Poisonous Garden Plants

[Anonymous]

After my (extremely small) success at my first attempt at free ranging my chooks, I thought I'd better do some research just to make sure that I didn't have any poisonous plants in my garden and I came across this list.

I know all you experienced keepers on here probably know this already but I thought I'd post it anyway for the benefit of newbies like me.

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  American Coffee Berry Tree see Kentucky Coffee Tree
  Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis L.)
  Bouncing Bet (Saponaria officinalis L.)
  Bull Nettle (Solanum carolinense L.)
  Bracken or Brake Fern (Pteridium aquilinum L.)
  Burning Bush see Fireweed
  Buttercup (Ranunculus spp.)
  Carelessweed see Pigweed
  Castor Bean (Ricinus communis L.)
  Clover, Alsike & Other Clovers (Trifolium hybridum L. & other species)
  Cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium L.)
  Creeping Charlie see Ground Ivy
  Crown of Thorns (Euphorbia milii)
  Curly Dock (Rumex crispus L.)
  Daffodil (Narcissus spp.)
  Delphinium (Delphinium spp.)
  Devil's Trumpet see Jimson Weed
  Dogbane (Apocynum spp.)
  Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria (L.) Bernh.)
  Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis L.)
  English Ivy (Hedera helix L.)
  Ergot (Claviceps purpurea (Fr.) Tul.)
  Fern, Bracken (Pteridium aquilinum L.)
  Fireweed (Kochia scoparia L.)
  Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea L.)
  Ground Ivy (Glecoma hederacea L.)
  Hemlock
  Poison (Conium maculatum L.)
  Water (Cicuta maculata L.)
  Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.)
  Horse Chestnut, Buckeyes (Aesculus hippocastanum L.)
  Horse Nettle (Solanum carolinense L.)
  Horsetails (Equisetum arvense L. & other species)
  Hyacinth (Hyacinth orientalis)
  Hydrangea (Hydrangea spp.)
  Ivy
  English (Hedera helix L.)
  Ground (Glecoma hederacea L.)
  Poison (Toxicodendron radicans (L.) Kuntze)
  Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema spp.)
  Jamestown Weed see Jimson Weed
  Japanese Yew (Taxus cuspidata Sieb. & Zucc.)
  Jerusalem Cherry (Solanum pseudocapsicum L.)
  Jimson Weed (Datura stramonium L.)
  Kentucky Coffee Tree (Gymnocladus dioica (L.) K. Koch)
  Kentucky Mahagony Tree see Kentucky Coffee Tree
  Klamath Weed see St. Johnswort
  Lamb's Quarters (Chenopodium album L.)
  Lantana (Lantana camara L.)
  Larkspur (Delphinium spp.)
  Lily-of-the-Valley (Convallaria majalis)
  Lupine (Lupinus spp.)
  Mad Apple see Jimson Weed
  Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum L.)
  Milkweed, Common (Asclepias syriaca L.)
  Mint, Purple (Perilla frutescens)
  Nicker Tree see Kentucky Coffee Tree
  Nightshade (Solanum spp.)
  Oleander (Nerium oleander L.)
  Ohio Buckeye (Aesculus glabra Willd.)
  Philodendron (Philodendron spp.)
  Pigweed (Amaranthus spp.)
  Poison Hemlock (Conium maculatum L.)
  Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans (L.) Kuntze)
  Poke (Phytolacca americana L.)
  Purple Mint (Perilla frutescens)
  Redroot see Pigweed
  Rhododendron (Rhododendron spp.)
  Rhubarb (Rheum rhaponticum L.)
  Squirrelcorn (Dicentra canadensis (Goldie) Walp.) see Dutchman's Breeches
  Staggerweed (Dicentra spp.) see Dutchman's Breeches
  St. Johnswort (Hypericum perforatum L.)
  Stink Weed see Jimson Weed
  Stump Tree see Kentucky Coffee Tree
  Sudan Grass (Sorghum vulgare var. sudanense Hitchc.)
  Summer Cypress see Fireweed
  Thorn Apple see Jimson Weed
  Tulip (Tulipa spp.)
  Water Hemlock (Cicuta maculata L.)
  White Snakeroot (Eupatorium rugosum Hout.)
  Wild Onion (Allium spp.)
  Yellow Sage see Lantana

I have to say I'm very surprised Laburnum isn't on there but thankfully, I have none on the list. My ladies were very interested in my Sage and Lavender plants though!

Shirley

 

[Bickerton]

Proper weeding would slash that list down!

Would a chicken usually avoid poisonous things as assume they'd taste crap? Also I assume there's many levels of poisonous rather than everything there will cause instadeath?

 

[Anonymous]

Bickerton

I am assured that chooks are pretty clued up on what is okay to eat but I thought it wise to make sure I had nothing in the garden that would place them at risk.

As far as levels of 'poisonous' is concerned, I don't have a clue, perhaps more experienced keepers could give their input on this.

Shirley

 

[Icemaiden]

Ouch. Half of my garden's on that list :roll:
Please tell me that hens won't eat what's bad for them... I've been clearing out my greenhouse as a wet weather shelter & dust bath within the run, & am afraid that there might also be one or two slug pellets on the ground (from the house's previous owner - I feed my slugs on beer so they die happy...)
Will the hens eat slug pellets if they find them, & would one or two do them any harm? (I've cleared away all that I can see.)

 

[chrismahon]

If we'd seen that list 5 years ago we wouldn't have let ours into the garden. We had Daffodils, Poison Ivy, English Ivy, Buttercups, loads of Clover and Rhubarb (I know the leaves are poisonous). They just didn't eat any of them, although the rhubarb and the daffodils got trashed with them digging. I think the risks are there only if they have nothing else green to eat and are bored. I was given a BB gun which fired little plastic balls and never used it because of the hens picking up and swallowing the balls.

I'd worry about slug pellets Icemaiden -some look very much like feed pellets. But don't they disintegrate in water so could you hose the greenhouse down inside?

 

[Marigold]

Yes we've got lots of thise plants in our garden, as I expect any normal gardener would have. It would be really helpful if they could eat ground ivy or english ivy but they're not that daft. And sometimes in Spring I cut them some nice tasty young clover when its coming up in the field beyond, before it gets going in the lawn. They eat it happily and nobody's died yet! And wild birds eat elderberries with no problems (and sed the blessed pips all over the place.) I would imagine that birds know what's poisonous to them, its the chemicals the humans use you have to watch out for.

 

[Fuzzyfelt123]

I have daffs, rubarb, clover, ivy ....the list goes on! Weeding is a nightmare because i back on to fields and the seeds fly over ....the weeds grow quicker than i can garden so i really hope that they don't eat what is poisonous for them!

 

[BeemerBaz]

I have been feeding mine wild clover that I harvest from a local meadow ever since I have had my chicks and they are still fighting fit

 

[BabyBantam]

Chickens arn't daft!
I have LOADS of these in the garden and my girls have survived 2 years without a scratch even though they free range every day. Most poisionous plants don't taste good, so minus a couple of pecks, they will figure out what to eat and what not to.
However, please DO NOT use slug pellets of any sort - these look like layers pellets and the slugs affected by them can then be consumed and poison your girls too. Organic gardening is a must and you'll find the chooks (and toads, beetles etc) consume all the pests, making chemicals redundant any way.
Easy

 

[Chuck]

A lot of livestock 'browse' and go from plant to plant eating a bit of this and a bit of something else so don't accumulate poison to the point hwere it harms them. Some poisonous plants are not palatable but some are. Ex battery hens will be more curious as they will never have seen greenery before. Clover and the trefoils are not poisonous and chickens do well on clover rich pasture. Large amounts of ivy berries are eaten by wood pigeons and elderberries are eaten by humans - elderberry wine.

 

[Icemaiden]

Thanks Chris; have just seen your suggestion. I'll hose down the greenhouse at the weekend. Hopefully any residual slug pellets will dissolve into the soil.