Good plants/flowers for chicken run.

[Brooks_]

I would worry more about plants being torn up from the chickens scratching.

 

[Chicken love to infinity]

I would worry more about plants being torn up from the chickens scratching.

Mine don't eat the plants. Just grass and bugs. They prefer going through a pile of leaves than a pile of plants

 

[3KillerBs]

In re: toxic plants, it will depend on what else they have to munch on.

If the toxic stuff is the only green there is then they'll eat it. But if it's surrounded by a lot of good stuff they probably won't.

 

[Chicken love to infinity]

Ok, so far I have created my own mix:

• Lavender
• Roses
• Snap-dragons
• Daisy
• Dandelions
• baby's breaths
• bee balm
• cone flowers/ Echinacea
• marigold
• Rosemary
• sage
• Thyme
• Peppermint
• Basil
• Oregano
• Parsley
• Zinnias
• Panzeys
• Violets
• maybe Hostas
• maybe Lantanas

 

[BigBlueHen53]

If it's edible they will eat it. If it's in soft, freshly tilled ground, they will wallow and dust bathe in it until there is nothing left. Have fun!

 

[aart]

I would worry more about plants being torn up from the chickens scratching.

Exactly.

Mine don't eat the plants. Just grass and bugs. They prefer going through a pile of leaves than a pile of plants

If stuck in the run they may very well dig up the plants.

They are voracious diggers:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/excavation-by-birds-a-word-of-warning.1086535/

 

[Chicken love to infinity]

Exactly.


If stuck in the run they may very well dig up the plants.

They are voracious diggers:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/excavation-by-birds-a-word-of-warning.1086535/

It will be more of an enclosure. About 40 feet long and about 30 feet wide- in our pasture -with 20 chickens living in it. Mine are kinda picky and don't like certain tastes. I could leave a cabbage and lettuce head in the coop and they won't touch it.

 

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

Rosemary

 

[AnnPann]

If you have issues with japanese beetles, plant tons of marigolds inside your run. They attract the beetles. Then you can train your chickens to hunt for them in the marigold blooms. Just don't expect the plants to last through the feeding frenzy!

I let my chickens into my garden and they love hanging out under my blackberry bushes, so I plan on moving some of them to their new run for shade. They'll only eat the low hanging fruit, and the rest of them I'll be able to harvest.

Sunflowers are a great thing to plan too. I planted this variety in their run this year in 2 rows about 12" apart. The stems are crazy strong so they didn't get stomped into the ground, and grew plenty of seeds from the blooms that were just high enough to make the hens hop up to grab. The leaves were large enough to provide shade too. https://www.johnnyseeds.com/flowers...id-1121-sunflower-f1-sunflower-seed-2603.html

 

[Krugerrand]

I had intended to reply on this thread when it came out but before I knew it I lost track of it. If you haven't seen it yet, this thread has lots of helpful information on growing plants in the run:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/chicken-food-tower.1480872/
It has 22 pages already, so click when you have some time!