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

[C&T]

Apologies if this is on the wrong bit - couldn't decide between Chickens or Self Sufficiency...

 

I know that potato's are "not good" for chooks, and don't worry, I am not about to feed any peelings or anything to them!

 

But. I am planning on growing potato's this year in sacks in the garden. Will the plants themselves be poisonous to chooks? If not, do they leave them alone? (Appreciate if some chickens do not eat them, does not mean that all chickens won't...)

 

Trying to decide if I need to fence them off or not...!

 

Thanks!

[Space Chick]

I honestly don't know, but I have grown my potatoes in the front garden to be on the safe side

[Chicken Licken]

Mine show absolutely no interest in potato plants - they do like a bit of left over mash though!!

[Patricia W]

Mine ignored them last year

[Chucky1]

Ours ignored them last year.

 

They liked to come over and "help" when we were planting or harvesting - in fact anything where we had dug or rotivated the soil so that they could nip in for a meaty, between meals snack.

[Lewis]

Another lot that ignored ours - they were in a big pot on the patio though, so couldn't scratch around them.

[foreveryoung]

mine absalutly trashed my potato plants, and are still walking around

[mabelandflosmum]

Mine tucked into the leaves of my potato plants and lived to tell the tale!

[C&T]

hmmmmmm

 

As always with chooks, they all seem to have their own mind!

 

Perhaps I will try the sacks where they can get at them, and see how they react to them - while keeping ready to net them off as soon as they take too keen an interest to ensure I do actually get a crop!

 

Thank you!

[docsquid]

I had a few tomato plants (green parts also poisonous) left out when the chickens first arrived in October. They ignored them completely. They seem pretty sensible in our garden apart from Blodwyn having several goes at the chilli plants before realising that they were too potent!

 

I will have to exclude them from some areas come the Spring, but mainly to stop them digging up things, and from eating my blueberries and loganberries.

 

I won't be growing potatoes at home because I have an allotment patch this year, but I think they'd be fine in pots provided the chooks don't dig em up!

[C&T]

Careful with the tomato plants - they can enjoy the tomatoes themselves and eat them all for you - leaving all the green leaves behind...!!

 

I love the idea of chickens eating chilli plants though!!

[sjp]

mine left some alone ate a few leaves of others then found my congo and dug up and ate the very small ones as for tomatoes with mine it depended on the variety as to weather the ate them or note the faverite being Garden Peach they started with the ripe ones then the not quite ripe them any they could reach Gardeners Delight they only are if ripe red pear they only ate until they found Garden Peach then they wouldn't touch them

[Chucky Mama]

Mine who free range all day and turn their beaks up at any green veg that they are given as treats completely devastated my potatoes plants last year. They waited until they were nice and tall and then had the lot

[docsquid]

Sounds like I'll need the Omlet netting to keep them out of my tomato patch then

[foreveryoung]

Sounds like I'll need the Omlet netting to keep them out of my tomato patch then

 

I found most netting failed to keep the girls out, the only wat I managed to was a frame with netting on or mesh!