Chicken bald back

[nutterly_uts]

What plants are chicken friendly to cover a WIR and to go inside the run to provide some interest for chickens?

I am thinking a climbing rose across some of the run to provide some windbreak and shade?

And then things like lemon verbana, basil, chives to pick at in trays but also some bigger plants to hide in, maybe in pots?

[Cat tails]

Plants to pick at sounds nice as an idea, but practice may prove your chickens demolishing a plant in minutes.

Especially if they would have permanent access to the plants.

 

You would need quite big bushes that the chickens don't like if they would be to survive being in the run with them. Mine have dug out plants from the ground and damaged roots of others. They don't touch lavender, but do trample them...

[nutterly_uts]

Thanks

 

I don't mind things like the herbs being munched, was thinking I could rotate in some hanging planters and re-grow as needed but hadn't thought they'd trample plants inside the run too much I wonder if something planted long before the chickens so it had chance to root in might work?

[Cat tails]

Your chances are definitely better then. But my chickens are (like many) very destructive. They will pull the flowers off of my poor pansies and not eat them...

There are a few topics on this forum about which plants work and which don't. Some are poisonous to chickens, so keep that in mind as well.

[mullethunter]

I think a rose over the outside is a good idea. But if it's a 'normal' sized run and they're going to be shut in for any appreciable length of time, my experience is that pretty much anything green will be demolished.

 

I'd be very happy to be proved wrong though