What Kind of plants are good for pen?

[melanie]

My pen is about 15'x30' and I have a feeling the grass won't come back this spring with the pecking and scratching. There is a total of three hens,a buff orpington, banty and wild turkey. Is there a type of plant or bush I could plant in there that will get pretty big and good for them to peck at? I had swiss chard planted and they loved it but pecked it to death after about 6 months. I would appreciate any ideas. Thanks

PS live in central TX, pen is not covered...has an attached coup.

 

[Schultz]

I wish you luck in that quest. I will check back on this thread to see if there ary any ideas. I would love to have something green in our run too!

Sorry I can't help.

 

[lovemychix]

I can't imagine anything alive in my pen.

 

[WalkingWolf]

Quote:
I have to concur... They pretty much devour anything in sight. Getting anything to start would be next to impossible as they eat the shoots of any sprout. You might try bamboo as the sprouts are large maybe they would leave them alone. But be warned bamboo is very invasive.

 

[melanie]

Thanks everybody. I was wondering if a couple of larger plants like pampas grass or some other larger potted bush would work since there's only 3 of them and I would buy a few. Honeysuckle maybe?

 

[Schultz]

Honeysuckle didn't survive my run with 4 hens, it was a barren wasteland in 2 months. On the bright side, we live on 4 acres and let our girls free range whenever possible, I just try not to look at the run lol

 

[melanie]

Well, I guess I'll just have to do a little more dog proofing so I can let them out of the pen during the day. Problem is, the backyard fence surrounding the pen is on about 4' high. Sounds like nothing will grow. They miss the swiss chard.

 

[Schultz]

Our girls do have a place where they can slip their heads thru the fence to get at green treats when they can't free range, maybe you could grow the swiss chard along the fence where they can peck at it without killing it?

 

[CARS]

I have a cage within the run that the chickens can reach into to eat comfrey plant as it grows.

But my real answer to the chickens not destroying my run is that I will shut off sections of it to allow it to recover. A couple times a week I just turn the sprinkler on for the day. The grass loves it and the chickens (well, most of them) just stay inside for the day

 

[HappyHatch'en]

I've been told a chicken will pack the dirt harder than concrete, if there were any cracks, weeds might grow because they do well in my driveway. I believe the previous thread has the answer if your run is big enough to split.....perhaps buy some sod from time to time....or astro turf....LOL
Happy Hatch'en Folks