing planks used to shore up the tunnel and the dust bathing area is great for disposing of the removed soil 

[Ma Lowe]

Now I know your all mad 

I know what you mean though Dizzy as we had let our girls roam the whole garden and have now taken some of it back for us. 





We have since moved the gat to the middle for easier access.

Their bit of garden is the biggest and we have 2 other sections one for what we hope will be our veg which we have cruelly planted where the chooks can see them behind the fence. The other bit is our patio outside the house.

[Casey76]

This is my "front garden" which I've reclaimed:



and the result of one weekends very hard work...



It's starting to recover after a year of having chooks running around on it - but as this is the only bit of garden you can see walking past the front gate, I thought I had really make an effort to keep it "nice"... some people in the village have beautiful gardens, and vain though I'm not, it was getting to be a bit embarrassing watching walkers walk past my garden when the bark was all over the lawn, and my bedding plants dug up lol.

[dizzylizzie]

Owww Casey, thats a lovely garden....of course being in France makes it sooo much nicer

Well the girls are still shouting today....you all know what they are like for 'new things'. They will probably go on egg strike for a week out of protest

[Kate and her Ducks]

I think the rest of us should start a book on how long it is till one of them gets past it! 

[dizzylizzie]

I think the rest of us should start a book on how long it is till one of them gets past it! 

 .....and i thought you were my friend!....your supposed to be encouraging

On the plus side, the ducklings are angels

[dizzylizzie]

This is what the CCTV picked up last night