Collapsing garden bank

Are these your hens or someone else's hens? I am assuming yours if they are scratting around in your garden. First step is to stop them scratting!

I agree with Moon grower, it seems to be the chickens that are causing the problem so keep the chickens off this bank.

Could you send a photo of the bank, Kelly, then we'd have a better idea of what you could do to stop it collapsing. It sounds lovely having the natural bank, very good for wild life. No wonder the chickens like scratching around it! The bank is very big and awkward to shore up, being 20 feet high! You need to confine the hens in a large pen away from the bank, for a start. Anyway, send a photo, and we can help a bit more. Annie

We have the same problem, only we're at the base of the collapse. The garden was built up, on quite frankly crap. bits of cars, m/bikes, any sort of rubbish. then it is being held back by sleepers and gabions of rocks. The soil on top is gradually eroding away into the gaps below. but the sleepers are tilting our way. We were told the answer was to have large concrete struts drilled into the base of the bank and then further works between the posts. the previous owner of the property was so unhelpful on the matter, that I swore if their garden ended up ontop of my orchard, wrecking my boundary hedge and fruit cage, I would charge them for damages, but also rent for the time their property was on our land. and there would also have been a hefty fee for the damages the machinery would have done to my land. The problem is still there and getting worse, but the new neighbours are much nicer. sorry winge and moan over.

I would have an expert look at this if it were mine so that the support can be done properly the first time. I think the chickens maybe after the event not the entire cause? The roots of trees can do this with odd weather.

My brother in law had this problem with a 10 foot bank bordering his garden and onto a road between him and the church. Near his garage it is 15 feet. Eventually ,as predicted by my OH, when the property was bought, he had to have it expensively fettled. Now it is all fantastic with a deck on top of the garage. Nice but pricey. Friends bought a tiny cottage on the end of their house for a song, but had to shore up the huge bank at the back before conversion. The building inspector haunted them, but now it all looks lovely. It all cost a lot more than they thought it would. Both places listed, so a lot of fossicking about. Too much rain was brother in laws problem.