Plants chickens don't destroy?

[U_Stormcrow]

Rosemary, once it gets big enough to survive them bedding next to it. Still young, they break the limbs pretty easily. Mine destroyed all my vining veggies (squash, watermelon, zucchini). They ignored my cilantro and my fenugreek (too bad, fenugreek is high in lysine - other than soy, its one of the few good sources in the plant world). Mulberry bush has done well, in spite of their dust bathing in its shade, but when the fruits are in season, you have to make sure they don't gorge. Blackberry and Blueberry - though its years till they are established, and given the chance, the birds will gorge on them.

Panic grasses are good - but the taller/more ornamental panic grasses provide little for them, seed wise, to eat. You can also look to orchard grass - its shade tolerant and will do much better in your climate than mine.

 

[springvalley123]

This same variety? They dug the root up??

I don't know the variety, I just bought it to eat, and planted it instead. they were digging and pecking as usual and stumbled upon it so to speak.

 

[Folly's place]

Mine ignore the catnip, at least, and shrubs, as long as the roots are protected from their digging.
Mary

 

[Tonyroo]

Would be great if someone can condense all plant types in one page that chickens will ignore.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Only some chickens ignore what other chickens love.

 

[tigger19687]

My last batch ate ALL the Hostas.. which was fine with me.

This group left the Hostas and will not eat the Lemon Balm or Spearmint, nor the Sage or Echinacea. Not overly thrilled with Wormwood but the Sparrows do like that... must be for the nest I think.
They DID eat the darn strawberry flowers so none for me this year and I fenced off the everything else.

 

[yakitori]

Rue, rosemary, sage...squash, watermelon (though if they find a weakness in the rind they'll destroy the fruit)...mine love dianthus, butterflyweed, and mint.

funny, mine wouldn’t touch mint.

They ignore the hostas too. I haven’t let them in the veggie garden, but they would prefer to scratch in the soil over eating greens. If they do eat greens, they pick around in the clover lawn...

I think in the end what it comes down to is, chickens are like humans and all have unqiue tastes and preferences

 

[topochico225]

My chickens DEVOUR my garlic chives. You can smell when they've struck.

They ignore my sage, thyme, rosemary, and asparagus ferns. Rosemary is great because it can explode into huge bushes.

 

[B-Goock]

Sarah I usually make a covered cage around anything I plant in my run and don't uncover it until it's established well and big enough they can't eat it all. If they put the hammer to it I just put the cage back over it again. I also put larger flat rocks around the base so they can't dig up the roots.
I use 2x4 wire and make the cage 8" or so wider than the plant. It allows them to reach in and eat some but can't kill the plant. Mine destroy the hostas if not covered.

 

[Tonyroo]

My chickens destroyed my wild Iris, mint, azalea bush, grass, hydrangea, ferns, agapanthus, and cosmos.

So now everything I want to grow and keep gets fenced.

Update:
I ended up using the native plants and shrubs in my chicken area. They have no interest in them and now it doesn't look like a baron wasteland anymore, lol.