Has anyone ever planted a tree in their run?

[gale65]

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It's not really alternate soil right now. The tree was dug up not far from where it is now and our chickens haven't been in the pen long enough to make the soil hot. There isn't even any visible poop anywhere near that corner. I got some fertilizer that has instructions for transplanted plants tonight so tomorrow I will put some on it.

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I don't doubt that for most trees but A T Hagan (above) planted a mulberry tree in his run with success. If it doesn't live, we aren't out anything. But I want to plant *something* in there for shade so if this one doesn't work out I need to find out chicken-hardy plants. We did put chicken wire around it to keep the chooks from molesting it. I'll trim it as much as I can. It's inside the chicken wire so I can't reach all of it.

 

[gale65]

From what I've been reading online (google) mulberry trees respond well to transplanting, even if they look dead afterward. So we'll give it a few months, at least. Now I need to do some searches and make sure the plant food I bought won't hurt the chicks.

 

[inohio]

Why don't you use some sort of a vine along a fence row that will climb over the top? I was thinking of grapes over my chicken yard. I got the idea because my grapes abandonded their trellis to engulf some trees that are growing in the trellis line. They've made a whole canopy over the tree top that is 20' in the air.

 

[stubbornhill]

This is the favorite "hang out" for my girls. Someone is always hiding in between the Holly bush and the aborative bushes. They really seem to like the fact that they really only have a little tunnel to fit in.

 

[gale65]

Quote:
We may try that eventually. For now I'm trying to go with "free". lol. We have mulberry trees all over the place here and they would be hard to kill with chicken poop plus they throw off berries for the birds.

 

[ranchhand]

Keep in mind that it was transplanted in summer, so wilting is no surprise. It has been stressed, so protect it from the birds and keep it watered reasonably well. It'll probably drop a ton of leaves and then bounce back.

 

[sunnyvera]

I have blackberry plants thriving in the chicken run. I did have to put a small fence around the root area (about 12" tall) as they were eating the new shoots, eating up all the leaves they could reach and digging up the dirt around the roots. Since I have the root area protected, the plants are doing great. The chicken poo is not directly on the root area. New shoots are coming up from the rootstock and this year, flowers and berries. Yay. They love the berries, by the way. My DH does want to plant a tree in their large run for more shade. Mulberry would be good, more dark watery poo, yeah.

 

[2overeasy000]

The farmer that we got our pullets from had about a dozen peach trees planted out in his run. I thought that it was a great idea as it provided shade, made good use of all the "fertilizer", and provided extra peach treats to the birds all at the same time.

 

[Jillylam]

I put plantings in all the time for the chickens. Especially since our fields were almost naked when we bought the house. I gradually add more as I can afford it or get cuttings from people. My parents save me their Maple and Oak babies and I have planted a lot of those. Fall is the only time I will plant or replant now. Best success rate for me at that time of year. And water, water, water. All through the first year at least they need extra care. Usually when mine make it to their second year they are good to go.

For the scratching problem:
I just cut a piece of plastic chicken wire or any kind of mesh and lay it on the ground over the planting area. (Cut a slot or hole in the middle for the trunk). Secure it down with a few stakes. On smaller plantings I leave the mesh there forever. After the grass or weeds grow over it, I remove the stakes and you never see the mesh any more. I planted Forsythia (free cuttings) in their run and that worked beautifully. Now there are layers of dirt and shavings over them and it looks like they've been there forever.

Stubbornhill:

I had to get rid of my Holly Trees. I had 2 that were huge (about 40 feet tall) but were starting to drop their leaves all the time. They would turn a yellowish-brown and then drop. I was forever cleaning up sharp pointy leaves. After the second time when one of the chickens stabbed their foot, I knew I was getting rid of the trees. The poor things jumped straight up in the air and I knew exactly what happened. I have replaced them with other trees that don't stab anyone. It's a shame because the trees were a male and female so in late Winter/early Spring the Robins would swarm the female tree for the berries. I miss that.

 

[Jillylam]

2overeasy:
The peach trees are a great idea! I have about 4 dozen fruit trees. Since I don't spray anymore pesticides I lose just about all the fruit to every bug imaginable. The chickens LOVE all the extras they get. Especially when the Woodpeckers peck the peaches and knock them off the tree.