North american native plants that chickens can safety eat.

[E flowers]

Can chickens safely eat Paw Paw fruit?
@Florida Bullfrog

 

[igorsMistress]

I realize you tagged someone, but yes they can.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Chickens are very unlikely to eat anything that is bad for them as far as native plants. Corn and scratch, that is another matter....

 

[E flowers]

Can Chickens eat American Beautyberry?

Apparently yes!

 

[E flowers]

Can chickens eat autumn olive?

Apparently yes though it can be an invasive plant on your property.

 

[E flowers]

Can chickens eat cottoneaster?

No definitely not!

 

[Perris]

Can chickens eat cottoneaster?

No definitely not!

False. My chickens love cotoneaster berries; it's an autumn/ winter treat for some of them.

In general, if your birds can choose what to eat, and can sample and come back to something, you can trust their instincts to tell them what they can and cannot safely eat. The problems arise with confined birds given limited options or starvation as their choices.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

The answers to all of the above are yes - though my PawPaw have not yet borne fruit, so I don't have personal experience with my flock eating them. My flock has eaten american bueatyberry for years - also a popular place for hidden nests (you've been warned).

We don't have autumn olive here, and my actual olives aren't expected to bear fruit till (maybe) this year, next year more likely (arbequinas). I thought we had cotoneaster, but what we have is too tall to be, so I won't make comment from personal experience there.

I will however, say that it has been my experience, and broadly the experience of others that, give options, a chicken will not eat to excess things likely to be short term harmful to them. There are a number of plants in my pasture which are potentially highly toxic which I continue to try to eradicate. My chickens, ducks, turkeys, goats all simply avoid them. They have better choices avalable to them.

Hope that helps some

 

[Penpal]

Autumn olive is native to Asia. It is invasive. One of our neighbors planted a row of them on the road about 1/4 mile from me. They grow everywhere.

 

[littlecoopnextdoor]

A short list from my property: red osier dogwood (they love the white berries), saskatoon berry, selfheal, they love elderberries, chickweed, rosehips, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, off the top of my head. They also love the seedheads from native grasses like little bluestem and side oats grama!