How To Keep Chickens Off Patio, Porch, or Deck

Chicken can sometimes mess up your home patio, deck, or porch. Keeping chickens off the patio will safeguard you from their destructive and annoying behaviors, such as pooping, pecking, scratching, and trampling.

You can keep chickens off your patio by placing fake predators or scarecrows. Fencing can also work. Do not leave anything that chickens can eat on the patio, porch, or deck if you want them to stay away.

These tried and tested solutions can help you peacefully coexist with your birds. Below are more tips on how to keep them away.

12 Ways to keep chickens off patio, porch, or deck  

When keeping chickens or any other birds from your resting areas, do not use anything that can harm them. There are several natural ways to deter those birds. The humane and effective ways of repelling chickens off your patio, porch, or deck may include:

1. Fencing off the chickens

Using a chicken wire fence is a stress-free way to keep poultry off your patio. Fencing can also assist in safeguarding your flock from potential attacks by predators like coyotes, skunks, and dogs.

For extra safety against predators, the chicken wire should be constructed a few inches below the ground. That deters predators from burrowing under the fence.

2. Having a garden specifically for your poultry

The reserved garden for chickens should be attractive to them. For instance, the garden must have enough edible plants for the birds, such as blueberry bushes. Providing edible plants and seeds to your chickens may reduce expenses on feed.

The garden should have trees and bushes that are short. The aim of keeping those is to provide the chickens with shelter against the sun and predators.

3. Using of guard dogs

Guard dogs have been used for centuries to keep different predators away from home. They can also be used effectively to keep chickens off the patio. You can either tie your guard dogs on the patio or train them to scare away chickens when they try to invade your precious space.

Remember that having your inadequately trained dog to guard your chickens may be dangerous. Your birds may be mauled and or killed.

4. Avoid feeding chickens on the patio deck or porch

If you have a habit of feeding your chickens or leaving feed on your patio, porch or deck, they will be attracted to be there. Do not also feed your other pets like dogs from the patio. Your patio should be free from any sources of food.

Feeders should be placed inside the chicken’s coop. And the coop should not be adjacent to your patio, porch, or veranda.

5. Use of fake predators

Having dummy predators on your patio may help scare away chickens. Use fake predators that resemble living owls or hawks to terrify your birds, not to attack your living space.

You can also use motorized decoys capable of detecting chickens’ movements, thus scaring them away. Stationary chicken decoys may not work effectively as the birds may realize sooner that they are fake.

6. Clean the patio deck or porch after eating there

Eating on the patio and leaving food droplets on the floor will attract chickens and other birds. Once they realize there is always food there, they will keep coming back for more, even if the area is clean.

The best way to check on this is to always clean your patio deck or porch immediately after eating there. Do not let the birds notice or even have an idea that they can always find food on or around your patio if you want to keep them away.

Additionally, do not leave snacks or any food lying there after relaxing. This will attract the chickens, leaving their droppings as they eat.

7. Use natural chicken repellents

Strong smells from black pepper, cinnamon, or curry powder may help keep chickens away from your patio or yard. You may also spray your patio with a bit of lime or lemon juice.

Apart from the spices smelling unpleasantly for the birds, they can also burn or tingle the feet. Spraying your patio with any of the unpleasant spices is a harmless way of scaring your birds to flee from the patio. This can also help keep wild birds like turkeys from the lawns around your porch.

8. Put a fake owl on the patio to scare chickens

A fake owl may help keep chickens away. That is because, naturally, chickens fear their usual predators, like owls. But, using a fake or plastic owl may not be an excellent way of keeping chickens away.

As birds with strong instincts, chickens can easily learn that the fake owl is not a threat. Therefore, use a mechanical or motorized fake owl to have a high chance of succeeding as they can mimic the movement of a living owl.

To discourage your birds from eventually figuring out that the motorized fake owl is also not dangerous, constantly change its size, positioning, and location.  

9. Spread coffee grounds on the patio to repel chickens

Coffee grounds may repel chickens due to having methylxanthine, a chemical compound called caffeine. If chickens ingest coffee grounds, it may upset their central nervous, respiratory, and circulation systems. So, the toxicity of caffeine may help repel chickens.

However, ingestion of lots of coffee grounds may kill your birds. The method may also attract worms that infect your birds. Therefore, because of the dangers of coffee grounds, it is better to use other methods to repel chickens.

10. Mothballs

Even though some people use them on the porch for other reasons, mothballs cannot keep chickens away unless close to them. They are toxic repellants that you should avoid using unless you want to kill chickens. The chicken repellant is even dangerous to humans.

Apart from mothballs, also avoid using other chemical repellants like pesticides. Chickens that eat garden crops and plants treated or sprayed with pesticides may get sick or even die.

11. Spices that can repel chickens from the patio, deck, or porch

Spices that keep chickens away are garlic, citrus peels, cinnamon, paprika, chilies, chives, and curry powder. The spices repel chickens away from your patio since they do not like powerful smells.

12. Natural chicken repellent spray

Use a chicken repellent spray to spray your patio or yard with lime or lemon juices. The smell is too strong to deter your poultry from getting comfortable on your patio. This should be sprayed on the flow using a bottle hand spray. It should be done in minimal amounts.

Alternatively, spray the birds with a garden hose to help repel them away from your patio. The water pressure should not be too strong to safeguard your poultry from harm. However, be careful not to destroy your patio or porch’s floor since water can soak the area.  

How to keep chickens from pooping on my patio, deck or porch

Chicken poop can stick on the floor and even corrode the finishing. This can leave the patio with unwanted ugly marks all over the place. To keep chickens from pooping on your patio or deck, remember to:

1. Make your porch unwelcoming. For instance, avoid installing high places like chairs that chickens can rely on for perching.
2. Position your chicken coop away from your porch.
3. Train your birds to avoid invading your relaxing space.
4. Use motion-activated or mechanical sprinklers to frighten your chickens.
5. Use fake, mechanical predators.
6. Fence off the chicken coop or your porch.
7. Apply any spices, herbs, or plants on your porch, including mint, marigolds, lavender, citrus, black, or pepper.

Your chickens require adequate space, food, drinking water, and security. Therefore, provide all those things within the area meant to keep your chickens. That is a sure way of discouraging your birds from attacking your patio or garden.

If the neighbor’s chickens are the issue, try using the different repellent methods provided above. Then, find and seal all potential entry points to your home.