Tree/Shrub for chickens in yard

[Altairsky]

Yes, edible for humans or edible for birds, or edible for whatever creature is edible for chickens. It's all good.

 

[jbird7262]

I had this same problem recently and looked for native bushes and shrubs and ended up with a serviceberry, oakleaf hydrangeas and an elderberry. So far the chickens haven’t killed them and they used them for cover between their coop and their little forest grotto which is mostly small shrubs and bushes I have to stoop to get under

Elderberries can get decent height and provide some shade. They also love the berries. Most pines are slow growing. Peach tree is nice but not a lot of shade, protection, they also get most of my fallen fruit.

 

[MROO]

I highly recommend the American Beautyberry.

• It doesn't get super huge,
• has a beautiful draping habit when allowed to grow naturally (great shady hiding spaces,)
• gets vivid purple berries that chickens love (and dry nicely for wreaths)
• naturally repels ticks and mosquitos,
• and, best of all, Callicarpa Americana (not the imported cultivars) is native to your area, so it should thrive on neglect once it's established!

https://www.wildflower.org/plants/r..., FL,coastal plains; swamp edges, bottomlands

 

[Mother of Chaos]

I highly recommend the American Beautyberry.

• It doesn't get super huge,
• has a beautiful draping habit when allowed to grow naturally (great shady hiding spaces,)
• gets vivid purple berries that chickens love (and dry nicely for wreaths)
• naturally repels ticks and mosquitos,
• and, best of all, Callicarpa Americana (not the imported cultivars) is native to your area, so it should thrive on neglect once it's established!

https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=caam2#:~:text=USA: AL , AR , FL,coastal plains; swamp edges, bottomlands

I love these things, but do be aware that if you allow your chickens up on decks, etc., expect to be rewarded with brilliant purple stains!

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

expect to be rewarded with brilliant purple stains!

Oh my gosh yes! Mine have been eating wild berries and I was ready with the Corid their poop was so pink. But they are nowhere near my house so that didn’t cross my mind. Just gave me a little start until I realized they had denuded the Autumn Olive trees, of which there are plenty. Invasive things those but kind of tasty when they’re ripe.

 

[MROO]

I love these things, but do be aware that if you allow your chickens up on decks, etc., expect to be rewarded with brilliant purple stains!

Spoilsport!

 

[Jenbirdee]

The width is an extremely limiting factor. I would plant a shrub or shrub arrangement instead of a tree. They offer better aerial predator protection. I have a large perennial grass, a nine bark, an arrowood viburnum and some sedum in an arrangement that is now probably 15' in diameter. But at least 20 birds could take cover in there and you can't even see them. It is also higher sought after during extreme heat because it offers dense shade.

Wait until this fall before planting. After planting and mulching with wood chips I would cover all the mulch with chicken wire and pin it down with heavy duty landscape staples. This will prevent the chickens from scratching up the roots and killing the shrubs as they try to get established.

The first year you may even want to fence off the shrubs to give them a chance to really get growing before the chickens get at them. They can be very hard on newly planted nursery stock. I also suggest you get the largest plants you can find and water them weekly with a start right solution to help establish their roots and get some vigorous growth going. My flock uprooted a 5 ft blue point juniper so I had to move it out of their pen to someplace safer.

Another fast-growing shrub that gets quite dense that would do good in your area is a dappled willow. I have a row of them as a privacy screen between my home and the neighbors. I love it.

all my birds love to hide under my dappled willow