Is there anything...

[Delrio]

in the garden that the chickens won't or shouldn't eat???

[Alice In TX/MO]

Can't tell if you are asking if the chickens will strip your garden or if you are worried they are going to be poisoned.

[Wisconsin Ann]

Chickens rarely if ever eat anything that will harm them. They'll pluck the tomatoes off the vines, but won't eat the leaves (which are poisonous). They will peck at granules you put on the ground to fertilize the ground, or herbicides or insecticides.

The chickens will also eat bugs and such, so you probably won't NEED insecticides. But, chickens also dig up plants to get at roots and tender stems.

chickens in tractors/long cages between the rows of veggies/flowers seems to work pretty well for getting rid of insects and fertilizing the rows...if that's an option for you.

[Macybaby]

There isn't much in my garden the chickens wouldn't eat, but a lot that they shouldn't eat. That is why my garden has a fence around it.

Just yesterday I watched them do a complete walk around the garden fence. I had put down some mulch and they were hoping for a chance to dig through for worms. They did one complete circut, and after not finding an easy way in, they headed off to easier pickings.

I tried fencing the chickens in, but last year I switched to fencing them out. They didn't like being confined to one smaller yard, but don't seem to have a problem keeping out of the few areas that are now fenced.

I've never worried about them when I put out fertilizer of herbicide (use pasture ready stuff) and they seem to do fine figuring out what is edible. Maybe if they were confined they would be tempted to eat things that could be harmful for them, but with the run of the property, they can pick and choose.

Cathy

[mooman]

I tried fencing the chickens in, but last year I switched to fencing them out. They didn't like being confined to one smaller yard, but don't seem to have a problem keeping out of the few areas that are now fenced.

That is good to hear. I am going on that same assumption. I know that a four foot fence would never keep a chicken in but I'm hoping with 3 acres to free range on the fence will keep them out.

OP
I tried letting the chicken in the garden last year for short periods (bug control and all). Total devastation! They won't eat one tomatoe......they will eat one bite out of twenty tomatoes. Mulch....forget it....it's everywhere.

Now, after the growing season is when the chickens earn their keep. They will turn over your mulch and eat every slug, snail, grub, and Caterpillar cocoon they can find.

[Delrio]

Sorry for the confusion. What I'm asking is if there's any waste veggies from your garden that the chickens can't have.

[7thswan]

None that I can think of. Other than hot peppers, just don't think they will eat them anyway.

[Wisconsin Ann]

They won't eat onions, and I think onion skins are actually toxic to them, but they will eat hot peppers not a lot of them, put they'll peck them. capsaicin is fine for them. It acts as a stimulant on them. hmm....potatoes. raw taters and skins. Not good.

Chickens will pretty much pick around anything that's bad for them anyway. There's not much their systems can't digest. They will prettymuch destroy a garden tho. hmm....potatoes. raw taters and skins. Not good.

[MariaAZ]

We fenced off our little garden which is mostly tomatoes, peppers, potatoes and squash/melons. It is the site of our former compost pile, which the chickens had access to. They've gotten in on a few occasions and haven't eaten anything important (no tomatoes yet) but those huge feet completely trampled several plants. I've learned two things; a very determined chicken is a force to be reckoned with, and don't ever underestimate the problem-solving abilities of a determined chicken. The garden "gate" was nothing more than a repurprosed baby crib side wedged against the fence with a heavy iron chair. One of the birds (the one that always watches me closely when I'm in the garden) figured out how to shimmy under one side of the gate where it rested on a bit of tree root; I would go out in the morning and the gate would be lifted up on one side and fresh chicken prints would be pressed into the soil. So, I moved the chair flat against the gate in such a way the gate wouldn't lift up. That worked for a couple days until she figured out how to pull one section of the gate away from the fence and squeeze in. After several days of finding the gate ajar and incriminating footprints in the garden, we finally found a larger solid panel to block the gate. Funny thing is, the whole fence & gate (as well as the fence around the chicken area) is 4' tall and they've never tried going over.

About the compost pile; we've never had a really good compost pile. Last year DH blocked off an area about 10'x10' using an old aluminum gutter to keep the rabbit manure and other compostable items contained to the area. The chickens went NUTS and spent hours every day madly scratching at the piles of manure and hay that were building up. They'd also sort through the kitchen scraps. The barrier was low enough for the chickens to get over and high enough to keep the compost contained. Their constant scratching and picking kept the pile turned regularly and we were amazed at how quickly the raw materials were converted to the richest compost we ever generated. Our new compost heap is similarly designed and we're looking forward to our "8 tined cultivator crew" working their magic again.

[cfabe]

I have heard that you shouldn't feed them sprouted potatos, something about the sprouts is bad for them.

[Macybaby]

For the last four years, I've had a compost pile in the chicken yard. That means I've tossed what ever I've pulled out of the garden into the wheel barrow, and dumped it over the fence to the chickens. I've never worried about if it was good for them or not, they seem to figure it out. They leave potato peals, but will eat the innards. They leave some other stuff too . . .

My chickens routinely hop their fence and free range (and hop back in to lay eggs and roost for the night) so they have plenty of opportunity to find something they like better if they don't care for what I toss in the compost.

Now I've got to figure out what is safe to toss for the rabbits . . .

Cathy

[MariaAZ]

My experience has been the same as Macybaby's... I've noticed the chickens seem to know what they can eat or not. I'm very careful what I offer the rabbits but anything not fed to them goes into the compost heap and available to the chickens. The potatoes are in the garden because the chickens wouldn't eat them when I tossed the uncooked shriveled spuds into the compost pile (note to self- do not... DO NOT... till the compost into the garden if there are raw potatoes in the pile.)

I've run across very little that my chickens won't eat.

[Yvonne's hubby]

Originally Posted by Delrio

in the garden that the chickens won't or shouldn't eat???

I can only think of two things in a garden that fits your description, they shouldnt eat the veggies, but they will, and they wont eat the weeds. Hope that helps.

[Delrio]

Thanks for all your answers!!

[NostalgicGranny]

Originally Posted by Wisconsin Ann

They won't eat onions, and I think onion skins are actually toxic to them, but they will eat hot peppers not a lot of them, put they'll peck them. capsaicin is fine for them. It acts as a stimulant on them. hmm....potatoes. raw taters and skins. Not good.

Chickens will pretty much pick around anything that's bad for them anyway. There's not much their systems can't digest. They will prettymuch destroy a garden tho. hmm....potatoes. raw taters and skins. Not good.

Caspian from hot peppers - some of my old civil war receipt books say that to keep chickens laying in the winter add cayenne pepper to their feed. So it makes sense that it ahem acts as a stimulant.