Solitary chicken - need advice

[sarahjm]

Hello everyone, I've not been on for ages - so busy!!

 

But I know you're the best people to ask this question of (or 'of whom to ask this question' depending on how pedantic we are on Mondays...?!)

 

Right, so I'm going to move my chooks down the garden a bit, we made them a big pen (3m x 2m) which is half way down the garden and it's only a narrow garden so they're taking up quite a bit of space, well the pen is, the chooks are usually free-ranging anyway, whilst we're home. We decided that if we move the pen to the end of the garden (don't worry it's not that far away ) then we'd have more lawn for The Boy to play on.

 

But the space I've my eye on, behind the greenhouse, has a rhody bush in the middle of it. Now this would be lovely for them to perch in.... but I can't think where I may or may not have read that rhody's are bad for chickens..... can anyone advise on whether it would be sensible to put a 5 foot high rhody into a cage with 4 chooks?

 

Does that make sense?

Phew!

 

S xx

[The Dogmother]

Laurels and rhododendrons are poisonous to us, not sure whether they are to chooks though. My chooks cratch around under my laurel without any harm.

[Snowy]

No idea whether or not it is poisonous, but I know mine love the shrubbery in their pen. They don't eat all the leaves so they obviously know which to avoid.

[Carol U]

Mine scratch around under laurels and rhododendrons without coming to any harm. They eat the leaves of lots of things (unfortunately) but never touch those, so presumably they don't taste good. I should go ahead - they will enjoy playing round your bush and it will give them some shade.