If you’ve had chickens for long, you probably have noticed that they eatall day long. They peck and scratch at the soil and eat every last bit of our kitchen scraps and leftovers.
让你的鸡自由放养,或让它们获得大量的自然植被和/或轮流放牧参数,是快乐的鸡和健康的鸡蛋的关键。
While also being more cost-effective than a diet consisting mostly of store-bought chicken feed, giving your hens a diverse menu of chicken-friendly plants to choose from greatly increases the nutritional benefits of a single egg.
Here on our homestead, we’ve recently reintroduced our hens to having free range of the yard and within a week we noticed a difference in the quality of the eggs they were laying. The shells were thicker, the yolk was brighter, and the eggs were tastier (our chickens were happier too!).
Making sure your chickens are eating nutritiously is just as important as making sure we are eating nutritiously. Giving your flock access to highly nutritious chicken-friendly plants like herbs, veggies, and perennials can be an easy way for you to consume the benefits of the plants as well.
Before we get into highlighting specific chicken-friendly plants individually, here is a full list.
List of Chicken-Friendly Plants:
Fruit, Shrubs, & Small Trees
- Most Fruit Trees & Canes
- Raspberry Bushes
- Blueberry Bushes
- Currants
- Mulberries
- Siberian Pea Shrub
9 Healthy Herbs For Chickens
Having culinary and medicinal herbs right outside your chicken coop provides your chickens with easy access to these chicken-friendly plants, while also making it convenient for you to add oregano or rosemary to your morning omelet.
Here is a list of herbs to plant in or around your chicken coop:
1) Comfrey:Symphytum officinale
These perennial chicken-friendly plants are rich in protein, potassium, and calcium. Beneficial to chickens for their general health and laying. [Buy]
2) Fennel:Foeniculum vulgare
带花边的黄花荚吸引蝴蝶幼虫和益虫给鸡吃。它们的叶子和种子对健康也有好处。[Buy]
3) Thyme:Thymus Vulgaris
这些多年生鸡友好植物有助于呼吸道健康,并具有抗菌/抗生素的特性。[Buy]
4) Lavender:Lavandula species
Lavender is anatural insect repellent. Putting dried lavender in yourDIY chicken coopor near your chicken run can have calming effects on the chickens as well as being anatural air freshener. [Buy]
5) Nasturtium:Tropaeolum majus
A great general plant for chicken health. It has antiseptic and antibiotic properties. Its seeds can be used as a naturalchicken de-wormer. It also has insect repellent qualities. Not to mention, nasturtium flower petals add a bright pop of color to your chicken yard and are edible flowers, too! [Buy]
6) Rosemary:Rosmarinus officinalis
The aromatic scent from these chicken-friendly plants repels insects. [Buy]
7) Sage:Salvia spp
Sage is a good herb for chickens’ general health. Acts as an antioxidant and can help prevent salmonella. Not to mention, this perennial plant smells absolutely lovely and would look nice growing alongside a chicken run. [Buy]
8) Wormwood:Artemisia absinthium
这是一种对鸡友好的植物,有助于控制外部寄生虫,是一种天然的驱虫剂。[Buy]
9) Oregano:Origanum vulgare
Can boost chickens immune systems and helps fight off e.coli, coccidiosis, salmonella, and avian flu. Oregano is being studied as a natural antibiotic on large scale poultry farms. [Buy]
Related Post:Are There Laws Against Backyard Chickens?
To learn more about keeping your hens healthy with herbs, take a look atAn Herb Garden For Chickensby Lisa Steele.
The Beginner’s Guide to Raising Chickens
Thinking about getting your next flock of chickens?
Quit searching around the internet and take a look at our complete course to Raising Chickens.
Our instructor Wren gives you 22 key lessons over nearly 3 hours of videos coveringeverything you need to know to get started with your first flock, caring for chickens, keeping them healthy, diagnosing problems, and more.
Naturally Growing Food For Chickens
Here are a few more chicken-friendly plants that can be valuable to sow in your chicken area for extra protein and more calories. Many of these plants service multiple purposes in the garden, including cover cropping and soil improvement.
10) Siberian Pea Shrub:Caragana arborescens
Thisamazing plantis a premier permaculture plant and can be a homesteaders best friend. A perennial in the legume family that is high in protein and is also a nitrogen fixer for the soil.[Buy]
11) Amaranth:Amaranthus hypochondriacus
A beautiful addition to any garden,with bright colored seeds and lush broad leaves, your flock will love having a grain supplement in their chicken garden, which is also gorgeous to look at.
12) Plantain:Plantago lanceolata
The mature seeds ofthis plantcan used by humans as a natural laxative and as a high protein and mineral source for animals. And your flock with love munching on them in a chicken yard or garden. [Buy]
13) White Clover:Trifolium Repens
We’ve written about the benefits ofwhite clover as a living mulchin the past. But did you know it’s one of the best chicken-friendly plants, too? Our friend Kevin Fletcher ofNew Country Organicshad this to add:
If you are looking for ground cover to use near chickens I would suggest White Clover. Clover is high in protein but can withstand traffic and stress very well. If you are looking to supplement their feed, Millet and Sunflowers growing beside the coop will provide extra treats. But you’ll have to protect them until they are at least two feet high.
Looking for more ideas?Try more grain-like plants likeClover,Alfalfa,Sunflowers,Peas,Lentils, andBuckwheat. You can also try more fruit trees and canes likeRaspberries, Blueberries, and Mulberries. While many people consider them weeds,Chickweed, Dandelions, andNettlesare also decent additions as well. And don’t forget about herbs likemint!
Plants To Avoid Growing Near Chickens
Before you release your chickens into the abundance of your backyard or decide to plant a garden surrounded by chicken wire specifically for your flock, there are a few potentially toxic plants you should know about.
Unlike other livestock animals, chickens have a keen sense of knowing what plants are poisonous and what plants are good for them. Luckily their intuition keeps them away from even trying the poisonous ones, but there are exceptions to everything.
Related Post:What Do Ducks Eat?
If you’re planting near a coop, you’ll want to make sure you’re not growing these plants nearby in case your hens are feeling hungry or pressured to eat something due to proximity (hopefully you have enough natural food to avoid that, of course).
In order to eliminate all chances of accidental toxicity, here is a list of common toxic plants to be aware of:
- Daffodil:Narcissus spp.
- Daphne:Daphne spp.
- Foxglove:Digitalis spp.
- Honeysuckle:Lonicera spp.
- Hydrangea:Hydrangea spp.
- Nightshades:Solanaceae spp.Tomatoes, Potatoes, Eggplant, and other members of theNightshade family.
- Rhododendron:Rhododendron spp.
- Tulip:Tulipa.
For more information and a full list of potentially poisonous plants visitBackyardChickens.com.
Free-Ranging Your Chickens Offers Additional Diet Variety
In permaculture philosophy, each garden element has multiple functions. An example is bamboo that acts as a windbreak while also providing food, shade, and shelter.
Free-range chickens can also serve multiple functions in the garden, providing your family with more than just eggs or meat.Joel Salatin, known for his revolutionary and holistic methods of raising livestock in a sustainable and regenerative way, gives examples of how chickens can help us accomplish simple tasks in and around the garden.
Debug A Space
Chickens eat bugs at all levels of the bugs life (adult, larval and egg). It’s a good idea to leave your chickens in a space where you have a bug problem and within a few hours you will have a pest-free area and have fed your chickens an abundance of protein-rich food!
Spread Mulch
Place chickens on top of a mulch pile, like wood chips, and they will spread it for you within hours.
Till Soil
Leave chickens in an area long enough and they will till the ground for you. Make sure they have normal feed in addition to what is growing so they’re not forced to eat something that they don’t want to.
Fertilize
Put your flock out in a pasture or soon to be garden space and let them naturally fertilize the soil or grass with chicken manure.
Assist in Composting
Leave chickens on your compost pile and as they scratch it looking for bugs and other food sources, they will be oxygenating the pile. And as they add manure to the pile they will be contributing the necessary nitrogen element to the composting process.
Here’san awesome post这篇文章讲述了鸡如何在花园中发挥多种功能,并展示了园艺和动物饲养的共生关系。
Do you plant crops near your chickens to provide them with additional feed during the year? What do they love & what works best for you? Leave your comments below and let us know what your favorite chicken-friendly plants are!
AileenyBeanysays
Great info, great writing! :
Serkan Cakirsays
Hi Marya Casey,
Great thanks for your detailed information.,
I am living in Bolu which is city bewtween Istanbul and Ankara and famous for poultry sector 33 % of Turkey. By the way I am assoc prof working on poultry. poultry science department. I have some books on halal food, natural nutrition and without detrimental i think teher are many suspicious addtives and some alternative life.
Currently, think to establish a project, feddding the laying hens with some aromatic plants, maize and wheat, clean and cold water, some natiral environment for poultry and poultry houses for all groups.. I will observe some special effects, on both animal and eggs laid.
其次,和我的朋友们在学校里种植一些芳香的植物,在田野里种植蜜蜂。
Using essential oils for repellent in bee units,
and now, i am using juniper essential oils using diffuser in hatchery, i am waiting the oil will pass directly from the ppor of the eggs, and some beneficial effects on hatchin, chick quality, antioxidant effect, some histolohical changes, immun system etc
例如,尝试在自由放养的鸡肉中添加干橄榄叶。它可能会导致橄榄油中富含的番茄红素超标,导致人体血清胆固醇水平下降,但千万不要忘记胆固醇是非常重要的,没有人能导致鸡蛋胆固醇的下降!小鸡需要这种胆固醇来促进胚胎发育。
anyway, that is for now,
i want to meet and learn some from you also . Probably you know many things for free range that i i will try soon.
my best
stormysays
出色的研究…别担心胆固醇。至少是你吃的那种。唯一需要担心的是你自己的胆固醇。不管你吃什么,或者如果你每天吃一打鸡蛋,你的心脏动脉就会积聚。此外,这高度依赖于基因。家族史是一个人未来的绝好例证。一个人的数字可以是完美的;血压,高密度脂蛋白和低密度脂蛋白等等。如果一个人有产生胆固醇的家族史和基因,即使在血液测试中没有显示出高胆固醇,那么唯一的方法就是通过血管造影。
Pattysays
Wow! Very interesting endeavor! I wish you much success!
Mirinda Du-Plessissays
Are u on instagram.
I would like to continue questioning u on ur research.
Isabellsays
Wonderful info on keeping hens..
Ma Kettlesays
I love having chickens on our small farm but must point out that ‘chicken-friendly’ doesn’t mean the plants will survive the attention! As Kevin Fletcher suggested, some plants need to be pretty large/mature to withstand all the scratching and pecking!
Also, in other blogs, some folks have problems with plants that are over-willing to naturalize! I’m thinking of putting sunchokes and comfrey along a fence so the poultry can control them from one side without threatening the other. What do you think?
Amysays
谢谢你提供的信息和时间。我很欣赏你的专栏。我是养鸡新手。五月生第一个孩子。等不及了!但我想让你知道,我正在吞噬你所有的信息。请不要停止写作。Thanks again Amy
Brooksays
So helpful and informative. Thank you. I’m in hot and windy west Texas. So good to know what plants are safe or unsafe.
gary lopez-wattssays
chickens do sound useful in helping with growing crops. i am a vegan + averse to taking the life of any development, but realize that chickens do likely enjoy life as myself, could you please inform me on chickens and how to raise them so that they enjoy life to the utmost?
玛格丽特·m·卡西迪says
Photo/Attachment:
I am vegan and my advice is to rescue chickens. There are many sanctuaries with chickens who were about to be slaughtered, but rescued by people like you who want to give them their best life. Talking about breeding them so as to eat their eggs put them to work is not ethical. We bred these birds to lay a ridiculous amount of eggs. In the wild, chickens lay only about 3 to 6 times a year. The males are killed. We have to stop taking animals from their natural state, breeding them to unnatural conditions, and then slaughtering them when they are of no use to us any more. Take a look at the MicroSanctuary Movement for more information.
mikesays
we stopped taking animals from their natural state long ago. nothing goes to waste. we all come from the ground made up of energy. eat nomeat during summer, during winter when not enough greens are available eat what we can get deer chickens and so on. they are not native the north american we dont need to SAVE them. when im out gathering or hunting if im eaten by a bear cougar wolf pack of coyotes or fishing and eaten by a shark i would understand that im part of the food chain. if he needs to feed and im eaten thats life. to be wasteful is whats wrong. chicken lay eggs and get old then you butcher them and eat the chicken. keep the roosters to breed and always have food and keeping ethics is important. treat them nice they will give you want you need. we are all food nothing special, shit dolphins have societies and more advanced communication then we can comprehend. they probably look at us thinking or knowing humans are gunna kill us all. so instead of saving animals from death why dont you try saving humans from themselves
bradsays
良好的信息。对于足够温暖的地方,辣木可能会起作用——超级植物。我位于北加州的地中海地区,但它每年都应该从(覆盖的)根部生长。Hope i get seeds because they’re about 50% oil – and that oil doesn’t spoil…
More calcium than milk, more protein than yogurt, tons of vitamin A and beta carotene, and lots more
Lauriesays
Awesome post! My husband and I are new to raising chickens. Your post has lots of information I have been looking for! Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!
Earnestsays
我知道这种挣扎!I think it is especially hard to keep the yard
looking nice with a dog too… one year we tried really hard to combat the pet damage.
My husband read online that you could ‘rinse’ the area of
the yard where the dog went to the bathroom to help with the ‘nitrogen damage’.
So for the next few months we had a ‘pee watering can’ to pour over our dog’s potty spots.
承认这听起来太荒谬了,哈哈!Glad we ended up giving up on that…
not sure what our neighbors thought haha. Good luck with your yard troubles!
Mubita Pumulosays
Am in Zambia (southern Africa) and I want to buy some seeds to grow for my chickens.Any advice and if possible send me a quotation.western union works well here for money transfer.
Milliesays
自耕农需要记住,你放养的鸡会跑到邻居的院子里。我们的邻居养了12只成年鸡和100只半成年鸡,让这些成年鸡自由放养。他有一英亩没有花园的土地。我们有六英亩地和一个相当大的花园。他的鸡在我们的花园里不受欢迎,尤其是当所有成熟的西红柿都被盛宴吃光的时候。我们花了时间、金钱、精力和水为我们自己种植这些,而不是为他的鸡!
Kane Jamisonsays
嘿,米莉,当然,这听起来很粗鲁。
Fran Mahysays
I have just built a new chicken coup and have planted in pots 1 passionfruit and 1 butternut plant on 2 corners and will train them over top for shade and fruit/veg for eating when ripe..plant in pots around edge as well…
Robert Astonsays
你能给我推荐一种可以在鸡舍旁边种的蓝莓吗?我知道蓝莓叶有毒。但是它们对鸡有毒吗?
Karen Thompsonsays
I Don’t know about the rest of you, but everything I plant for my chickens is devoured in a few days. I didn’t notice anything about that in your article. Are any of these plants chicken proof. My chickens nice plush area of grass and plants looks like a desert now.Thanks for any info.
Helensays
I have chickens in a close space and that is my challenge now. I am using above gardening. Buckets within buckets for a watering system due to heat and evaporation here in Florida and the chickens can not dig into the roots that way.
Also I have researched ways to keep them out of places such as spiked netting in the boarders or plants for them within a large coop with wire chicken mesh over a wooden frame over the seedlings for chickens. That way they can peck all they want on the greens accessible to them but not get at the roots to destroy them. It’s their own little garden! And it regrows for them with roots intact!
Terri Holleysays
是的,阿门,谢谢你,凯伦,这就是我家的情况。我想也许我们应该把我们的植物买大一点,也许只长了一半。我养的鸡连大的都吃。但我仍在寻找一些尺寸合适的灌木种植在我的鸡舍周围,也许已经长出了什么?看看能不能移植?
Juliensays
Thank you for the great post and resource. I was wondering what you might recommend as a climbing plant to grow on my coop for shade?
Thank you
Megan Francosays
Grapes would be a good addition to the outside of the run. The leaves and fruit are edible. My girls LOVE them. If you plant it on the outside, they can’t get to the root or even very much of the fruit, and they grow fast to provide shade.
Aliciasays
但是你的食物呢?如果它们什么都吃呢?它们不是把你所有的庄稼都吃掉了吗?这就是我所担心的。
Angelasays
Siberian Pea Shrub is an invasive species, please recommend something else.
angelica blaylocksays
I keep everything invasive in pots. I have 2 different types of mint i keep in pots it keeps the roots unable to get to the ground or they will take over the yard. i am new to chickens, so this post was great i already grow all of the herbs in pots
on my patio I can just propagate and put around the coop.
Ronisays
我听说沙拉蔬菜因为沙门氏菌而不安全,那香草呢,或者其他牲畜用的植物呢?
Thanks,
Kane Jamisonsays
So – this post is focused on plants you can grow next to the chicken coop for the chickens to eat – but it’s probably good to note that we’re not recommending planting those for human consumption. I personally don’t like my chickens having direct access to the vegetables I’m growing for my family for the reasons you mentioned, but also because the chicken manure that falls down is a bit hot for immediate use.
So – I would recommend keeping your personal veggies a reasonable distance away from a chicken coop or run.
Jamar L. Davissays
This article had the content I was looking for, do they eat mangoes?
Juliesays
I live in Hawaii and my hens LOVE mangoes.
angelica blaylocksays
I keep everything invasive in pots. I have 2 different types of mint i keep in pots it keeps the roots unable to get to the ground or they will take over the yard. i am new to chickens, so this post was great i already grow all of the herbs in pots
on my patio I can just propagate and put around the coop.
john sullivansays
I see you recommend rhubarb but be careful as the leaves are very toxic.
Lael Whitesays
Helpful post, thank you. Considering planting an arbutus unida (strawberry tree) next to the run for shade. I’ve not seen it listed as any parts toxic or ok for chickens. Can you confirm?
Also, I know beans are bad for them, but people do recommend legumes. So are peas ok?
Waphle_Stompsays
“… your chickens will love having a grain supplement in the garden, that is also gorgeous to look at.”
Huh?!, who’dda thunk chickens was into aesthetics – ya learns something new, everyday :oÞ