What plants do chickens like?

[carugoman]

so far it's been daylily,citrus and peppermint as the short no list; everything else has been stripped bare. Had to keep them locked in the coops for a whole morning so that I could pick the chicory and dandelion blooms for spring wine. They especially like the rose bushes...sweet flowers, sweet aphids and tangy red ants!

 

[living2ride]

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[poopcoop]

Anything in a garden they love to eat. I had to replant and fence it off.

 

[tech25]

LOL. Smells like an onion. Hoo boy, now just feed her some sage and rosemary and she is ready to go. I have 23 Orps. These are my first chickens and I am enjoying them. They are just about 5 weeks old now. I have an out door playpen for them and have been puting them in it when the days are warm and sunny. They eat the grass, dandylions and have discovered anthills. I have taken to tossing in any weeds I pull and the chicks go crazy when they find a favorite mixed in. There is some plant that looks sort of like a clover but with yellow flowers and one chick will grab that and run around peeping like mad. The others snatch bits of it as she runs by. LOL But I watch what I throw in with them. I have daturas, foxgloves and delphinium that I make sure they stay away from. Oh, I have some tobacco plants that I am growing to make insecticide and I removed and discarded some yellow leaves from transplants as I was en-gardening them. I forgot about them and tossed them in with the pile of weeds. I saw one of the chicks with a leaf and had a boogar of a time trying to get that leaf back from her. LOL just what I need a lawsuit claiming I was giving tobacco to a minor.
tech25

 

[DDRanch]

mine eat everything except the weeds......

 

[Portia]

I think it varies depending greatly on the circumstances. My chickens free range my acre yard during their waking hours; I may or may not be out there with them at any given time. The yard is planted mostly with edibles and some flowering bulbs/plants. I keep my vegetable garden separately fenced because they WILL eat new shoots, which is what they like the best; tender new shoots. Once something is established, they are much less likely to consume it but will do some nibbling; this is especially true with herbs. Newly planted and they are like candy, this I believe is partly because it is new, partly because some of it is tasty.
In the yard, if they sample to the detriment of a plant I put a circle of 1/2 inch hardware cloth around it while it establishes. Then I move to a circle of 2x4 hardware cloth so they can get their heads through and the leaves peek out through the fence. When they appear to no longer pay any attention to the plant I removed the fencing completely and whala...they may nibble here and there but generally leave it alone. As for the vegetable garden, they will completely newly sprouted plants but once they are leafed out the chickens usually prefer the freshly sprouted weeds, the flowers or fruits (which IS a concern) or nibble benignly here an there on the larger leaves. When I am working in the vegetable garden I never let more than 1 or 2 chickens in with me at a time so I can keep an eye on them.
Don't know if that helps, but this is just my experiences and experiments in living with a love of gardening and free range chickens. BTW...if they love, love, love a plant it is forever protected or just shouldn't be in my back yard.

 

[YumaJohnny]

I have a chicken run area that they have a great time scratching all day but then they like to migrate to the grasslands of my backyard - here they scratch poop and poop and then get on the patio and poop! There are bushes and stuff to get into and scratch around. If I plant some citrus trees in there run area and maybe some shrubs will that be ok? I guess I am asking if citrus trees are ok for them?

 

[Jen71]

At my local garden center they have a chicken coop with a full display of great, beneficial herbs to plant for chicken health.
My chicks are still babies, so I didn't pay close attention.
But now that I'm reading this, I think I will go back and take note of what they suggest.
I could plant those in the run or in my garden and when they are free ranging, they can feast on beneficial herbs.

 

[FoodKillah]

Thats what i like about BYC, old topics digged out all the time. If i DARE to give up the loyalty of BYC and i try to make a search on google for anything regarding chickens, (plants that chickens like, this time) i immediatly find out that the best results come from BYC and are always at the first page of google. So cool! Back to topic now

Mine do eat weeds, but not all of them. I think its all about how you train them. If they expect YOU every time they are hungry to feed them, because you do so, then their instict gives up and they become your slaves kinda. If you overfeed them and they always have feed available, there is no reason for them to fade their hunger by eating weeds. If your chickens are in this slave condition and you stop feeding them regulary (just keep them alive) they will come back to their insticts in 3 days and will start eating weeds like crazy. Well, thats what happens at least to my little flock.

Now that i remove the weeds, there only my little fruit trees left and there is no shade for my flock that cannot stand the direct sun at the temperatures we have here in the summer 32-40C and i want to plant something that climbs, next to their run, to get it covered. I planted peas but thats not enough, any ideas? i need a good edible climber plant to cover that run and provide shade+treats for them.

 

[Carrie Lynn]

Malabar Spinach, it is a vine, looks pretty with it's blooms and stems and is edible.
NOt many people are that fond of it but it might be tasty to chickens.