Non-Poisonous & Chicken Proof Plants

[ibpboo]

For the most part, chickens do not eat what is toxic to them, they have internal instinct. Unless they were really starving or something or ill. Just like most other animals do not eat what is toxic to them. Somehow they know.

 

[Lunachick]

They haven't eaten any of my regular hydrangeas, but they nibbled down my oak leaf hydrangea.

 

[patandchickens]

What beefy said. Nine times out of ten, at *least*, livestock will not mess with toxic plants unless they've run out of other things to eat or are bored silly. (Every now and then, an animal will however get a weird gourmet whim and decide that some strong- and nasty-tasting toxic plant is yummy, and get poisoned by it even though other food was perfectly well available. Rare, though)

The main thing to avoid is anything that will kill an animal dead with just a single meal. I am not positive what this list would consist of, exactly, for chickens. But for large stock you're talking things like yew and oleander.

That said, I would not expect there to be hardly anyone who could raise their hand and say 'my chicken was killed by eating X poisonous plant', because it would be extremely unlikely you'd ever know that was what killed the chicken. Doesn't mean chickens don't get killed by eating the wrong plants, just that it can be hard to tell apart from the long list of other things that can cause the main symptom 'death' in chickens.

Some of the things on those toxic plants lists seem rather irrelevant to chickens, though, if you ask me. Like for instance wisteria... as far as I know the only seriously toxic part is the seeds, which if your chickens are reduced to wrestling their way into hard thick wisteria seedpods and choking down the large hard seeds, man oh man you need to be giving your chickens MUCH more to eat or to do with their time

JMHO,

Pat

 

[beefy]

i have an oleander and some yew in my yard too, lol. the plants that worry me the most are the ones that have berries or seeds that are poisonous. like lantana!

 

[Dawn419]

Wow...I spent 2 and a half hours trying to find chicken friendly plants informatiom...to no avail!!!

I only use the Toxic Plants for Chickens chart as a reference guide...if I'm curious about a plant, I check to see if it's on the list, then go from there with the info I find or don't find.

I had my first flock 20 years ago, they free-ranged everyday on 75 acres and never had a loss while they were in my care. At the time, I didn't have access to an informative site, like BYC, and scratch my head to this day, wondering how I managed to keep them alive.

I'd love it if I could free-range here on our 2 rural, rented acres but there are too many stray dogs running around at any given time.

Anywho...back to non-poisonous plants...I plan on planting peas, green beans, tomatoes, gourds, cukes and squash around the perimeter of our cattle panel hoop run to provide shade for the chickens and food for all of us this year. Tomato vines and suckers are on the toxic list but I grow them in large nursery pots and keep the lower sections trimmed so they are out of reach of the flock.

Dawn

 

[babychickfarmer]

this is true wioth the toxic plants. We have rhubarb and as you who know it's leaves are poisonious and I saw a couple of my ladsy hangin out around it and I didn't think twice then i saw one peck some leaf off of it and spit it back out she did this a couple more times before I realized what she was doing. Then I shooshed her away but my point is I saw her peck it and spit it out proving they know stuff like that is poisonoius

 

[Rafter 7 Paint Horses]

I agree as others have posted, the chickens will usually leave the poisonous plants alone if they are free-ranging and have other options.

If you have these toxic plants in their runs, where they have turned every other green thing into dirt, then they will start on the toxic plants.
I would never plant a known toxic plant in a chicken run.
I believe you would be tempting fate, they are only chickens and they will eat what is available.


Jean

 

[BlueMoon]

The Toxic Plants for Chickens chart was originally named Toxic Plants for Reptiles, if you look at the credits. I reckon birds/chickens can eat many things reptiles can't. Also, the chart couldn't possibly include the amount of a substance needed to be problematic - ie, Malus/apples.
It's really useful as a guideline though so thank you! I've saved it.

 

[Newtochicks2016]

wisteria is toxic to chickens I found out, it was a choice of mind too before I knew

 

[Newtochicks2016]

I think butterfly bushes and climbing roses are nice in a run and they usually only eat two foot from the bottom, so wire them and put stones on the roots until they get bigger.