What CAN'T chickens eat.

[tpeila]

So I am thinking of building my coop next to my garden, which currenlty holds a "semi" compost pile. There are dried leaves, some veggie material and apples from the house. Dead blackberry bushes from last year, etc.

Do I have to clean that out? Can they eat all that and I just build their run right over it?

 

[panner123]

First take all the blackberries out of the compost pile or you will have blackerry bushes all over your garden. Your chickens will save you the trouble of turning the pile and keep the bugs down. A chicken will eat anything that doesn't eat it first. I have built my coops right over compost piles, this helps keep them warm in the winter and the waterers don't freeze. By summer time the pile is in the garden.

 

[tpeila]

Thanks! So if there are a couple dead blackberry branches left in there will they eat them? Just want to mke sure it will not hurt them

 

[panner123]

My chickens have a blackberry patch that they hid under when hawks fly over and they eat every berry they can. What might happen (only seen it once), the chicken steps on a dried briar and gets an infection. Like I say, I have onle seen this once in over 60 years raising chickens.