Chickens and plants

[Gwyllm]

Hi everyone, I'm setting my chickens up in an old flower bed which never worked out because of our dogs, so I was wondering what type of plant might you put in there that the chickens can eat from but without destroying, maybe just as a supplement to their diet. I was considering aloes, and from what I can tell they shouldn't kill large ones, has anyone else got any plants that they keep with their chooks?

 

[SnowPeeOstrichU]

Hi there,

Quick question: Will your chickens have 24/7 access to said flowerbed?

If they do, it is relatively difficult to keep plants they like alive, if the chickens have access to the whole plant.

My chickens really enjoy grape leaves. I used to have a couple great big grape vines and any vine that didn't attach at the trellis or up higher and flopped down would get stripped by them, as much as the chickens could get to. You'd be able to see how high the chickens could get the leaves. One time we trimmed a bunch that grew into a tree and put it all in their coop and when we put them away, they stripped those too.

Clover is always a good basic one.

Mine like rose petals. I learned this after trimming old roses and throwing the petals for them. Then one time a rose leaned over and they got some of its petals. Funny thing to come across haha

As far as supplements to diet, having oyster shells or some other form of calcium available is a good idea. Hens will eat however much they want.

Hope this helps!

 

[Gwyllm]

Thanks, it is very helpful. They will be in there 24/7 unless I take them to the front yard for a few minutes, but can't let them out at all, at least for the foreseeable future because of the dogs, we have three Great Danes. So what I'm thinking now is having a vine, I'll try for grape, and have a fence type barrier between them and it so they can eat off it and trim it without killing it. We have bamboo in there currently which they should enjoy. Maybe if I get some large aloes and establish them before the chooks come home they will be able to pick at them without killing them. I'll see if I can get hold of some clover as well. Maybe we could also try tomatoes and then we could have use for it as well

In the one we are keeping bantam Cochins, with two standard Cochin girls, and in the other bed I want to keep LF Brahmas, and for the brahmas I don't think much beyond the bamboo with survive. Thanks

 

[SnowPeeOstrichU]

One strategy is planting on the other side of the barrier so whatever pokes in can be nibbled.

Good luck!

 

[Gwyllm]

Sounds good, thanks I hope that it works out