Suggestions for chicken pleasing fruit shrubs

[greenSearcher]

I will be setting up 3 adjacent chicken yards and want to plant shrubs to provide fruit and shade. I am thinking about Goumi berries, as they aren't as invasive as Russian Olives, and will bear fruit fairly quickly.

I live in zone 7, summer highs 100+ from June to Sept, humidity about 30% or less, soil is heavy red clay, 6.5 ph at best. I will irrigate, we may get 23" of rain a year. To make things interesting, this year I had grasshopper plague and lost 75% of my plantings, including the herb and vegetable garden (I am seeing some of the shrubs and perennials putting out new growth.

I will have other plantings, grape arbor and berries, but these fruiting shrubs are primarily for the chickens. I thought that the shrubs might give them shade, trees are really hard to grown, the drought conditions is brutal on the trees.(except 5 acres of mesquite)

Your suggestions and experiences are appreciated.

[lisarichards]

Mine love our crab apple trees. They love to eat all the fruit in the fall and winter.

[katydidagain]

While you're waiting for your long-term fruits to produce, plant copious numbers of tomatoes for them. They won't produce much shade but your birds will love you forever.

[KSALguy]

put a grape arbor in the chicken run, they love grapes, or Razberrys,

[JasoninMN]

Look at Aronia, they love the berries and its pretty attractive. Also you can order a lot of seedlings for cheap and they will produce in no time.

[suelandress]

Dual purpose, I bet a Mulberry would be appreciated.

[IndyGardenGal]

We have a small mulberry tree that hangs partially over our run. They LOVE mulberries.

[Old Swampgirl]

Mulberry trees & Japanese plums. I think both will grow in zone 7. My chickens sure love them. They also love figs, but I think you're too far north for them.