4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Scotty]

Has anybody come across or can suggest a plant that I can put in the chicken run, that will add nice shade and give colour and interest of course (Im trying to blend the run into the rest of the garden) without the "Little Darlings" stripping the poor plant bare in moments??? I seem to be ok with a laurel bush but thats practically all that seems to survive. Any suggestions truely welcome!

[Tessa the Duchess]

You could try lavender, mallow, rosemary and bamboo. Mine are still intact after nearly a year of chickens

 

Tessa

[Cinnamon]

Humph.

Mine didn't eat any of the non edible plants,just tore them to shreds for fun

[Scotty]

That is very intersting, I will try and repot some rosemary, lavender etc in their run... The girls did escape from their pen earlier in the week and actually demolished a rather well established Lavender bush but on reflection they didn't eat it, they just ATTACKED it... I think it might have been boredom on their behalf - amazing how quick they are isnt it.

 

Thanks Guys!

[Cinnamon]

Scotty,look out for some nice branches & logs for them instead,so their run is a bit more decorative,& they also have somewhere to perch

I also have unturned terracotta flower pots in mine,in varying heights,after I gave up on the plant idea

[Scotty]

Now that is a great idea... I have some old chimney pots which would look good in there and give them something to sit in / on.

 

THANKS!

[chelsea]

anything spikey, jungley and palmy works well in my garden with chooks -

 

Palms (date, fortunei), cordalines, formeum (sp!), fatsia, bamboos,

 

they do like grasses though - I bought a lovely little blue spikey grass and they took quite a liking to that one.

[Cinnamon]

Now that is a great idea... I have some old chimney pots which would look good in there and give them something to sit in / on.

 

THANKS!

 

Just make sure its nothing they can perch on & poo in

 

Chelsea,spikey plants lasted a week with my thugs

[chelsea]

 

Chelsea,spikey plants lasted a week with my thugs

 

Vandals!!

[Snowy]

The holly is doing rather well in my run

[Cooks]

I have gone down the branch and ridge roof tile route.. as I had these in the garden left over from building work and the little loves used to hop on them so I thought, ok you like them, lets put one in, and now it's got to two in there.

I like them because when they poo it falls right off and onto the floor. They LOVE their dustbath made from a ceramic butler sink (but smaller square version)

I have added a hanging corn on the cob/parrot toy item for boredom, which I am assured is ok with chickens. They have yet to notice it's there though I believe typical

[TheCoop]

Humph.

Mine didn't eat any of the non edible plants,just tore them to shreds for fun

 

 

 

Sounds all too familiar!!

[jomaxsmith]

I've got some spotted Laurels in their daytime (not fox proof so only under supervision) run which they like to shelter under and also a Cornus (Dogwood) which they have stripped some of the leaves from but not completely defoliated. There's also an ornamental grass which they kept pecking as it tried to grow but after they'd been on their hols for a fortnight it grew a bit and now they're ignoring it!

 

Jo

[Scotty]

Thanks Jo

 

I've managed to get quite a nice list together of plants to try out. I like the idea that your hens go away on holiday... anywhere nice? wasn't Turkey was it??

[Rhapsody]

Mine dont touch Bay Rosemary Pieris or conifers.

[jomaxsmith]

I like the idea that your hens go away on holiday... anywhere nice? wasn't Turkey was it??

 

No, we went to Spain and they went to a friend who has a flock of hens and keeps a coop for holiday rentals. My girls seemed to enjoy being in their coop and run surrounded by all the strange hens. I half expected them to come back terrified but they were fine!

 

Jo

[frenchlayer]

Mine don't touch stingers, however they are not really ornamental!!

 

So we have branches and stingers in our run.

[cluckbok]

Hi ya guys!

 

Well we bought small grasses, a nice spikey one and a stripey grass, and they have pecked at the spikey one which is typical! The other they leave alone!! Little monkeys.!

 

We've had to rescue the potatoes in the sacks and put them in a large planter with small mesh around!! They are rather partial to those!!

[jomaxsmith]

We've had to rescue the potatoes in the sacks and put them in a large planter with small mesh around!! They are rather partial to those!!

 

Eeek! Raw spuds in any form are poisonous to chooks - I thought hens were supposed to know what's good for them

 

I had to plant my spuds in containers this year!

 

Jo

[cluckbok]

They ate just the leaves from the spuds. They couldn't get to the spuds as they are deep in the sack. They cannot reach either now, we've made sure of that!

[kissinuk]

I've just had delivery of 3 bamboos that I'm planning on planting in the area that our chickens free range, hopefully they will survive. They seem to be fine around mature shrubs - my buddleja and dogwoods are all still fine (they love disapearing under them!).

[NClaire]

I have just put an old children's wooden bench in the run - will be interesting to see how they like it! It should provide perching places (on the slats of the seat, and the back), and possibly they could dust bathe under it.

[beach chick]

THAT's a good idea NClaire, I will borrow that one!!

[chelsea]

I've just had delivery of 3 bamboos that I'm planning on planting in the area that our chickens free range, hopefully they will survive.

 

You should be fine, I have about 5 bamboos here and never touched.

[abwsco]

I've one shrub in the run that they've not touched but no idea what it is so would have to take a photo. I'm thinking of growing brambles in the run as they haven't touched those. We have a few that come in from next door. Oh, and they also don't like weeds