What would do well in a Chicken Garden?

[minifarmkat]

I was thinking about planting some plants around our chicken coop, but I wanted to make sure that they were plants that were chicken safe and that the chickens would actually enjoy. I know they like veggie scraps, but I was thinking about some flowers or something pretty like that; Something with a duel purpose.

 

[Aunt LoLo]

My girls adore kale and bok choy. If you plant it where they can reach it, you won't have to worry about what it looks like - it won't last that long. ;-) I'd make a chicken garden for them, and use it for treats.

 

[minifarmkat]

That does make since. Luckily I do have some bok choi already planted )

 

[mlongworth]

I ordered open pollinated dwarf jewej nasturtium for my girls. The whole plant is edible stays kinda small and has a mix of different colored flowers. Also got purslane and swiss chard and chickweed for in coop. Maybe try dwarf sunflower too.

 

[nikki1]

I'm going to put some full-size sunflowers in my garden this year. I have visions of tossing The Girls a nice, dry sunflower seedhead once or twice a week next winter. A little something to peck at and play with when The Incessant Drizzle sets in.

--Nikki

 

[Weasleymum]

I'm going to put some full-size sunflowers in my garden this year. I have visions of tossing The Girls a nice, dry sunflower seedhead once or twice a week next winter. A little something to peck at and play with when The Incessant Drizzle sets in.

--Nikki

How do you keep other birds from stealing all the seeds before you can harvest? I tried growing some sunflowers last year, and every time I thought a flower was 'ripe' enough to pick for the chickens, the seeds were already picked out by the local wild birds! Maybe I just waited too long?

 

[AZGardenFarmer]

* Weasleymum. I have the same problem. Stupid wild birds keep jacking my seeds. They even get into my garden, thru the Aviary Mesh and Dive bomb everything. Especially my corn and snap peas. *

 

[nikki1]

How do you keep other birds from stealing all the seeds before you can harvest? I tried growing some sunflowers last year, and every time I thought a flower was 'ripe' enough to pick for the chickens, the seeds were already picked out by the local wild birds! Maybe I just waited too long?

I think the fact that the next door neighbor lady feeds all the neighborhood stray cats helped a lot... We've moved, so I'll probably have the same problem with birds this year. Hmmm...I'll have to think this one through. Maybe little cheesecloth bags to put over ripening seed heads? I'll work on it, and let you know what I come up with.

 

[Arielle]

Quote:

* Weasleymum. I have the same problem. Stupid wild birds keep jacking my seeds. They even get into my garden, thru the Aviary Mesh and Dive bomb everything. Especially my corn and snap peas. *

Some people pull a nylon stocking over the head-- so I have read.

 

[Weasleymum]

Some people pull a nylon stocking over the head-- so I have read.

That's a cool idea. Although it would look pretty awful in the garden!

So I was thinking-- seeing the thread here about butting raised beds right up against chicken runs-- if I put a raised bed on the far side of our run (it will be the west-facing side), is there any reason why I couldn't grow cucumbers in it, using the wire wall of the run itself as a trellis for the vines? My thinking is that some of the cucumbers would develop on the inside, where the chickens could eat them, and some would develop on the outside, where I could harvest them for table, and the vines would shade the run a bit from the western summer sun.

Would the vines damage the run in any way? Or block too much airflow through the run? Thoughts?