Need advice for the best vines and plants for in a chicken run!

[paintedChix]

Wow! This threadvtook off. I need to read it before I comment.

I have done links to videos on YouTube Tube for planting & protecting plants in the past. There are also two other threads on this topic that I usually link, too.

Off to read!!

 

[paintedChix]

Ok, I'm ready to go now.

Heavily vining plants, annuals, good for the birds are sweet potatoes, peas, beans, cucumbers, squash/pumpkins & melons. So.many.varieties. if directly in your run, the roots & lower portions need to be protected. Can be wrapped in wire ring, "logs", rocks, even portions of siding...

Here are links to two other threads I posted. Lots of info - from here on BYC & YouTube. I'm sure there are others.

- Post in thread 'Planting in the run' https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/planting-in-the-run.1653400/post-28435161

- Post in thread 'Planting in the run' https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/planting-in-the-run.1653400/post-28435206

 

[Zenmonkey]

Yeah we have entire areas overrun with it and it chokes out the trees like kudzu. Good point that *invasive* can definitely depend on the area!

This is a good idea. Kudzu is attractive, nitrogen fixing, and edible. Plant this one.

 

[Debbie292d]

Ok, I'm ready to go now.

Heavily vining plants, annuals, good for the birds are sweet potatoes, peas, beans, cucumbers, squash/pumpkins & melons. So.many.varieties. if directly in your run, the roots & lower portions need to be protected. Can be wrapped in wire ring, "logs", rocks, even portions of siding...

Here are links to two other threads I posted. Lots of info - from here on BYC & YouTube. I'm sure there are others.

- Post in thread 'Planting in the run' https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/planting-in-the-run.1653400/post-28435161

- Post in thread 'Planting in the run' https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/planting-in-the-run.1653400/post-28435206

In your first link, the link to the "food tower" is a really cool idea!

 

[ChickenShepherd_6116]

Hi!



No : they won't.

In fact, some of my smallest chicken hens even use my biggest rosemaries as perches...!
But they don't damage them.



Thyme!
Your chickens won't eat your thyme, but still : do think to protect the base so they can't scratch at the roots!!

Advantages are : thyme is really easy to sow (it tends to do it by itself), is pretty to look at, and smells really good...!
Besides, you can plant it literally everywhere...

•

...When you say "hang bunches of them in the chicken coop"... you mean in containers - am I understanding you right?
If so, you can plant Mint in pots : your chickens won't eat it, and you can use it as a natural anti-lice/mites...!!

(But do be careful about its flowers : I don't know for US, but here in Auvergne, my mint does sow itself in my yard every year IF I don't cut the flowers... and it is then quick to be invasive!!)



I KNOW chickens eat Basil...
I sadly can't grow it anymore partly because of it.
(That's a shame : fresh Basil is delicious in salads!)

...I regularly mix dried, powdered Oregano to my chickens' food, because it is good for them.
But I really don't know if they would eat the plant itself?



Be careful : chickens LOVE eating basil like crazy!

Thanks so much for all the advice, that is all super helpful! Maybe I will plant some herbs inside the run....

 

[NetherLeeFarm]

This is a good idea. Kudzu is attractive, nitrogen fixing, and edible. Plant this one.

 

[ChickenShepherd_6116]

Is buttonbush toxic to chickens? I tried looking it up on google and the answer was very unclear . I don't plan on adding it to their food, I'm just wondering if I can plant the bush in my run.
Here is what google said:

 

[tlcmurphy]

This is a good idea. Kudzu is attractive, nitrogen fixing, and edible. Plant this one.

GA resident here. Please DO NOT plant Kudzu anywhere. Massively invasive and will kill off native plants.

Also, reconsider planting bamboo unless you want to end up with a literal forest of the stuff.

 

[Zenmonkey]

GA resident here. Please DO NOT plant Kudzu anywhere. Massively invasive and will kill off native plants.

Also, reconsider planting bamboo unless you want to end up with a literal forest of the stuff.

As mentioned before, this is all pretty location sensitive. I'd never plant Kudzu in GA. Here in PA, it's probably difficult to keep it alive. It has been planted further north than where I am, but it usually isn't a problem here.

Same thing with bamboo. I've planted bamboo here, and when I stop tending it, it eventually dies out because it can't compete. If the winters were just a little warmer, I think it would go wild. Also there's different bamboos. Perhaps the local nurseries are protecting me from myself by only selling me varieties that don't winter without some protection.

 

[tlcmurphy]

As mentioned before, this is all pretty location sensitive. I'd never plant Kudzu in GA. Here in PA, it's probably difficult to keep it alive. It has been planted further north than where I am, but it usually isn't a problem here.

Same thing with bamboo. I've planted bamboo here, and when I stop tending it, it eventually dies out because it can't compete. If the winters were just a little warmer, I think it would go wild. Also there's different bamboos. Perhaps the local nurseries are protecting me from myself by only selling me varieties that don't winter without some protection.

Yes, many different varieties of bamboo. I find it quite beautiful actually but some (not all) varieties spread like wildfire.
Kudzu is from Japan originally, I’d imagine it would be invasive in most of the US.