What to grow that chickens won't eat? Any chicken proof plants?

[GardeNerd]

What do you grow in your yard that the chickens don't munch on? I am starting do a little planting for spring and looking to add a few more interesting chicken resistant plants. Any suggestions? I live in zone USDA 9-10 or Sunset zone 22.

I have list short list at BYC of what I grow so far with success being chicken resistant, but I love to collect plants and want more variety. http://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=20741-plants-chickens-dont-eat

 

[journey11]

LOL, this is a good question! I know they make a b-line for my tomatoes and lettuce... Never saw them touch my herbs, melons or squash (although they love the seeds inside a cuke or melon, they don't know to open them up....yet!) They love marigolds, love kale, and beet tops and although they don't eat the carrots, they thought that was a good spot for a dust bath and rolled a bunch of them to death. They like strawberries like EVERYTHING else does. Never saw them mess with my green beans. The peas were fenced from the rabbits or else I'm sure they'd have gone there...

Well, your best bet is probably to either fence the garden or fence the chickens!

ETA: I see now you are talking about flowers... I know they won't eat tansy, hostas, japanese iris, virginia creeper, autumn clematis, zinnas or creeping phlox...that's about all I've got back there. Of course no herbs. They love marigolds and cosmos (leaves mostly).

 

[jojo54]

Mine ate the herbs in the fall when they had the run of the yard and had eaten most everything else. They worked their way through the herbs in some sort of order until they are mostly gone. But most of the herbs grow up from the roots so they should be fine this spring.

 

[GardeNerd]

My veggie garden is protected behind a picket fence, but I do let them roam pretty much the rest of the backyard space. I don't like the look of just grass and trees so I am looking for more variety.

The one time the kids accidentally left vegetable garden gate open the chickens had a big party in there! What a mess!

I am disappointed you mentioned they eat cosmos, journey11. I was thinking about planting some this year. Maybe those will have to go in with the veggies or out front now.

 

[journey11]

I am disappointed you mentioned they eat cosmos, journey11. I was thinking about planting some this year. Maybe those will have to go in with the veggies or out front now.

If you have a whole bunch of them or can protect them until they get going, you should be ok... They like to nip at the leaves, but once they get 5' tall, the chickens can't bother them enough to hurt them.

 

[lesa]

I had a chicken escaping and laying eggs in the garden. She made the nicest nest right in the middle of a large group of cosmos. You couldn't even see it!! Clever girl- she laid 17 eggs before I discovered it! I couldn't have been more surprised!

 

[Ladyhawke1]

Ya gotta love them babies. As my first ever vegetable garden, I wanted to make sure that it would survive and I fenced off that area completely from any chicken activity.

Now sometimes they just break my heart. There are times I catch the little boogers just standing staring through the fence. and I swear they are crying. So then, I become an enabler. I go in a pick leaves and then throw them over the fence for them. Everyone is happy again.

However, I am building what I call chicken barriers. There will be transition areas even up to and against these wire fences because I intend to plant vegetables and flowers right up to the fence. These areas will not be very wide but the barriers that they provide will prevent the scratching and neck stretching to reach the plants just behind the fences. I hope that makes sense. When I have this done I will try to take some pictures.

 

[BlueRose]

Ya gotta love them babies. As my first ever vegetable garden, I wanted to make sure that it would survive and I fenced off that area completely from any chicken activity. Now sometimes they just break my heart. There are times I catch the little boogers just standing staring through the fence. and I swear they are crying. So then, I become an enabler. I go in a pick leaves and then throw them over the fence for them. Everyone is happy again.

LOL! I'd do the same thing!

Some plants that we have around here that my chickens don't like are roses, daisies, and honeysuckle. At least, my chickens don't like the daisies...

 

[Forget-me-not-lover]

i wish i knew the answer :/
last year the chickens ate my mom and I's garden <.>
i wanted to watch the corn grow
maybe this year will be different
and our chickens LOVE honeysuckle

 

[digitS']

I looked at the list GardeNerd has on BYC and thought that - this person really know more about chickens and landscaping plants than I do.

Where I don't have trouble with the chickens (too much) is in the mints. They will dig around anything but the plants are fairly well rooted and I don't see any sign that they are eating them.

There are quite a few mints in my yard; they all seem immune. And, this is a large family of plants. I don't have many ornamentals where the chickens can get at them and my mints out there are of the culinary type. I'm curious if they would leave monarda, salvia, agastache, etc. - alone, or at least, not eat them. Maybe so.

They don't eat the chives and the iris seem to be safe, so far. Lotta scratching goin' on, however. They are never left too long to their own devices.

Steve