Free-range chickens enjoy hanging out on the porch in front of the front door for some reason.
They go off the house and scratch around, lay eggs in the coop, and right there again. If the birds have the opportunity, they sneak a peek and enter the house to find food.
If your chickens also exhibit similar behavior, you can keep them off your porch with the following techniques.
1. Install a Small Fence or Barrier Around the Porch
If your chickens make a poop mess around your porch every day, you must block their way to it.
Build a fence around the area with wire mesh or chicken wire, which stops your birds from squeezing through. When the birds need to make an extra effort to access the deck, they may stop rising there.
If you want it to be decorated in a decorative way around the front of the house, you can also install a cute wood picket fence or a wobbly wall.
You can also try lattice panels or other decorative fencing.
It looks classic and more rustic when some ground or potted flowers are added. You know, chickens are big flyers or jump off the fence easily. So, ensure the fence or wall is at least 4 – 6 feet high.
2. Use Motion-Activated Sprinklers or Deterrents
Though the hardy chickens don’t mind foraging in the light rain, they can’t endure the hose.
So, a mechanized tool like motion-activated sprinklers may deter them without any harm.
Often used for deterring dogs, these automated sprayers emit a small stream of water at birds whenever they step into the selected area.
You can position sprinklers or water deterrents where chickens usually enter.
3. Create a Designated Dust Bath Area Away from the Porch
I had it and found my chickens flapping their wings in the ditch around the patio. Now, I know why there was dirt and dust before the gate whenever chickens left from there.
Chickens love porches for dust bathing, where they find loose soil or dirt.
So, you can set up a dedicated dust bath spot with sand, ash, and dirt. Additionally, you can add enrichments such as shade, logs, and loose soil to make it more visually appealing.
Ensure that their dust bathing area is kept a bit distant from home.
4. Block Food Temptations Near the Porch
Have you been standing with food on the front porch and calling your birds?
Don’t emerge from that door with treats and let them see you come out the door to feed them. Chickens might be waiting for you to come out with food for them on the porch.
You can feed them scraps and treats in an area far from the home or switch exclusively to that part of the yard.
This helps redirect the chicken’s focus.
Chickens are opportunistic eaters, so take out pet food, scraps, and crumbs from restricted areas for them. If needed to place there, seal the feed containers.
5. Train Chickens with Gentle Discipline
If I ever see hens or roosters on the porch, I go out hollering “shoo shoo” and gently chase them off the porch.
Positive training methods can include clapping, waving arms, or gently shooing them away consistently.
You can also help them learn the routines and boundaries by offering rewards. The best is to give them treats whenever they go to the coop area instead of the porch.
But for some stubborn birds, I have to pick them up to walk them down the stairs. If it has negative reinforcement for girls, I spray a bottle of water to discourage them from mounting the porch.
Besides, you can put the flock in an enclosure for a few weeks, and they may totally forget about the deck and would prefer to go forage the grass.
6. Provide Shade and Shelter in Other Areas
The place providing a cool, rain-protected area can also be the reason flocks gather around the porch.
Chickens are more commonly seen there during the summer and monsoon seasons, and the place is ideal for offering shade and protection from the weather.
You can also design an area for your birds to roam freely, while avoiding the restricted zones.
Take a place around the yard or garden where birds can forage and scratch the dirt. You can make a boundary or plant natural barriers, such as bushes or trees, to keep the birds in.
Building lean-to shelters, or putting up tarps in the yard, are also options.
7. Use Porch Covers, Curtains, or Screens
Chickens run after their prey, food, to a place where they see their way is clear. But having been blocked out of sight, they are left with no clue whatsoever.
So, you can install porch covers, outdoor screens, hanging curtains, or bamboo shades.
They block their access and visually deter chickens from reaching the designated place. It not only blocks chicken access, but it also contributes to privacy and protection for the homesteader or house owners.
8. Introduce Natural Repellents
I know, it’s hard to keep chickens away without putting them in enclosures or blocking their path.
But there are herbs and flowers that chickens dislike. Their smell is so strong that the poultry birds won’t peck and roam around there.
Some include lavender, marigolds, and pungent herbs like mint or rosemary.
So, you can plant these plants strategically near the porch.
Besides, citrus peels, coffee grounds, and vinegar sprays are some other alternatives that act as effective deterrents.
9. Give Chickens Enough Entertainment in the Yard
Free-range chickens are curious birds and keep exploring everything around them. Many times, they get bored and wander to porches.
To stimulate their minds or keep them busy, you can provide them with plenty of entertainment and enrichment opportunities.
Add chicken toys, outdoor roosts, compost piles, or scratching areas.
The hanging treat dispensers, such as cabbage heads and treat balls, can also be placed away from the porch.
10. Build a Chicken Run or Contained Area
The porch area is raised above the ground so chickens may find it a protected place from land and aerial predators.
If your area has lots of predators, you need to know how to protect your chickens against them.
Anyway, your birds also wander around the unwanted area as they might not have enough space around. So, you need to provide them with a spacious yard or backyard.
Besides, secure chicken runs or coops can help reduce their desire to move beyond their boundaries. Make sure the chicken coop has at least 4 square feet of space per bird and 10 square feet per bird in the run.
This not only provides easier porch protection but also offers safety from predators and controlled free-ranging.
Final Thoughts
Like other animals, you can put restrictions on your chickens to keep them off the porch and other desired areas.
Installing natural deterrents and training birds can be a temporary measure to prevent them from accessing the restricted area.
If you want to raise free-range chickens with protection and off the porch, you need to either supervise them all day or put them in a chicken tractor.
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