What to plant around the coop?

[JacksonPearce]

I'm in the middle of a major coop expansion and remodel. One thing I never liked with our previous setup was how eventually, the area around the coop became littered with shavings, and the wood got muddy from rain splashing into the adjacent mud. I figure some plants will help hide this-- but what to plant? Ideally, it should be:
-small, so it doesn't obstruct the view of the chickens too much
-evergreen
-grows well in partial sun
-not poisonous
-grows well in zone 7b/8

Any suggestions? I'm thinking on oxalis clover, perhaps...

 

[nanasacres]

I'm in the middle of a major coop expansion and remodel. One thing I never liked with our previous setup was how eventually, the area around the coop became littered with shavings, and the wood got muddy from rain splashing into the adjacent mud. I figure some plants will help hide this-- but what to plant? Ideally, it should be:
-small, so it doesn't obstruct the view of the chickens too much
-evergreen
-grows well in partial sun
-not poisonous
-grows well in zone 7b/8

Any suggestions? I'm thinking on oxalis clover, perhaps...

How about some marigolds?

 

[DonnaFreak]

I know mint repels bugs and rodents, but unless you keep it contained in some way, it will spread like crazy. I'm currently in the process of building some planter boxes to put all the way around my coop, then I will have landscape fabric covered with pea gravel spread out about 2' outside the planter boxes. That will keep it from being so muddy around it, so it shouldn't get splattered very much. I plan to plant two blueberry bushes at one end, lemon balm and apple mint at the other end, peppermint on one side of the door, and spearmint on the other side. Then on the 10' long back side I will plant annuals like marigolds, nasturtiums, dill, parsley, and turnip greens. All of the boxes will be covered with chicken wire to keep the chickens from actually getting in the boxes and scratching the plants out by the roots, while allowing them to peck at what grows through the wire. Hope this helps!

Donna

 

[junebuggena]

Mints, lemon balm, and catnip do well in partial sun and if they get out of hand, they smell really nice when you go over them with your lawn mower. Rosemary would be a nice evergreen option.

 

[User395221]

http://www.finegardening.com/sage-salvia

Salvia. There are a lot of different types, I don't know what's available where you are. Some can grow pretty big, but you can hack them back and they won't care.

 

[lazy gardener]

Hard to give advice for a different climate. But... here's a question: do you let your birds out to free range? If you do so, they will destroy what ever you've planted! Pics of your set up would be helpful. If your coop/run is in a civilized yard (um... that would not be my yard!) which is not likely to be on a major predator highway, I might consider planting something that would climb on the west side to shade from afternoon sun. What ever you put as a sun block, you need to be sure it does not block the most likely paths of breezes that cross your yard, so perhaps only 1/2 of the west wall.

Plants that I've used, which have either taken over or been destroyed by the chickens: Day lilies (they really liked those) Zucchini (nice plants that provided food for all of us) Cucumbers (nice climbers, provide food for chickens.) Any of the mints, lemon balm, cat nip (that one pretty much showed up without invitation).

Peas are loved by chickens, nasturtiums, particularly the climbing ones. You could plant some cut and come again greens for the birds: kale, lettuce, chard.

Multi purpose crops (intended to be eaten by humans and chooks) I limit to those that are intended to be cooked before being eaten. In other words, if I had a lettuce crop, or cukes growing adjacent to the coop/run, I'd give those plants to the birds, but would not eat them myself due to possible contamination by air borne fecal matter. How every, I greatly enjoyed those tender zucchini planted next to the run. I washed them well, and then cooked them on the grill.

Flowers which provide enjoyable seeds: calendula, dill, nasturtium, dwarf sunflowers.

Aromatics: good for insect/rodent control, lining nest boxes: mints, citronella, lemon balm, oregano.

If you let your birds out to free range, EVER, you might consider putting a grow frame in front of your run/coop. You could plant this to white or red clover, various grasses/grains, and greens. The flock could either eat the plants that grow up through the covering wire without destroying the base of the plants, or you could harvest the plants yourself, and then feed them to the birds.

If they are always confined to coop and run, you can then have a really nice bed in front of the coop/run with plants which are more pleasing to the eye. Depends on how much effort you want to put into appearance, vs simply covering the ground.