Decorative Ivy

[wcasey911]

I'm thinking about locating my run where a patch of decorative ivy is located. Does anyone know if it will hurt them? I've been trying to get rid of (kill) it since we moved into this house. I figured if it wouldn't hurt them I'd put my chicken run in that spot and let them help me get rid of it.

 

[Imp]

Do you mean English Ivy? Not sure what decorative ivy is.
My hens won't touch it.

Imp

 

[Boo-Boo's Mama]

I have Vinca that I would love to get rid of...wish I had NEVER moved it from where it was to where it is NOW!

 

[wcasey911]

Quote:
Yes, English Ivy.

Thanks,
Will

 

[elmo]

English Ivy is on the list of poisonous plants. Chickens usually won't eat it when they're free ranging because it tastes bad to them. But I'd be worried that if it was in their run, they might get bored and eat enough of it to harm them. I wouldn't put my run over English Ivy, myself.

 

[dchickenman]

Not sure about chickens, but I know English & Baltic ivy are toxic to dogs. Just to be safe, I wouldn't risk it

 

[wcasey911]

Okay, thanks for the advice. I'll put the run somewhere else and keep hitting the ivy with round-up.

 

[Christabean]

I'm resurrecting this thread because my chickens have unexpectedly been very interested in ivy. They've just recently been introduced into their run which has some ivy around the edges, and they love it as much as grass. I actually tossed them some homegrown fresh lettuce and they turned their noses up at it in favor of ivy. Yesterday's ivy meal didn't seem to affect their poop or behavior, but I thought it seemed so unappetizing I searched on here and Googled and found it was on some toxic plants lists, not others. Anybody else with experience on this? I would love them to eradicate it, not a big fan of ivy, and it would be very difficult to keep them from it, so I hope I can trust them not to poison themselves, especially when they do have other forage options.

 

[Christabean]

Just an update, I haven't noticed a problem after a week of ivy snacking. They are less interested now and moving on to fig and cherry tree leaves. I try to give them a handful of grass each day to help keep them busy, along with their chick starter and daily treats of oats or multigrain bread heels.

 

[ChickenLegs13]

Just because they eat something on the toxic list doesn't mean they're going to drop dead instantly. It depends on the condition of the chicken, amount ingested, length of exposure, etc. It may cause long term effects on internal organs that takes months or years to develop.