Plants in chicken run?

[kmdsparrow]

We are setting up the area for our new chicken coop and run. Should I take all plants out of the area? I'm moving plants that I want to keep, but I have some extra lillies there and wondered if they should be removed also?

 

[LarryPQ]

The chickens will destroy anything in there. So, I guess the question is, do you want those lillies?

 

[mdbokc]

Yep, that is pretty much correct.

 

[AinaWGSD]

Most plants that you don't care about would be fine in the run, but I would move those extra lilies just to be on the safe side. Lilies are on the toxic plant list for many species. I'm not sure about chickens, but I know that all parts of the lily are toxic to cats and (to a slightly lesser extent in that they are generally less sensitive to them) dogs and can cause kidney failure. If you don't want to dig them up yourself, you could probably put an ad on craigslist, freecycle, or maybe even your local paper offering them free to anyone who wants to come get them.

 

[mdbokc]

Mine have just created a path through the lilly plants. They don't touch them for snacks.

 

[nittanyxi]

anyone know if packasandra is bad for chickens to eat? I have a big patch of that where I am building the run.

 

[CityChook]

I don't know what packsandra is, so can't help you there, but I'll tell you that my chickens don't eat the lillies, but they trample them right to the ground with their dinosaur feets. stomp stomp stomp. If you want them, don't leave them in the run.

 

[ToastedSalmon]

Just out of curiosity, has anyone ever had success growing plants in a chicken run, either with very hardy plants, few chickens, or a large area? I'm thinking of things like mint, that are invasive and hard to kill in general, or if you just have a couple of chickens in a large area? And I'm talking about a permanent run, not a tractor situation.

 

[chickM4st3r(AL)]

you can try ivy or a butterfly bush or even a sunflower patch

 

[xyresicchick]

ivy is toxic to chickens.