What Can You Do To Keep Chickens Out Of Your Garden?

I have owned chickens and geese for years, along with my prized plants.  For the chickens, I found that if I have a wooden fence (standard height, like what you see around horse pasture,) I staple poultry netting (chicken wire,) to the flat wood surface, and I add tall support sticks or 2"x2" x 6' garden stakes to the wood fence posts.  Then, use staples, or snap-ties to attach any type of lightweight netting material to the garden stakes which should now reach to a height of about 8'.  Be sure and attach the bottom of the netting to the top of the horse fence, because wherever the chickens find a gap, they learn quickly where the weak spots are, and will still find a way into a garden, if they want to.  I also clip both wings, so they can't get any "oomph," to jump or fly over the top of the netting.

Watch the spacing at the bottom line of the fencing along the ground, also.  I usually gather large rocks or small boulders to stack along the fenceline, as they will scoot under a fence, as soon as they figure out that they can't fly over it.  Once you have established that there are no gaps in your fence, and the fence is "chicken-proofed" from the ground up, you MAY be able to loosen your vigil on your garden.  

One very useful thing I have learned about most animals that can climb or jump a fence, is that if the top of the fence isn't solid, (in other words, the animal can't see solid footing,) they don't like to try and get over it.  Some animals can jump without touching the top of the fence.  That is where the tall netting comes in handy.  Also, to keep predators from my rabbits or chickens, I learned that NO animals like to try and climb over thin "birdnetting," as their little toes get tangled.  This works really well for raccoon-proofing.