I was thinking of planting sweet potato vine to trail up my coop.....

[Newbietochickens]

I have been thinking of planting ornamental sweet potato vine to trail up the sides of my coop....does anyone know if it would be okay if the chickens ate bits of it....just curious? They stay in a 16' x20' coop all the time and I would like them to have some greenery (at least it would make my coop feel more "alive")...anyone have any thoughts on this??

 

[Imp]

There are a couple plants called sweet potato vine. There is a soft vine with green or black leaves that I've mostly seen grown in hanging containers. I don't think this is what you are referring to, as I cannot see this growing up the sides of anything. The other on is a shrubby viney plant that grows with stiff stems. Flowers all summer here, purple flowers w/ yellow center if I remember correctly. I had it in my back yard with the chickens with out problem. I had it planted in the wrong place so cut it to the ground a couple years ago. The chickens nipped at it, and didn't seem to have a problem with it.

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/htm/bc/ttox04.htm

Imp

 

[citrusdreams]

I don't know about ornamental sweet potato, but edible sweet potato has edible vines/leaves.

 

[cassie]

Edible sweet potato leaves are poisonous. I lost some goats when they ate them.

 

[Newbietochickens]

Yes, I am referring to the soft leafed bright green vine...also comes in dark purple/almost black....i planted some on topiaries and it climed right up...has gone crazy? so what do you think ...?

 

[beefy]

i have that growing in my yard and the chickens dont mess with it. hahira is close to me, and mine has come back up for three years now tho its supposed to be an annual. it even bloomed last year!

 

[mrsfluff100]

sweet potato vines are poisonous!!!

 

[mmorgan79936]

No No No they are poisonous!!!!! I had a potato vine patch in my front garden. My girls never really messed with it they would scratch around it but wouldn't eat it! One of the girls in my rescue flock I got wouldn't stay away from it. She was nibbling at it for weeks. I didn't realize it was poison for chickens and sure enough I lost her within the month she came to us! After researching and asking on here I narrowed it down to that vine. I took it all out and have not have any issues again!

 

[AmandaMBG]

Ik this post is super old but I decided to do some digging around on the Internet after reading this as I have the same vines planted along my chicken coop. Guess what I found out which is a BIG relief! Potato and sweet potato vines are not related. Sweet potato vines are actually high in protein and a great supplemental treat for your birds and other livestock! Do your own research before ripping out your plants!! Sometimes people on BYC don't know what they are talking about. This site can be a wealth of info but not always 100% accurate.

 

[wormtowndj]

Amanda, I'd love to see the sites you found to verify. I, too, have been frustrated by the variety of information, and I don't know who to trust. My chickens pretty much left the sweet potato vine alone until one day they seemed to "discover" it, and they ate an awful lot of leaves all in one day. I've kept them away from it all week, and no ill effects I can see. Anyway, did the research you did distinguish between actual sweet potato vines and "ornamental" sweet potato vines? Ours are the ornamental variety. Thanks in advance!