What kind of tree/bush to plant in chicken yard

[silky ma]

Wax privet are toxic to hens!!

A good tree/ bush is pomegranate! With a pomegranate you can chop the heck out of it and control its size.
They tollerate abuse! The chickens will love the pomegranates and so will you. All other fruit trees are good but harder to control.
Just because a fruit tree says its a dwarf doesnt mean it still wont be 6 feet tall or more. I got lucky with my robertson orange tree,
I picked out the smallest one at the nursery - I have had it 8 years and it still has not grown taller than me 5-9. The chicks also love it for shade.

 

[kswaterfowl]

Hey,
I will bring over some seeds come spring and you can plant some of the things we've had. I got a new seeds that I am planning to grow up the sides of the duck yard and morning glories are always nice as well. If you want trees, try those little pines, like right in front of our hutches, they are semi-slow growers, but the birds never bother them and they love to hang out under them. Yesterday there were 8 young ducks trying to crowd under that 2' pine up close to our house...a very funny sight.

 

[HorizonSon]

Quote:
my chickens ate the blackberry bush to death

Haa! I'm sorry to hear that. The reason I laugh is that blackberries around here are almost impossible to control. I spend a lot of energy stopping the blackberries from completely taking over.

And yes, blackberries are a big hit with the chickens. They love the fruit and leaves, and they love the hiding places too!

Ha ha; I know what you mean! I don't mind the indigenous species. It's the darn Hymilaian(sp?) blackberries that make me have pyro thoughts, LOLz.

Ours LOVE to shade under our wild huckleberry bushes and even more still, LOVE to eat the berries! Huckleberries are in the same species as blueberries.