Plant ideas...

[AllieH]

I have been looking to plant some more plants in my ladies run, but am not sure what can withstand their scratching/eating. I have 4 chickens and other than a few large fir trees they don't have much in there. I do let them free range now and then, but they destroyed my yard the summer before last and their run is pretty large. I would love to plant ground cover along with some shrubs/bushes. Any ideas???

 

[salt and pepper]

do you want plants that they wont eat, or a type of plant that is hardy?

 

[goldfinches]

My Dh got me an amazing book for Christmas called free-range chicken gardens. From it, I have gathered a list of plants to try to grown in my run. Some include fruit trees, which I may plant near but not in the run. And, there are tons more in the book, this is just the list I have for mine for this year

Honeycrisp Apple
Peach trees
Gooseberry
Magellan Barberry
Quince
Elderberry
Siberian Pea Shrub
Comfrey
Catnip
Lavendar

(I'm in zone 5)

As for ground cover, I put tons of leaves down last fall and allowed them to scratch, hoping to compost and improve my sandy soil. I don't think I can grow anything that would cover the whole ground, but maybe something invasive, if you could control it by some sort of barrier, like ivy, oregano or mint might work?

 

[jak2002003]

I have some potted plants that look kind of like pineapple tops, but they are really big. They are really rough and the chicken never eat them or damage them, and they look nice.
You can just see part of it behind snoozing rooster.

 

[salt and pepper]

My chickens don't eat daffodils, or evergreens.

 

[MoonShadows]

My Dh got me an amazing book for Christmas called free-range chicken gardens. From it, I have gathered a list of plants to try to grown in my run. Some include fruit trees, which I may plant near but not in the run. And, there are tons more in the book, this is just the list I have for mine for this year

Honeycrisp Apple
Peach trees
Gooseberry
Magellan Barberry
Quince
Elderberry
Siberian Pea Shrub
Comfrey
Catnip
Lavendar

(I'm in zone 5)

As for ground cover, I put tons of leaves down last fall and allowed them to scratch, hoping to compost and improve my sandy soil. I don't think I can grow anything that would cover the whole ground, but maybe something invasive, if you could control it by some sort of barrier, like ivy, oregano or mint might work?

I've been thinking of buying "Free Range Chicken Gardens" for some time now. It looks like a great book.

 

[missnu01]

You can also put in some mesh frames that will allow grass to grow through the frames and the chickens can eat the tops off without pulling up the roots. That is the only way I know of to keep any greenery in a run. Luckily we are able to free range, so no fear of denuding the area. Anyway look up the framing thing I was talking about..it sounds perfect. Looks better than just dirt, and it's better of the chickens to have fresh grass to eat, and the grass helps to use up some of the manure.

 

[AllieH]

I like the idea of mesh frames over the grass and have been thinking of planing lilac and rhododendron bushes. I M also going to look into the book too Thanks for all the good ideas!

 

[goldfinches]

I've been thinking of buying "Free Range Chicken Gardens" for some time now. It looks like a great book.

He surprised me by checking my amazon wish list for gift ideas. I loved the book, read it cover to cover.

 

[jhabaa1]

This is good to know. I was worried about some of my spring bulbs.