How to Keep Free-Range Chickens Off Your Porch or Patio
Are chickens hanging around and pooping where you don’t want them to? Here are some ways to keep those free-range chickens off your porch or patio.
Effective Ways to Keep Free-Range Chickens from Pooping Everywhere
Whether you have free range chickens or just a flock of backyard chickens, it is inevitable that you will end up with your flock loitering around the house. This is fun and pastoral at first, watching chickens scratch around the yard and come for friendly visits. But then, the poop.
Ah yes, a plethora of chicken poop ends up everywhere. You step in it barefoot or it gets on your shoes that are NOT for the barnyard. They hop up on your patio furniture and leave a disgusting mess. Or maybe they make attempts to raid your bird feeders.
Wherever your chickens are making mischief, here are a few practical tips you can try to keep them out of human-only areas.
Physical Barriers
In some cases, creating a physical barrier is the best option to keeping your chickens at bay.
Creating a Chicken Yard
If your birds are currently free-range, consider adding a chicken yard or designated scrounging area for them. There are some very affordable pre-made options ranging from around $200 that make a relatively safe and spacious area where they can roam around.
You can also fence in an area for them using electric poultry netting. I appreciate electric netting as it can be moved to different locations, allowing you to change what area they are ranging in. For this option, you will need electricity either via a solar charger or access to an outlet.
Another option is to build your own outdoor enclosure using chicken wire or other chicken-proof fence. This can be done using t-posts and whatever wire fence you have available. If you make it about chest height, they will most likely not attempt to leave their enclosed area. There might be one renegade here or there, in which case a top will have to be put on to keep them from “flying” out.
You might consider using a chicken tractor to free range your chickens within limits. If your flock is small enough (and tame enough) you can physically place them in their tractor each day. If you are relatively safe from predators where you live they can stay in the tractor so long as the weather is warm enough. This allows them enough space to scratch around and enjoy the grass and sunshine while still keeping them off the front porch.
Barriers to Keep them Out
If you are able to, you can also create a barrier around areas you don’t want your chickens to mess up all your hard work. Places like a vegetable garden or a flower garden often attract chickens because there is delicious-smelling food ripe for the picking. Adding chicken fencing around these areas to keep your feathered friends out can be highly effective.
A single line of hot wire at chicken-height might also keep them away, though this does require electricity of some kind and can be problematic for kids and pets.
Natural barriers like shrub plants might be another option, but of course they take longer to establish.
Food Sources
One of the main reasons chickens will wander up to your home is because they are looking for food. To prevent this from happening, make sure they have ample food as well as ample space to scrounge around for it in their designated area.
Do not feed your birds food scraps in the front yard or near your porch/patio or anywhere else you do not want them.
We once had an older rooster who was being beaten up by the younger roosters. We felt sorry for him and fed him table scraps in the front yard, which led to him being essentially a pet. While we were attached to him, the amount of poop that one rooster left on our sidewalks and play areas for my kids was not fun. It was a relief when he finally moved back into the coop when colder weather arrived.
Bird feeders can also attract chickens if they are hungry. They will readily forage on seeds and fruits that have fallen on the ground. If this has become a habit for your chickens, put the feeders away for a week or two and they will soon learn that food source isn’t available anymore.
Another way to keep your chickens in specific areas, is to scatter some chicken feed around the ground for your feathered friends. Scratch grains are great for this, and if you continue to spread scratch in certain areas it creates positive reinforcement and they will be more likely to look there again.
Negative Reinforcement
While this is not necessarily my favorite method of keeping chickens in their designated area, it sometimes is the only solution.
Dog Guardian
If you have dogs and they aren’t chicken killers, they might do a fine job of chasing the chickens back to where they belong.
Our English Shepherd gets anxious when chickens show up in the front yard, whining and scratching at the door. When we let her out she will chase them back to the farmyard without actually harming any of them. Again, this is only an option if you have a dog you trust to not do any damage to the birds.
Spray them Down
A well aimed garden hose or a powerful spray bottle can also be enough to deter chickens. The negative of this option is you will have to run out the door every time they come pecking around to give them a good spray.
Scare Their Feathers Off
It might sound kooky, but a well placed motion-activated Halloween decoration will scare the tail feathers right off a chicken and send them running for the hills. However, if you have particularly curious hens that continue to return to the front yard, they will likely get desensitized to it quickly. If you have less tame chickens, then one or two jump-scares might be enough.
You can also try installing a fake predator, such as a plastic owl or hawk right in their line of sight to keep them from straying into unwanted areas.
Some folks say that old CDs strung up will startle chickens, but I don’t find that this is the case. I tried using them in our coop to scare away wild birds and that didn’t do anything but annoy my husband and waste my time.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, if you have birds that can go anywhere they want, they are going to want to come hang out by the house on occasion. So long as you don’t encourage it by offering food, and possibly even make the experience harmlessly unpleasant, then they will be less likely to come back again.
If you have gotten a visit from your chickens and they left gifts of poop behind, pull out the house and spray it away. Hopefully with a few of the ideas above, they won’t be back any time soon.
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