Adding greenery to the duck run!

[KaleIAm]

Lol! Totally! We have blue berries on the property to, and they seem to grow pretty well. I didn't see any info on blueberry leaves being harmful, but I didn't look that hard. Haha! Someone else suggested thornless Blackberry, but I feel like that would over grown REALLY quickly! Its invasive were I am to, and removing it would be tough.

We are overwhelmed with regular blackberries here... They are trying to swallow our entire 5 acre property. I think perhaps I heard the thornless variety is much less aggressive? I'll have to look that up, too.

 

[DucksAreBest]

My ducks love raspberry leaves.

 

[KaleIAm]

Lol! Totally! We have blue berries on the property to, and they seem to grow pretty well. I didn't see any info on blueberry leaves being harmful, but I didn't look that hard. Haha! Someone else suggested thornless Blackberry, but I feel like that would over grown REALLY quickly! Its invasive were I am to, and removing it would be tough.

So, it looks like blueberry leaves are not toxic to humans, rats, or dogs. The leaves have been ground up, ingested, and tested and made into teas even. But fertilizers and soil acidifiers can be a problem. I couldn't find any information about birds specifically - and I know birds can have certain sensitivities that other species do not. Probably more research is needed, and we may not be able to find anything.

I did find this interesting link, which says that braken fern is toxic to birds! We have that growing all over our property, so you know what I'm going to be doing this spring!! But I don't think I can do a thing about the buttercups that carpet the property.

https://birdhism.com/blogs/news/common-bird-safe-house-plants

For butterfly bush alternatives here's a potential list:

Abelia x grandiflora, glossy abelia
Ceanothus americanus, New Jersey tea
Cephalanthus occidentalis, buttonbush
Clethra alnifolia, sweet pepperbush
Cornus spp., dogwood
Kalmia latifolia, mountain laurel
Lindera benzoin, spicebush
Salix discolor, pussy willow
Spiraea alba, narrowleaf meadowsweet
Spiraea latifolia, broadleaf meadowsweet
Viburnum sargentii, Sargent's cranberry bush

I'm unaware if any of them are toxic to birds, we'd have to research that after you decide if you like them visually.

 

[ChickensForEggs2500]

So, it looks like blueberry leaves are not toxic to humans, rats, or dogs. The leaves have been ground up, ingested, and tested and made into teas even. But fertilizers and soil acidifiers can be a problem. I couldn't find any information about birds specifically - and I know birds can have certain sensitivities that other species do not. Probably more research is needed, and we may not be able to find anything.

I did find this interesting link, which says that braken fern is toxic to birds! We have that growing all over our property, so you know what I'm going to be doing this spring!! But I don't think I can do a thing about the buttercups that carpet the property.

https://birdhism.com/blogs/news/common-bird-safe-house-plants

For butterfly bush alternatives here's a potential list:

Abelia x grandiflora, glossy abelia
Ceanothus americanus, New Jersey tea
Cephalanthus occidentalis, buttonbush
Clethra alnifolia, sweet pepperbush
Cornus spp., dogwood
Kalmia latifolia, mountain laurel
Lindera benzoin, spicebush
Salix discolor, pussy willow
Spiraea alba, narrowleaf meadowsweet
Spiraea latifolia, broadleaf meadowsweet
Viburnum sargentii, Sargent's cranberry bush

I'm unaware if any of them are toxic to birds, we'd have to research that after you decide if you like them visually.

Oh my goodness! I thought the ones we have were Lady Ferns! My chickens eat those all the time. :| The Bracken is almost identical to the Lady so I'm confused and I hope my birds are ok. They've been eating it for years though...

 

[ChickensForEggs2500]

I did find this interesting link, which says that braken fern is toxic to birds! We have that growing all over our property, so you know what I'm going to be doing this spring!! But I don't think I can do a thing about the buttercups that carpet the property.

In this website it looked like the ones all over. BUT, I have no idea what I'm talking about. The buttercups are the new lawn here in WA. They are pesky, and if I dig them up, they'll just grow back!!
http://nativeplantspnw.com/lady-fern-athyrium-filix-femina/

 

[KaleIAm]

In this website it looked like the ones all over. BUT, I have no idea what I'm talking about. The buttercups are the new lawn here in WA. They are pesky, and if I dig them up, they'll just grow back!!
http://nativeplantspnw.com/lady-fern-athyrium-filix-femina/

I don't think anything can be done about buttercups except poisoning them, and I feel that would be more toxic than the buttercups themselves. I've heard of people using vinegars? And one year I spent countless hours digging up buttercups in a relatively small 20x20 garden patch. The next year it looked like I did nothing.

I have read that buttercups are toxic to goats and our goat pasture is covered in buttercups. We consulted our goat vet and she said that if they ate nothing but buttercups they might get a tummy ache. Since we feed hay she told us not to worry.

Birds can be more sensitive... But the wild birds live among the fields of buttercups and they aren't dropping dead? So I'm hoping it is something similar like the goats. My ducks have been foraging among buttercups for 6 years now. I'll be asking our avian vet about this at our next visit!

I can't get the link about ferns to work, maybe it is my phone though.

 

[Weeg]

So, it looks like blueberry leaves are not toxic to humans, rats, or dogs. The leaves have been ground up, ingested, and tested and made into teas even. But fertilizers and soil acidifiers can be a problem. I couldn't find any information about birds specifically - and I know birds can have certain sensitivities that other species do not. Probably more research is needed, and we may not be able to find anything.

I did find this interesting link, which says that braken fern is toxic to birds! We have that growing all over our property, so you know what I'm going to be doing this spring!! But I don't think I can do a thing about the buttercups that carpet the property.

https://birdhism.com/blogs/news/common-bird-safe-house-plants

For butterfly bush alternatives here's a potential list:

Abelia x grandiflora, glossy abelia
Ceanothus americanus, New Jersey tea
Cephalanthus occidentalis, buttonbush
Clethra alnifolia, sweet pepperbush
Cornus spp., dogwood
Kalmia latifolia, mountain laurel
Lindera benzoin, spicebush
Salix discolor, pussy willow
Spiraea alba, narrowleaf meadowsweet
Spiraea latifolia, broadleaf meadowsweet
Viburnum sargentii, Sargent's cranberry bush

I'm unaware if any of them are toxic to birds, we'd have to research that after you decide if you like them visually.

Thank you so much for all the research! I appreciate it! I will look into all of those plants. Thanks a lot for all of your help!

 

[Weeg]

I don't think anything can be done about buttercups except poisoning them, and I feel that would be more toxic than the buttercups themselves. I've heard of people using vinegars? And one year I spent countless hours digging up buttercups in a relatively small 20x20 garden patch. The next year it looked like I did nothing.

I have read that buttercups are toxic to goats and our goat pasture is covered in buttercups. We consulted our goat vet and she said that if they ate nothing but buttercups they might get a tummy ache. Since we feed hay she told us not to worry.

Birds can be more sensitive... But the wild birds live among the fields of buttercups and they aren't dropping dead? So I'm hoping it is something similar like the goats. My ducks have been foraging among buttercups for 6 years now. I'll be asking our avian vet about this at our next visit!

I can't get the link about ferns to work, maybe it is my phone though.

We have TONS of buttercups all over our yard. We let all the birds are range in the summer, and I have never had any issues. I don't think the birds will eat them if they know they are poisonous.
We also have buttercups all over the horse pasture, and they completely avoid them. I really like to have all the Buttercups in the yard because of the Bees. The Bees love them, all of my animals avoid them, so its worth it for me to keep them there.

 

[cheezenkwackers]

Butterfly bushes are invasive - if you care about that sort of thing. They do attract butterflies but aren't a suitable host plant, because caterpillars can't eat the leaves.

I totally get it but watching ducks try to catch skipper butterflies is really funny!

 

[KaleIAm]

We have TONS of buttercups all over our yard. We let all the birds are range in the summer, and I have never had any issues. I don't think the birds will eat them if they know they are poisonous.
We also have buttercups all over the horse pasture, and they completely avoid them. I really like to have all the Buttercups in the yard because of the Bees. The Bees love them, all of my animals avoid them, so its worth it for me to keep them there.

I actually love the way buttercups look. My concern is, how do birds know when something is toxic? One of my birds ate tansy ragwort once, I actually saw her rip off a bite and swallow it. I go around pulling tansy for hours every year, but seeds blow in from neighbors. The vet put her on liver supplements for months.