Weeds In Run

[Bta2m2]

I think we have creeping ivy in the run. I read it’s poisonous to chickens. If this is it, do I need to dig it all up before putting them out there, or will they eat around it? We have it everywhere in our yard. Suggestions please!!

 

[Debbie292d]

I think we have creeping ivy in the run. I read it’s poisonous to chickens. If this is it, do I need to dig it all up before putting them out there, or will they eat around it? We have it everywhere in our yard. Suggestions please!!View attachment 3840640

Our silkies go down into the forest on paths and I'm sure there are so many things poisonous to them but they just know enough not to eat it. That's saying a lot for silkies as sometimes they seem so dense.

As for this in particular, if it's like creeping Charlie, which it looks like, our chickens eat around it as we have that all over in our yard.

 

[Bta2m2]

Our silkies go down into the forest on paths and I'm sure there are so many things poisonous to them but they just know enough not to eat it. That's saying a lot for silkies as sometimes they seem so dense.

As for this in particular, if it's like creeping Charlie, our chickens eat around it as we have that all over in our yard.

We have a white Silkie my adult daughters named Lady Gaga. I totally understand what you mean by dense. I can tell when she talks to me because she has a different voice. She certainly earned her name.

 

[debid]

They'll have everything dead in the run, even the things they won't eat. I mow part of the field and put in bags of meadow clippings. Even with mowed pieces, they can identify what they can eat and what they should avoid. It's pretty impressive, really, considering they are completely baffled by a gate that they have to walk around to get where they'd like to be.

 

[StinkyAcres]

I wouldn't worry. They'll eat around it.

 

[perkolator]

Looks like creeping charlie, I've got it everywhere in my yard, chickens seem fine. All of what's in your pic will be gone in a short while once you give them access to the area.

 

[Ridgerunner]

That's not exactly the question I expected. My run is big enough that most of it stays green. The chickens eat what they like and leave the rest. The problem with that is that the rest grows so high it shades out the good stuff. I have to mow it four or five times a year to knock down the bad stuff and allow the good stuff to get enough sunlight to grow.

Chickens have been foraging for their own food for thousands of years, even before they were domesticated. They never went extinct before we started feeding them. They can handle foraging.