Help with chicken-friendly gardens

[silkiechicken]

Uh. A fence? What they don't eat they will dig up. This is especially true in small spaces. My 15-30 some birds don't kill all the vegetation but that's because they have free range of as far as they want to go. I do have to fence in the garden though.

I say let them out once your landscaping is established and you'll have less digging up issues. Take advice of the others for good plants but remember every flock has their own tastes so don't forget to experiment with what plants work.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I have thyme planted under our roses. The chickens mainly forage there for bugs, on their daily bug hunting tour. When they walk on the thyme I think it smells so good. It's a very low growing type, that's like a big mat and has a woody frame that is quite sturdy. I think that one might be the "Mother of thyme" variety and is a vigorous grower. There are a lot of different thymes, including lemon scented and variegated leaves, which I love. Woolly thyme looks really cool, too.

I'm thinking of planting some chamomile again next year, which I really love the smell of. The foliage smells kind of like apples when you brush your hand across it. I'm thinking that they'll probably eat that to bits, since it's such a tender plant and probably delicious!

So far, the only thing they've really destroyed this year is the hosta. They ignored it for months, then one day I looked and I was stunned! I made my DH go look, it was so amazing! Until this year, we always had our chickens pastured with the sheep, so they didn't have access to the landscaping. I'm sure this will continue to be a gardening adventure!

 

[Mulemom]

Mine just got big enough to start free ranging after I had kinda lost interest in the flowers. The did eat most everything the deer had left except the sage, rosemary, and lavender. They did much the basil though. I hadn't even thought much about it until you asked. I guess I will be focusing on more of the herbs and larger plants this next year.

Daffodils do well with the deer because they seem to know it's posion. Has anyone ever had a problem with the chickens eating it and getting sick?

 

[ORChick]

My chickens and coop are still only theoretical, but I'm planning on changing that in the Spring. I have been thinking about what I could plant around the outside of the run to "pretty things up", and had more or less settled on herbs, rosemary, lavender etc., as I can't plant things that the deer will like. This is a really interesting thread, and informative. But one question I'd like to throw in is: does anyone know of specific plants one should NOT plant with chickens around, things that are poisonous to chickens? Thanks.