Yew trees dangerous to Hens?!?!

[mrskenmore]

So I am in the process of designing a chicken coop for my three new chicks that will be arriving this weekend. Bad news is it is to be located under a beautiful, mature male Yew. I just read in the fantastic book free-range chicken gardens by Jessi Bloom that yews are poisonous to chickens. Any more info or links to horticultural websites would be greatly appreciated. I was not thinking of removing this yew from my yard as it is older than my husband and I combined!

Thanks for any help and advice!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

A member here recently lost an animal (calf I believe) to Yew poisoning - it was discussed in the Indiana BYCers thread I believe.

 

[chfite]

There are many things that are poisonous. The first step is not to ingest any of them. My chickens forage around the yard daily. There are plants that are poisonous for them, but they don't eat any of them. Specifically, azaleas and daffodils.

I believe that chickens, as with many other animals, won't eat anything bad for them when they have free choice of adequate food.

I believe that the concern over the yew is unfounded in this case.

Chris

 

[mrskenmore]

I had read about livestock, but didn't know if chickens fell under the same category as goats, sheep and cows since they are birds... I have two morning doves that make that tree there home every year and they are very healthy

Thanks for the advise Chris, I agree if I pull everything out of my yard that they can't have (daffodils, azaleas and rhododendrons) I won't have much of a yard for them to be in! I hope my chicks will turn into smart hens that know what is good for them and what isn't!

 

[1000yearoldeggs]

Daffodils are dangerous? We have tons around the garage and yard. My chickens have been searching for bugs around them since they bloomed a couple weeks ago. I haven't seen them eat the flowers at all, but it's good to know what's poisonous, just in case.