What can I plant in the pen?

[cobrien]

I have Mexican sage and a native australian vine called Hardenbergia violacea growing unprotected in my run, they leave them alone. I also have a small mandarin orange tree in there that they have left completely alone, but when it started to bloom I put chicken wire around it to keep them from eating the buds. I put bricks around all plants to keep them from digging the roots. There is also english ivy in there that they leave alone but I didn't plant it. When they were younger they destroyed everything, now if it tastes bad they nibble a bit but mostly leave them alone.

All chickens are different, I'd try different things, especially deer resistant plants, protect them until they are established then see what happens.

 

[La_TomboyGirl]

English Ivy is another poisonous plant...maybe that's why they don't mess with it? Idk...Sage sounds good though!

http://www.pawsdogdaycare.com/Start-Up-Services/Plants-Poisonous-To-Pets-English-Ivy.htm

 

[churchx3]

I placed bales of straw on the outside of the run against the fence then put holes and soil in the bales and planted impatients (annuals) directly in the bales. The area is shaded so the impatients should do great. This serves several purposes for me (1) it provides a barrier between my dogs and the fence (2) the chickens love picking at the bales for bugs (3) aesthetically appealing. At some point when I need to replace the bales I will simply place the old bales in my garden and put out new ones and start over.

 

[cobrien]

Quote:
It might be why they leave it alone, I have a few other poisonous plants in my yard that I've seen them sample and spit out. or maybe it's not english ivy, I thought that's what it is, it is an invasive ivy/vine. luckily a lot of poisonous plants taste bad.

I'm not sure if they'd eat real sage or not, Mexican sage is not a true sage, although the leaves kind of look sagey, they don't smell good and probably don't taste good. pretty though!