climbing plants?

[TheGardenCoop]

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We grow the mammoth sunflowers, and when we harvest the heads, we throw those and the giant leaves into the run for the chickens. They go straight for the leaves until there's nothing left, so my guess would be that they would do the same to a growing plant.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

that's what I was afraid of, I just thought they would look so pretty next to the coop!

 

[k0xxx]

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You could try putting cages around them until time to harvest. Maybe just high enough to keep the chickens from getting to it.

 

[MoSo]

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Do the chickens eat your hops? We grow Cascade, Willamette, Mt. Hood, Fuggles for our beer brewing, but I was thinking of adding a few others (Centennial, Northern Brewer), and the south side of the chicken run would be great, as it could climb up and over the poultry netting at the top.

I wonder if the aromatic hops would flavor chicken eggs, however slightly?

 

[TheGardenCoop]

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We grow the hops (I can't remember if they're Cascade or Willamette), on some twine tied vertically on the side of the coop. So it's on the outside of the 1/2" hardware cloth of their run, which makes it hard for them to get at. Even so, I never see them try to go for it. I toss a few cones to them from time to time, but they show no interest. I suppose if they had free run at the plant, they might peck at the lower leaves.

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Now you're making me hungry. . .

 

[UGAchick]

I was wondering the same thing about the sunflowers! I thought that they might look pretty growing outside the run, and then the chickens could eat the seeds when they fall. I don't know if i trust my girls enough to plant them inside the run.