I want Happy, Healthy Hens!

[Ladybug922]

Ok, so I just got 17 chicks that are now almost 3 weeks old and I've started letting them out in the yard (confined) so they can get the feel of grass and dirt and dirt under them. I've been doing alot of reading on what is good and bad for them and am concerned. Is clover ok? Pretty much every website says it's bad, and every chicken owner says it's fine. My yard is covered in the stuff! Does it depend on what kind of clover it is? Mine is the regular 3 leafed stuff with the little white fluffy flowers that is prominent in New York. Also, how concerned do I have to be about the other poisonous plant that are around my yard. I live in the woods, so poison ivy is prevalent. Do I need to be concerned about it touching them, or just about them eating it? Will they tend to avoid the stuff that's bad by themselves? I feel like I'm doing something right since not a single chick has died, which I hear is very common, but I want it to stay that way! Thank you!

 

[HEChicken]

Clover is wonderful for them - I've never heard anyone saying anything to the contrary. It will help them create wonderful orange, healthy yolks when the time comes for them to lay eggs.

As for other things to eat, they seem to be born with some kind of tribal knowledge as to what is good and what is not good to eat. In years of free-ranging I've never had one eat something they shouldn't and get sick.

Edited to add:

 

[Nicole01]

Absolutely! My girls love it!

 

[chfite]

The only problem that I can foresee with poison ivy is that the oil might be transferred from their feathers to your skin. Find the poison ivy and get rid of it.

Left to themselves, chickens seem unlikely to eat anything bad for them found naturally in their environment.

Chris

 

[Ladybug922]

If it was only that easy, I have poison ivy EVERYWHERE! It's been destroyed around the house for the most part, but if they wander into the woods at all, there is no way to avoid it. I'm just hoping they are smart enough to avoid it. Thank you to everyone who replied, the girls have been out on the lawn for a few days now and everyone seems to be just fine!

 

[fried green eggs]

My chickens love going into our woods where there is lots of poisen ivy. I have noticed when they come out of the woods they all seem to spend lots of time taking dust baths. I would think the dust baths would help remove most of the ivy oil from their feathers.