Ladylucan Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 Can anyone help me with ideas for plants to go in the run that the girls will leave alone, !!, After looking at some of the gallery pictures i want to add more plants to my run, or should i say some plants to my run that may actually stay there, For over a year i had a lovely rosemary bush right next to the run, with the leaves hanging in the run, and the girls never touched it, The moment i planted one in their run it disappeared!!, I am now running out of ideas, and money!!, Any suggestions?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xScrunchee Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 I really can't help on this one. I think that I would give up!! Whatever mine don't eat they scratch at and ruin so I'd be interested to see what plants other people manage to grow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gallina Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 There are tough woody plants that hens aren't very interested in that I could recommend for the garden generally, but I think that anything you put in the run as a young plant wouldn't stand a chance.... (Hens do all their digging practice in the run so that when they are let out they can do the maximum damage in the shortest possible time.) What they don't eat, they will dig up. I would be wary of planting barbed or prickly plants in the run: if you later introduce young chickens they could be chased into it. Sorry to be so negative. I have planted two young rosemary bushes outside my hens' run, and every time I let them out the first thing they do is dig them up. I replant them every time I shut them away again, and this seems to keep them happy. It also stops the rosemary bushes from getting too big, as the experience definitely unsettles them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 I have thought about planting in the run too, but have decided now to stick to planting ouside the run. They are easier to maintian, don't get dug up & don't get all dusty like a plant in the pen would. However, if I was going to plant in the run I would probably go for palms or something similar. My pan has a clear plastic roof so I reckon tropicl plants would be quite happy, & I also think that the hens wouldn't bother with them too much. I would also stack some nice big stones around the base, just to give it a fighting chance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 I've found these replies interesting as I'm planning to build a large run, enclosing part of the shrub border. They love it in there, so I figured I could make it a permanent area for them. I wonder if the plants will survive though! They are very well established - there's a small cherry tree that needs it's top cutting off, a sambuccas, fern and 2 large, woody hebes. Putting stones round the bottom sounds like a good idea though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ladylucan Posted July 30, 2007 Author Share Posted July 30, 2007 Snowy, let me know how you get on by enclosing the plants into the run, I do have a big winter jasmine right next to the run which is growing over a dead tree stump at the bottom, i may do exactly what you are doing and just move the run and make it longer enclosing the jasmine, It is dark under there and loads of bugs, the girls will have a party under there, def worth thinking about, First though i have to remove the wasps nest that is underthere that i found yesterday which raking over the run, !!!!, another yucky job. Other than that, i may just grow the plants on the outside and let them grow inwards, that way at least the roots will have a good chance, Thankyou all for the ideas. x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 Will do Tracey! Growing plants around the outside is also part of the plan - hence the orange cube. Plenty of crocosmia, orange day lilies and summer bedding - marigolds and nasturtiums. Should hopefully create a nice little orange glow in the corner of the garden! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilly Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 Evening all, we enclosed the bottom of the garden for my girls which was quite established( ok overgrown wilderness!!) and so far has almost survived,most things have a hen height graze line!! i have daylillys,mint,lemon balm, lots of fancy grasses, and various other shrubs. Come spring i think things will struggle as they"ll get walked on so aiming to plant more shrubs. As i work in a garden center its my project for the mo, trying to find hen proof plants!!! i" keep you posted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 the only plant my girls peck at in the garden is lobelia. Everything else - bamboo's, hostas, grasses, ferns and tree ferns, palms, acers, fatsia, bedding plants - busy lizzies etc - remain INTACT I prefer to decorate around the run rather than in it, lots of pots and plants around the outside look great, plus the chooks have lots of room inside the run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountainboarddude Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 i brought a grass to put in the run, after 2 days it had gone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane and Martin Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 We have a farly large run for the girls. It was built around a trellis which has jasmine and clematis growing up it. They jump to eat the lower leaves of mainly the clematis but have by no means destroyed it. I have a couple of shrubs in pots whic I can move around a la changeing rooms and these have "flame Trees" in them - sorry don't know proper name. They are smallish shrubs whose new growth is bright red. The leaves are quite hard and so not easily eaten. They produce small white flowers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 If you look at my www below you will see that I have big day lilies - I let things grow through from the outside beds too - they don't get touched. The grasses that come through do get pecked - good girlies for weeding. Mind they aren't too keen on or chives or crocosmia - never ever plant bulbs as they are poisonous to chickens. Oh I have a tall rose growing in one corner near the door - they dont touch that and it doesn't harm them. A purple stock too - forgot about that. You could always try things in pots first, then transplant them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xScrunchee Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 I have read before that bulbs are not ok for hens and also that bluebells are poisonous but within 2 days of arriving my three girls ate bluebell leaves quickly followed by bluebell bulbs and had no ill effects. That was before I read about them being dangerous though otherwise I would have removed them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 Perhaps it depends on the amount of the bulb they actually eat, and the size of the chickens - but glad to hear that yours had nor ill effects - bet you were relieved Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ladylucan Posted August 2, 2007 Author Share Posted August 2, 2007 I had tried a few things in pots and when they left them alone, i did actually plant them, within a couple of days they had gone!!!, So did give up on that idea, I did give the girls a plant pot today that had loads of weeds etc in it, that didnt last 5 mins!!!, So back to the drawing board x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
