Plants for chicken run?

[bayouchica]

Here's a link from Poultryhelp toxic plants list

 

[wegotchickens]

That's a lot of poisonous plants! Do free-range peeps just instinctively know to avoid this stuff?

 

[JFL1950]

I looked the list over and see way too many common plants we eat all the time that haven't hurt any of my chickens.
Clover? Onions and Garlic for example better to get a list of plants they can eat then can't.
I know our cows love ivy and they are on the list of toxic plants .
I wonder how much of it they need to eat.

 

[ruth]

Thanks Bayouchica - that's a very lengthy and informative list. I'll need to take time and look that over. So far the only thing I've planted in their run are some lagustrum bushes and some gardenia bushes. Thought they would serve a double purpose - the chicks could get under them for shade and the flowers smell so fabulous you forget you're in a chicken run. So far they haven't eaten the leaves and they do dig holes and sleep under them.

Thanks to all for so many great ideas. If I ever find time to implement them all, I'll have a fantastic chicken run.

 

[16 paws]

Hi Ruth!

I had to go with container gardens this year as we are still working on getting our main run built at this time.

Once it is finished, we will be installing a raised bed along the whole south side of the run for the garden and possibly one along the north side too since it has the most shade and would probaqbly be good for greens.

South side of in-progress run...


We are still debating on whether to add just one cattle panel section or two. My hands and arms after attaching the wire to the panels scream "Just one more section" but we'll probably go with 2 just to make more room!

Hi there, could you tell us how you made that chicken run? I really like it and would like to make one!
Marie

 

[StoverCreek]

I transplanted daylillies into my 9 week old barred rocks' run and there is a lot of white clover in there too. So far, it has all done very well. There are 10 of them and they've been in it for 3-4 weeks or so. I don't think anything can kill daylillies. I'd like to get something taller in there that they can get under. What do you guys think about a butterfly bush?

 

[nova022]

The first thing I would do is cover the run with wire or netting, preferably wire. There are too many predators that can climb, jump or fly into an open run. I would plant some type of vine on the outside of the run and train it on the fence and onto the top of the run. This would give the chickens something to eat down low and provide shade as well. Cllimbing roses would be nice or confederate jasmine. I don't bother planting anything in the run unless it is in a growing frame because the chickens destroy it before it has a chance to become established. The frames are easy to make in whatever size works in your run. Fill them with dirt, seed them and cover with 1/2 inch wire. When the plants (I prefer rye) come through the wire the chickens can eat it, but can't scratch up the roots so you will not have to replant that often. You could also plant things along the outside of the run like collards, mustard or cabbage in the winter and sunflowers or calendula in the summer that they can eat through the fence. You can also make a growing frame to put in the run.

 

[chateau poulet]

I've had success by turning a cinder block so it makes a double planter, then planting things inside. They can't scratch it then, so it works for plants where they don't eat all of the leaves. I did peas, and added a little chicken wire trellis so the peas could climb up to the top of the run and spread across for shade. I've also transplanted my lillies, some mint plants, which are very robust. Mine love tomatoes. This year I planted a currant tomato plant and a cherry 100 plant in cinder blocks in their pen. They also love raspberries, jumping up to get the ripe raspberries off my bushes. Out in their free-range area, I have "brambles" which are pokey raspberry bush type plants that they love to hid under. It's good protection from hawks, and shady and cool. I trained the stalks into hoops so they have hide-outs underneath. They devour hostas, but if you have a lot of them, and protect the soil under them (I've had good luck just setting bricks near the stems, in a square) so they don't dig up the tubers, they might survive. Depends on how many chickens you have, and how much space and other enrichment they have. I'm hoping to try millet and other grains in cinder blocks this year. I planted sunflowers next to the coop, and will toss the flowers to the chickens after they dry. I also have woody plants like butterfly bush, hazelnut, and cranberry growing in the pen. I have a wonderful chocolate smelling plant, maybe from the mint/sesame family that the chickens haven't killed. It reseeds itself with hundreds of tiny sprouts, and once in gets about 2 feet tall, it's woody enough that they hide in it and don't hurt it. So far they've been busy enough with other things that they haven't bothered the sprouts. I dump a few bags of grass into the pen when I mow, and they love to dig around in those piles. They also have piles of pine needles to dig around. I have a friend who has a compost pile in the run, so she throws stuff in, and the chickens dig it into the pile. I also have some Solomon's Seal growing in there.

 

[ShadowNIN]

Wow! So many great ideas! Thanks!

 

[CrunchyNana]

I'm curious about the wire topped boxes - walking on them doesn't hurt their feet or cause bumblefoot after a period of time?