herbs????...

Kalynta

Kalynta

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Advise needed from you who are more knowledgeable than me on chickens... :?

I would like to do a "herb garden" for my girls, maybe in a big pot or container, but, just what herbs are best? :-)19

Also can any one tell me if honeysuckle is poisonousness, as I have one growing in the girls run and they are enjoying it, a little too much methinks..... :-)05

Thanks for any help or info
xx
 
Can't tell you about herbs Kalynta but we have a honeysuckle growing in one of our runs. The birds have been in nearly two years now. When it is in flower they jump up to snatch the flowers and eat them. The birds are all in extremely good health so I would say it isn't poisonous. Ours don't eat the leaves though.
 
hiya you can do a search online to find out what they can and cant eat , just put in what plants are poisonous and it brings up many sites with full listings :D
 
I'd say honeysuckle is suspect, only because I've seen it listed as not desirable for other species. As with a lot of plants, it's OK if they just eat bits every so often.
 
There is plenty you could try;dandelions-hens love it especially if they need help with digestive system,parslay,mint,clower,betrot leaves,spinach,marioram,coriander,nettles,the list can go on you can also put some flower like french marigolds(great for coloring of the yolk)wormwood is natural way of worm problems and choks can eat theese whenever feel like it,horseradish is also very good for them.this topic was mentioned before on the forum so you can look in older posts too for inspirations.
Make sure they have no acces to ivy,potatoes,tomatoes(all green parts)lily of the valley,rhubarb as theese are highly poisonus for them.
 
Rhubarb leaves are highly poisonous to anything Tygresek. But none of our hens have had any inclination towards eating them. Was a bit worried about our piggy ewe though -she even ate the conifer hedge!
 
It is also worth noting that very rarely do poultry eat toxic plants, like most animals they instinctively know what is poisonous to them.
 
Put a pot of herbs in the run and it should last a day. In fact put a pot of anything in with them and it will not last long. I grow plenty of things in the garden- Mainly weeds at this time of year and all weedings- thinnings- trimmings go into the run. I even empty the grass cuttings in there and they go very quick.

If your birds are free range in the garden you will soon find out what they like as it will disappear. Anything they do not like- such as poisonous plants- may get kicked about but they don't go for it.
 
I was thinking of putting some nice stuff in a container with some sort of wire netting thingy over it, to give some protection so they can get the leaves and hopefully give the roots a miss :-)19 I saw something similar on a tv programm about chimps....

I cant have them totally free range cos of the dogs, they are wolf look a likes, so they are very much into thinking the girls are meals on wheels.... :oops: Their pen is approx 22 feet by 22 feet and is being extended to 33 feet by 33 feet bank hol weekend. I like to put different things in for them to eat and shuffle through to keep them happy and amused.

As always guys, thanks so much for your help and advise :-)17
 
your run will be as big as mine then which is now a swimming pool so good job the only boots i have without holes in are my wellies its about 4 inches deep as you enter the run :lol: but that pot idea sounds great might think about trying it .
 
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