Plants for Chooks
HI All,
I am seeking some advice on what people may plant in with their chickens. We have a few at school that I look after and I’d like to plant some dedicated shrubs/plants/annual crops that can both shade and feed them. I have a few books I am reading through and also googling (of course!) but would appreciate any advice people may have to offer.
Thanks
Ray
11 November, 2010 at 10:48 am
Hi Ray,
I saw Josh Byrne on the ABC build a chook shed and he planted a Bay tree and Tansy in the scratch area for the chooks. I remember that Tansy helps repel parasites, but I forget the reason for the Bay Tree. I’m sure there is a factsheet on the ABC website about it.
19 November, 2010 at 5:35 am
Thanks Deb, I will go looking there to see what I can find!
19 November, 2010 at 7:31 pm
If you plant something in their run and have continual access to it, ti won’t survive! You can however fence of a small section, get something growing, then let them at it while you plant out a new section. For this purpose something with deep green leaves is good, or “Green manure” mix from a nursery or seed supplier–that will give them notrogen (protien) too.
Another option is to plant something multipupose that the chooks won’t actually eat (so it will survive) such as a lemon tree. They love the nitrogen from the chook manure and the chooks won’t eat the leaves (once it’s tall enough). You’d need to have it just outside their run, or inside but with a small fence–enough to protect the shallow roots of the tree.
Other fruit can be good too, e.g. stone fruit, (plant as for lemon). Chooks get shade in summer, sun in winter, fertilise the tree, and eat any fallen fruit.
20 November, 2010 at 9:50 pm
The classic is to plant a mulberry tree in or just outside their run. The berries will drop into the pen and provide a high-quality feed.
Comfrey around the outside of the pen will love the manure, and is great to feed to the chooks. Very useful around the garden, too.
Make a bottomless cage out of a timber frame covered with chicken wire (1/2 inch is best, so the chooks can’t get their heads through it). Sow some seed (oats, wheat, or even just cheap bird seed mix) onto the ground, and place the cage over the top so the chooks can’t get at it. As it grows up through the cage, they can nibble it. You can also move the growing cage to start a new patch, and let them eat all of the old one.
Herbs in general are good for the chooks. Parsley, rosemary, sage, etc will grow well just outside the pen. You can occasionally cut a bunch of herbs and throw them into the run. They’ll provide the chooks with some greenery to eat, but also lots of minerals, micronutrients, etc.
24 November, 2010 at 5:54 am
Much appreciated Jen and Darren.
We’re actually about to inherit three dwarf lemon trees that I thought would be ideal in the garden bed right next to their run, so good to know I was on the mark Jen!
I like that bottomless cage idea Darren, I think I might have a go at knocking something like that up as I do have some green manure stuff kicking around.
5 February, 2011 at 11:22 pm
Lucerne is one of the best crops to plant for keeping your hens happy, healthy and productive – with the ‘yellowist’, richest yolks you have ever seen or tasted. Lucerne/alfalfa (same thing) is a legume & is available from most seed companies. Most health food carry it for sprouting if you would like to try germinating a small quantity as a trial. Ideally, a plot is planted and when the lucerce is approx. 12 inches high, strips of the plot can be cut back to 1-2 inches from the ground to feed to the hens each day. Lucerne grows quickly provided it is irrigated regularly particularly in hot weather, (up to five cuts per summer season from the one plot) fixes valuable nitrogen and can also provide the best garden mulch!