Harvesting my Chicken Run Compost - Black Gold!

[NatJ]

Also, I would assume that the flowers would have to be non-toxic to the chickens in case they try to eat them.

A list of flowers that are edible for people would probably be safe for chickens too.

In addition to the flowers other people mentioned, I know pansies are edible, and they tend to be easy to find anywhere that sells started plants. They tend to be short plants (so they don't fall over, but there's a chance they might get buried by what the chickens scratch out). They typically grow and bloom for a few months and then die. Some varieties will drop seeds that grow the next year, some do not.

 

[gtaus]

A list of flowers that are edible for people would probably be safe for chickens too.

In addition to the flowers other people mentioned, I know pansies are edible, and they tend to be easy to find anywhere that sells started plants. They tend to be short plants (so they don't fall over, but there's a chance they might get buried by what the chickens scratch out). They typically grow and bloom for a few months and then die. Some varieties will drop seeds that grow the next year, some do not.

Thanks for the response. I'll be looking into that as well.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Thanks to your suggestion, I might look at adding some landscaping timber lining up with the chicken run fence. That would confine the overflow while at the same time creating a self-mulching flower bed. That's just a great idea. I think I have some landscaping timber in a pile around here, somewhere.

Landscape timbers is what I did as well. If you want a "finer sift" you can always put some chicken wire or hardware cloth along the bottom foot or so of the fence line.

At another part of my run, I have hops vines that grow up the fence. It provides some shade and hides some composty parts of the run. At another spot I have mint. The landscape timber keeps it from spreading into the yard, and the chickens keep it from spreading into the run.

I agree you want flowers in your bed that aren't harmful to chickens and beneficial to pollinators and chickens. Perennials that are bee friendly would be a good choice, but what about sunflowers? You could harvest the heads and toss them right into the flock if they grow well.