Hi everybody,
I wondered if anyone has ever had success with a plant that a chicken won't eat,disturb?
I really would like to have some ground cover or something under a tree by the coop, but they just gobble it up, so far.
2nd, I'm interested to hear what you all do with the leftovers ! The litter, poo,etc.
We don't have problems with predators so they all have free run over the place (they actually have their own yard) and today it was starting to get pretty smelly after a big rain yesterday... I tried raking it up but then didn't know what to do with it. I usually recycle about everything (hence my screen name) but I'm stumped with this one. So, what do all of you guys do. Do you use litter on the ground?
Thanks for sharing
Are there any plants, chickens won't eat?
Oh Now rot, Compost it! Rake up the Poo and add it to all your grass clippings and dead leaves and throw in your non-meat related, un cooked, organic kitchen leftovers!
In a few weeks you'll have great compost for everything!
Mine have yet to eat anything that was poison, and many of the plants in their paths are poison/deadly. I don't get it, but I understand that they know what to eat and what not to eat. I dunno.
I have found that the sure way to get the chickens interested in a specific area is by planting something there! When I have a shovel out and I start loosening up the dirt they get right in there looking for bugs and worms before I can even get the ground leveled out. Every now and then I take my little Mantis tiller inside the chicken pen and run it every which way. They will stay back from the Mantis but not from the shovel. This cleans up the area from the poo on the ground and works the leftover feed/seed shells into the dirt. It also keeps the dirt loose enough for the chickens to take their little dirt baths.
When I clean out the used litter and poo inside the coop I put it in a large garbage can with water and make a manure tea for my garden. The veggies are growing like crazy from that tea. The rest of the year when I'm not making tea I throw it all in my compost bin. It makes the compost break down a lot quicker.
Mine nibble everything, but only really chow on things that aren't poisonous. Just one of those instinct things, I guess.
Poopy chicken litter is good soil's bestest friend.
A guy that works for me, grew up on a farm with lots of chickens. He says chickens can and will eat anything and he's never heard anyone ever mention chickens dying of anything except varmints or the frying pan...we did a little local survey and have yet to find anyone that disagrees....
Great ideas. I got excited when I heard it said that they won't eat poisonous plants. I was thinking, ok, maybe I can plant some Lillys-of-the-Valley.
But, maybe not.
Their coop and yard are under/near a 20 yr old green ash. When they dig, etc, they claw up the roots. I love the little critters so much, I'm willing to take a chance of hurting the tree, but I'm hoping they won't.
I am going to put the poo into my trash cans like you suggested, hmstyl. I had thought that the mixture would burn the plants but I'm gonna try it.
Can I also just spread it straight from the chickyard onto the ground?
It has been very nice to hear all of the ideas. Thanks everyone.
You can spread it, but not too close to the stem of a plant.
My chickens decimated some of my lily of the valley. It looked ragged and terrible by August. But it came back next year. The only thing I plant in their coop are brooder greens, amaranth and sunflowers, and those I "cage" in the beginning. Oh, and I think I'll plant a redbud and a couple fruit trees there soon...
They'll peck at them but not always eat them
most poison plants I hear(don't know for sure) don't taste good
I have tons of poison plants and never had a bird die from
eating them.
Even had a parrot chew the heck out of a brugmansia and he didn't die
I think some plants that are poison to humans are not to some animals
My horses chow down on poison ivy..........
It's funny to hear some of the plants an animal will eat. Poison Ivy?? Who woulda thought.
I'll probably stick with poison ones. Are there any low growing pretty one's that you all recommend???
Opposite of the coup, is my "orchard", the chicken sunbathe around. I have 11 dwarf fruit trees. This year I had 1 sweet cherry growing on the trees. Nothing else. Something came and ate it before I got to. I was so bummed. We have late spring frosts that kill most blossoms so it's pretty comical that I try to have them. The chickens love to bask in the sun under these trees. They have also pecked the heck out of the lower leaves.
You could throw some oats into the pen. Any that they don't eat right away will sprout into little plants and get eaten then and also will help degrade your poop!
My girls love to dig up anything you just planted. :) They are so helpful!
I feed my chickens all my kitchen scraps. The only thing I have ever heard of being hard for them to digest are raw potato peels.
I do the same thing, Back, works like a charm!!
I think I'll try the oats thing after I rake up a bit.
Thanks
I am planting brooder greens I get from Sand Hill Preservation. Sturdy kales and grains... they have a spring batch and a fall batch.
Zeppy, I'm interested in finding the 'brooder greens' you mentioned but have never heard of it and don't find anything internet for it.
Any more info or possibly another name.
Thanks
You could do a mix of (farm seed) legumes and grains from Johnnyseeds.com, or sunflowers and amaranth; something that will outgrow weeds. The advantage of sunflowers is the shade and then when they fall the seeds.
Here is Sand Hill Preservation. http://www.sandhillpreservation.com/
Their poultry selection is amazing, but they're a small family operation and they're not about big profits, so the service isn't super prompt like, say, McMurray. Here are the brooder greens:
http://www.sandhillpreservation.com/catalog/specialty.html
I briefly checked them out. (Real busy these days) Looks great. I like to patron small business' when possible. Helping the lil guy.
Thanks for all the info everyone !!!