Plants in the chciken run...

[My11BabyChicks]

THANKS! They are great birds with awesome personalities! Thanks for all of the advice! It's much appreciated!

Can't wait to see the size of our Giants when they are full grown! Anyone here ever have any?

 

[Dusty Grin]

I found a really good idea on this forum.. I made some raised beds out of cedar boards (roughly 3' x 5). I covered the top of them with quarter inch hardware cloth. I threw in some organic compost and bird seed, gave it a little water and now they have a couple grass beds that they can pick at, but not scratch up and kill the plants. In the winter, I'll use a cover crop, such as Cereal Rye or Vetch. They get to free range in the afternoon and get a lot of garden scraps, but at least they have some sort of greens day in and day out. You can also make a deeper bed (about 2 feet) and plant radishes, turnips and beets. Cover it with chicken wire and then the chickens can peck at the greens of the plants as they grow and when your ready, you can pull the root crop out. Just make sure you don't make the framework of the beds too heavy, as lifting them up will be needed at some point.

 

[My11BabyChicks]

Funny! They grew up in a garden box when we allowed them outside! They love the garden! When we can supervize them we let them in to play around! I love all of these ideas!

By the way- We live in Northern NJ

 

[My11BabyChicks]

Has anyone had any luck with dusting boxes? Do they get good use from them?

 

[grandwake]

Quote:
The tomato plant is poisonous to chickens. The tomatoes are fine but the plant part is toxic. Please don't put this one in their run!

 

[SunnyCalifornia]

Blueberries and roses..... broccoli, strawberries, cilantro, mint, parsley? I have had good luck with all those in my yard.

 

[one slick chic]

I had planted raspberries and blackberries, unprotected

Needless to say I now have 3 sticks in the ground

 

[treehugger777]

I think anything you plant inside the run they will eat, but maybe you could plant a nice weeping willow or maple tree next to them, or a big beach umbrella...

 

[cadeschicks]

I've been planning on planting sweet peas and other climbing vegetables along the outside of their run since the wire will make a good trellis. I figure in addition to providing some shade, the chickens can pick at what ever grows inside their run while the main part of the plant will be outside so they won't be able to pick it to the ground. I guess I ought to get their coop/run finished soon, to see if this idea works as well as I hope it will.

 

[Pharm Girl]

I have a lot of greenery in the run, but it needs to be blocked off from little beaks. My chickens don't like the boxwood bushes at all. They use them as shade.