Black Locust and milkweed help

[barb m]

HI! I'm a new chicken owner and am ready to put the girls out in the run. However I recently found out that the above two plants are unhealthy at best. I can cut and pull them, but is there anything I can do to kill them that would be safe for the chickens? They will probably grow back otherwise. The girls are 12 weeks old and just so much fun!

Thank you!

 

[Folly's place]

Given enough space, your birds will ignore both plants, and focus on the good tasting stuff. Milkweed is the ONLY food plant for Monarch butterflies, who are struggling to survive. I actually encourage the plant for that reason, and nobody else eats it here. Black locust is considered a weed tree here, to be removed. I don't know about anywhere else. Mary

 

[barb m]

Thank you Mary. I will remove the black locust and there aren't too many milk week plants in the actual run. I appreciate your information. Barb

 

[aart]

Just because a tree is considered a weed tree by some in some places....doesn't mean it's toxic or without merit.

If it provides shade where needed for chooks, keep it.

Said she who just wrestled with installing shade cloth(grrr) because there are no shade trees in run.