Plants for Chickens

[ChickenChick46]

I hope this is the right place, please let me know if it isn't!

We are currently redoing our old garden space. The veggie garden was moved to the front of the property to deter deer who keep eating it. The coop was built in the old garden area, and we're in the process of moving all the old raised beds out from the old space. We're going to fence the entire space in, and it'll be quite a lot of room. That whole area will be a chicken run. Covered, because hawks.

So my question is, what do y'all plant that chickens can safely be around? I'm aware they'll destroy many things, especially small things, so I don't care about that. Nothing here will be for my family's use.

I'm looking for trees that provide cover and shade, shrubbery ideas, edibles, any and all suggestions are welcome. I'm in zone 8, southeastern US. Sun or shade, as the area gets some of both. Thanks!

 

[DobieLover]

The main problem is not just that they will eat anything green that's planted in the run, unless that run is a half an acre, it's not going to survive without protection. Secondly they love scratching things out of the earth. I had my flock uproot a 3 ft tall blue point juniper. Just for fun.

Anything you plant in there needs to have its roots protected as well as the plant itself so it can grow. I'm assuming when you say you have a covered run it is not a solid roof so that rain and sunshine will still reach the plants.

All that being said, I would go for shrubs more than trees because you have a roof over the top of the run. The plants for my chickens are not in their run but in their pen. They have an arrangement with a large perennial grass, a nine bar and an arrowwood viburnum. I think that that combo would work well for you. You'd have the added bonus that the birds absolutely love to eat the berries off of the viburnum when they come into season. It can be pruned to stay within the confines of your run.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

A lot of things you plant will be eaten, scratched or "wallered" to oblivion. But we have a few things that have survived, partly by dividing the old pre-chicken garden in half and rotating it, and partly by planting in it things that are actually toxic to chickens. Yes, you heard me! What things, specifically? Flower bulbs! Lilies, tulips (not red, lol!), iris, daffodils... lots and lots of lilies and daffodils! Surprise lilies. The chickens love to shade and shelter under these plants, scratch and dig under them for worms and bugs, and of course fertilize them with their offerings. The plants respond with big, bright, beautiful blooms and multiply like there's no tomorrow. We don't do glads because they want to be lifted every year and replanted, and often want staked as well, too fussy for me, but you could. We also have (not in the run area but in the free range area) some established shrubbery like forsythia, firebush, a sour cherry bush, gooseberry, currant. We don't get the fruit of course.

 

[ChickenChick46]

The main problem is not just that they will eat anything green that's planted in the run, unless that run is a half an acre, it's not going to survive without protection. Secondly they love scratching things out of the earth. I had my flock uproot a 3 ft tall blue point juniper. Just for fun.

Anything you plant in there needs to have its roots protected as well as the plant itself so it can grow. I'm assuming when you say you have a covered run it is not a solid roof so that rain and sunshine will still reach the plants.

All that being said, I would go for shrubs more than trees because you have a roof over the top of the run. The plants for my chickens are not in their run but in their pen. They have an arrangement with a large perennial grass, a nine bar and an arrowwood viburnum. I think that that combo would work well for you. You'd have the added bonus that the birds absolutely love to eat the berries off of the viburnum when they come into season. It can be pruned to stay within the confines of your run.

Thank you! Yeah, the roof will be HWC. Between hawks and cats I can't have anything wide open. There is a large lemongrass already, so I'll need to see if that's safe or if I'll need to dig that out.

They dug up a 3 ft juniper, wow! The total run space will be between 600 and 800 sf.

Viburnum was actually on my list of possibilities, so thank you for that. As were various grasses I could verify are safe. And arborvitae. They can get pretty tall, but I think I've seen a dwarf variety.

 

[ChickenChick46]

A lot of things you plant will be eaten, scratched or "wallered" to oblivion. But we have a few things that have survived, partly by dividing the old pre-chicken garden in half and rotating it, and partly by planting in it things that are actually toxic to chickens. Yes, you heard me! What things, specifically? Flower bulbs! Lilies, tulips (not red, lol!), iris, daffodils... lots and lots of lilies and daffodils! Surprise lilies. The chickens love to shade and shelter under these plants, scratch and dig under them for worms and bugs, and of course fertilize them with their offerings. The plants respond with big, bright, beautiful blooms and multiply like there's no tomorrow. We don't do glads because they want to be lifted every year and replanted, and often want staked as well, too fussy for me, but you could. We also have (not in the run area but in the free range area) some established shrubbery like forsythia, firebush, a sour cherry bush, gooseberry, currant. We don't get the fruit of course.

Yeah there are 5 blackberry bushes in this space that I'll be sacrificing, lol. My husband is already planning to buy more bushes for us!

I have daffodils planted in the space already, and amaryllis. I was thinking I'd have to dig those up and replant elsewhere, but maybe not? They are also several rose bushes that I'm hoping they will just avoid. I won't be upset if they do destroy them, but I darn sure don't want to dig them all up and move them.