GrannyTrish Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 We have three apple trees fanned out along a wall and they are filled with apple blossom just now. While I was pottering about this afternoon out of the corner of my eye I noticed blossom falling and at first didn't think much about it, until I heard clucks. I turned around and here was Connie bouncing up and down like Tigger pulling off the petals and buds and eating them! Now DH had paid a lot of money for these trees so you can imagine my horror . Added to that, he loves the fact that our granddaughter always looks for granddads apples . Then to compound matters even more, he took delivery today of a polytunnel to go over his raised beds to keep the hens out as they were either digging up or eating what he'd planted . Get chickens he said. They'll be fun he said! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 My Bernadette is absolutely crazy for the yellow Berberis flowers at the moment. And when she was escaped into the veg garden earlier I discovered she also likes yellow broccoli flowers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia W Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 I learnt the hard way that good gardens and chickens do not go together! So the garden is divided into ‘their’ area i.e. bare earth and our ‘garden’ , a bit greener but full of slugs and snails. Never the twain shall meet.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 Same here! Started to confine more and more plants and in the end decided to confine the chickens instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandmashazzie Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 Me too,although feel quite guilty but they are feathered destroyers and move in military precision. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrannyTrish Posted May 11, 2018 Author Share Posted May 11, 2018 Well, now you all tell me! Why didn't you tell me before we got them?! I'm so glad that it was DH who said that we should get chickens despite me doing most of the 'work'! I mean, can you imagine if I had said were getting them and then they started to destroy his garden?! The polytunnel will solve the major problem by protecting the veggies and strawberries and I've temporarily blocked off the apple trees for now. I don't think there's anything else they can get to to destroy food ways . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 They will also destroy non food related plants... As a chicken you can just pluck the flowers of the pansies, just because they annoy you. And once the good tasting plants are gone, you can always try lavender. Not nice? Well lets at least try all other gazzilion leafs just in case there is a good one in there somewhere... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrannyTrish Posted May 11, 2018 Author Share Posted May 11, 2018 Luckily they don't have access to any other plants. Actually, they don't seem to like any veggies that I've put out for them - broccoli, lettuce, carrots, kale, mint have all been left! Fussy beggers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 Having big fat orpingtons originally, I found if they didn't eat a plant or dig it up, they'd just walk over it like 2-legged bulldozers! But gradually they had their run of the garden reduced. Half for us and half for them. They weren't happy, but as their numbers dwindled they just got used to it. "They don't eat lavender" - mine did. "They won't eat rosemary" mine ate the bits they could reach - I ended up with a standard rosemary. When we stay at the farm up near Bromyard, there is a huge old pear tree in their garden. One year we were there when the blossom was dropping and the hens were running round trying beat the other chickens to the tasty petals! And thanks for the reminder as we will be getting a few more trees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 Yep mine will race each other to the petals of my pear tree! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrannyTrish Posted May 12, 2018 Author Share Posted May 12, 2018 2 hours ago, Valkyrie said: there is a huge old pear tree in their garden. One year we were there when the blossom was dropping and the hens were running round trying beat the other chickens to the tasty petals! And thanks for the reminder as we will be getting a few more trees. 2 Our pear tree is in the front garden out of their reach and they haven't gone near the apple trees again - so far! They do seem to have a love-hate relationship with the chives, though! nibbleshakeheadnibbleshakehead 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 When my little darlings sneaked in the veggie bed and scoffed some of the leek greenery, the egg whites tasted metallic. Same when they stuffed chives. I'm guessing that the onion flavour is absorbed somehow! Although putting garlic in their drinkers or garlic powder in the food as a booster they hated it, and I never noticed the albumen tasting strange. Weird huh! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted May 20, 2018 Share Posted May 20, 2018 The first day I got mine first ladies sadly long gone - they chomped their way thro the rhubarb leaves. I posted on Omlet and was horrified they were poisonous to hens as well as humans. I full expected them to be dead the next day. Sadly hens cant read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 Same with potatoes. Don't let them anywhere near those either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 Or tomatoes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 Ripe tomatoes are fine, although while mine had the run of the greenhouse which provided a nice dry spot if it rained for many years (and most of the garden!) they never attempted to chomp the tomato leaves. I don't particularly like the smell - so I'm guessing they thought yuk too! Although they did rather like eating the sealant around the windows. Squirt does like a Sungold now and again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 I swept the blossom from the grass and sprinkled it in the run like confetti. They couldn't get enough of it. All gone now though, sadly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrannyTrish Posted May 21, 2018 Author Share Posted May 21, 2018 DH finished putting up the polytunnel yesterday. Although the weather has been glorious he had to wait for it to be dead calm before putting the polythene over, so now he can move the veggies he's got growing in the greenhouse into the polytunnel as it's now chicken proof (he hopes!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 Mine ate the tomato leaves too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
