Chickens and Poisonous Plants

[marierachel17]

hello! i’m getting some hens soon (i just posted my introduction on this forum) and i had a question about toxic plants. we are planning to make our coop the length of our yard, and use our 6 ft fence as the farther wall to save material (it’s secure and we will build a trench, don’t worry!). it includes a garden bed in the run, which i thought the chickens would enjoy because of the variety of plants in it. but, i’ve read some conflicting articles about letting your chickens near toxic plants. there are a few plants (daffodil, rhododendron, boxwood) i was going to transplant out of reach of the chickens but i just read an article about how they are pretty smart about avoiding plants that are harmful to them and how they sometimes take a small taste and stop eating if it’s poisonous. also, there is an oak tree hanging over where their pen will be. should i be worried about acorns too? thanks!

 

[AidKD]

I don't think you will have a problem with plants. They are very smart about what they shouldn't eat. I also don't think acorns will be a problem. I think once the chickens have figured out they are to big to eat, they won't really bother with them. Also

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome!
While free ranging over a large area with many plant choices, chickens will tend to avoid the bad stuff. In a fenced run, there may likely be a problem. Your birds will happily dig up roots and destroy plantings, rearrange mulch, and make a former garden bed into a great wasteland too.
How many chickens, and how big a run?
Having a safe covered run is worth it, even if a bit smaller, to keep out more predators most of the time. Many birds, especially youngsters, will fly over a six foot fence, never good.
Mary

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Any plants you want to keep I’d transplant.

Acorns/oak leaves are fine.

 

[marierachel17]

Folly's place-
thanks for the comment! we are rehoming 8 hens. their current pen (they will be in it for a few weeks while we do an upgrade once they are living with us) is around 225 square feet. their owners don’t let them free roam a lot. once they move to my yard, their upgraded pen will either be 750 or 1000 square feet (depending if we include the garden bed in their run). also, we will definitely have tight netting to stop any overhead predators from getting in, and the netting will be connected to the top of the fence. we don’t get many predators so it shouldn’t be an issue. there are also vines on the fence that they should not eat. should i be worried about removing those? and also how often do you think they should be free roamed in the yard/woods once they are in the new run? thanks!!

 

[Folly's place]

Nobody thinks that they have predators, until they have chicken dinners and egg buffets available! Be glad if you don't have bears!
Any free ranging time involves increased risks, anywhere, so be aware, and if that's not something you want to tolerate, having them in a Ft. Knox coop and run will be the other choice.
Mary

 

[Poppycocky]

hello! i’m getting some hens soon (i just posted my introduction on this forum) and i had a question about toxic plants. we are planning to make our coop the length of our yard, and use our 6 ft fence as the farther wall to save material (it’s secure and we will build a trench, don’t worry!). it includes a garden bed in the run, which i thought the chickens would enjoy because of the variety of plants in it. but, i’ve read some conflicting articles about letting your chickens near toxic plants. there are a few plants (daffodil, rhododendron, boxwood) i was going to transplant out of reach of the chickens but i just read an article about how they are pretty smart about avoiding plants that are harmful to them and how they sometimes take a small taste and stop eating if it’s poisonous. also, there is an oak tree hanging over where their pen will be. should i be worried about acorns too? thanks!

I have all of those plants, shrubs and trees in my yard and my chickens free range every afternoon. Mine have never eaten any of them. Just this weekend they ate some new rhubarb leaves. They all look fine. I’ll let you know if that changes.