Landscaping around coop/run?

[Folly's place]

Some ferns are pretty toxic to eat; I'd use other plants instead.
Mary

 

[Teila]

Some ferns are pretty toxic to eat; I'd use other plants instead.
Mary

Thank you for the warning Mary but these ones are OK, they have been picking at them for 5 years now

True though, you would have to be careful about what you have in the run but I was more just wanting to demonstrate that it is possible.

 

[Little Chicken Girl]

I disagree with your wood chip theory. I have my chicken run loaded with wood chips and it has been amazing. I have never had a foot injury, it creates movement and exercise for the birds because they have to scratch in it to find their treats, it keeps the run from getting muddy and smelly, their manure gets mixed in isn't sitting there attracting flies and it turns into amazing compost.

It might possibly depend on the kind of wood chips possibly the climate?
I tried using wood chips and when I did...
got 6 hens and 1 roo with newly developed bumblefoot over the summer. Ouch.
After I changed the bedding to salted sand, no problems at all.
I admit it is amazing compost though.

 

[deepbluesea]

I was also thinking of getting some big, brightly colored pots and planting in those but I'm afraid the hens would dump them or jump up and try to bathe in the dirt .

Yep, they absolutely will. And if they can't dump them, they will scratch up/eat anything in them until it's bare enough for dust bathing. Ask me how I know.

 

[Hopperkiller]

I can confirm that you'll never see any unripe cherry tomatoes either. My chickens happily ate any they could get, ripe or not.

That's what is so odd about chickens. Mine won't eat some vegetables other people use for treats and my friends birds won't eat green tomatoes off the vine. After reading the comments I'm going to move one half barrel pot in the run and try tomatoes since I have been robbing soil and lightened it enough. I will move some heavier ones to the outside and plant the packet of Kentucky pole beans on the mesh line of my run. Might be fun to see what happens. Never planted pole beans before. Might be covered up.

 

[Folly's place]

Plantings in the run will have much heavier damage than stuff on the outside. Good luck with that pot of tomatoes!
Mary

 

[lazy gardener]

I hadn't considered cherry tomatoes outside the run. Excellent idea. There is also edible fruited trees/shrubs which will produce food, shelter, and shade. Choose varieties according to your climate. I use Siberian Tree/shrub, Native American Plum, Manchurian Apricot. You southern folks might enjoy Mulberry. They come in a dwarf cultivar.

 

[Hopperkiller]

Plantings in the run will have much heavier damage than stuff on the outside. Good luck with that pot of tomatoes!
Mary

I will rig up something to keep them from digging like my friend did to increase shade. Even though that rigging for my wifes fairy garden was a total failure. But they make retirement challenging.

 

[lazy gardener]

Plants in the mint family are reported to repel rodents, and biting insects.

 

[Hopperkiller]

I hadn't considered cherry tomatoes outside the run. Excellent idea. There is also edible fruited trees/shrubs which will produce food, shelter, and shade. Choose varieties according to your climate. I use Siberian Tree/shrub, Native American Plum, Manchurian Apricot. You southern folks might enjoy Mulberry. They come in a dwarf cultivar.

Make sure tomatoes are an indetermate variety so they produce till frost. Chickens run off the cottontails to get the peaches that fall. I planted plums, pears, and figs and with chickens, mockingbrds, cardinals, and woodpeckers, and wasps i have a hard time getting intact fruit. My half barrel pot garden does better when i surround the vegetables with chicken wire. Tomato vines reach to the ground by frost and have limbs head high also.