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chicken resistant plants
Rebecca Horton
Posts: 10
Hello all! New to forum here 
I have a section of garden for my chickens which is of course now devoid of grass. But I was surprised to find that bluebells, primula and hellebore survived their scratching around. I now plan to plant up the area with a mixture of shade and shelter giving shrubs such as viburnum, and smaller plants so that it encourages wildlife and doesn't look brown. Do people have experience of what plants might survive chickens other than these? Thanks.
I have a section of garden for my chickens which is of course now devoid of grass. But I was surprised to find that bluebells, primula and hellebore survived their scratching around. I now plan to plant up the area with a mixture of shade and shelter giving shrubs such as viburnum, and smaller plants so that it encourages wildlife and doesn't look brown. Do people have experience of what plants might survive chickens other than these? Thanks. 0
Posts
I'm not sure Rebecca (we're getting chickens soon so I've been trying to research this) not I found this link with a big list on if it's any use! (its in America I think but some plants should still apply).
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/plants-chickens-dont-eat
Chickens will reduce a piece of land to a lunarscape in a very short time......plants they won't eat; I would be thinking plant & machinery!
Wonderful responses folks! thanks for the link Clarington.
Chrissie and Philippa; yes to the root system remark. I've got patches of chicken wire everywhere around establishing plants right now! and thanks for the list of your own philippa, it will come in very handy
I also let weeds grow in their bit...well at least its green!
Hi Rebecca,
I've had chickens for a year now and have been experimenting with planting in their run, partly because I'm running out of plant space but also for interest and shelter.
All the plants are young and smallish, but my three haven't attacked berberis, spirea, crab apple Louisa, pyracantha and a currant bush.
Ive put two layers of bricks around alliums, small dogwoods, clematis, climbing rose and honeysuckle to protect the roots and they have been left alone.
They trashed some daffs that came up through the bark chips and ripped the bottom leaves off a Kilmarnock willow last year although they seem to have left it alone now. They also nibbled some succulents I had in a pot so I relocated them to the hen house roof.
I'm experimenting with growing sweet peas up their net fence (planted on the outside) and they have only dislodged a few so far. They can reach other plants through the fence too but don't seem inclined to bother at present...
Chickens will trash almost any plant given time, as even if they're not going to eat it, they're innately curious creatures and want to keep having a go.
When I kept chickens the only things that survived in their large pens were thistles, nettles and elderberry bushes.!
A friend had Japanese Knotweed in her garden - she build the chicken run around it - 10 years later - no JKW - the chickens had eradicated it!
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Phillppa - re the grass problem. I was looking at this (only too aware that the run itself will be stripped bare) and saw a clever little way someone had made grass available to their chickens by putting a grass in a seed tray and building a sturdy welding wire mesh (boxed in with wood so there were no sharp edges) lid that fitted snuggly over the top so that the chickens couldn't reach all the way in to pick it clean. They'd leave it in for a few days and then swap it over with something else (in one instance with seeds from their feed they'd germinated a few weeks prior) so it could recover.
I'm hoping to do something similar with plants in pots with a wire globe buried inside to give the main root ball some protection so that they've plenty of positive stimulation to keep their brains from planning to take over the world and once the plant looks a little too battered it can be whipped out and a replacement put in while it recovers... we'll have to see how / if it works out.
There's lots of ideas like this on Pintrest if you ever have a spare hour to loose!
Hmm...
You've given me an idea Clarington- I've got an outdoor cat poo box which has rarely been used, that I made out of a skirting board... I could tent peg it to the ground, tack wire mesh over and grow grass in that...
Philippa, my hens have a penchant for gooseberry leaves- they originally had a line of currant bushes along one side of their run which they largely ignored but as soon as I added a gooseberry, they stripped off every bit of green. I've now took the fruit line off them and they'll have to make do with their own currant bush and what they can reach through the fence.
When I first got my chickens, last June, because they were ex battery they didn't know they could eat anything that wasn't layers crumb. When they discovered other things were edible,nothing was safe and they took bites out of everything, especially brightly coloured petals. They seem to have calmed down now- but they do get lots fruit and veg as my neighbours bring them stuff too
A friend of mine uses this method to keep her cats from destroying the whole catnip plans she grows for them; an upturned wire hanging basket over the plant. I suppose you could do the same with things like grass when you want to give the chickens something as a treat they wont destroy completely.
I plan to to some fruit bushes in just for them too.
Absolutely agree Clari - three or four chickens given the run of a reasonably spacious garden, and kept an eye on - I've not found that to be a problem at all - they probably do more good than harm with getting wireworms and slugs etc.
But they will destroy anything green inside their run when confined there
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.