Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[fuzzi]

I have always had a love of the U.K.'s stone walls and hedgerows.

I've read about hedgerows, and realize that I saw them in movies and television, but the concept of building them never occurred to me.

 

[fluffycrow]

Funny you should mention hedgerows. Yesterday a video popped up on my feed which was about working on hedgerows, "hedging". It's a totally new concept for me!

Great video, goes through most of the points brought up in Perris’s article. Much like you, I wasn’t familiar with hedging and hedgerows.

Not sure if my climate is favourable for their growth, but there are certainly ways to adapt this principle into something that could work here. I might have mentioned this in the past, but a very popular shrub here is pistacia lentiscus, or as we call it, «σχίνος». When let to grow wild, it forms large shrubs, perfect for chickens to hang out under.

After realising that the property is in urgent need of more cover, I’ve been trying to encourage the ones we have to grow (the chickens already love hanging out under the small ones here), and looking into other plants that can work. Tall grass is another favourite here, but not nearly as safe as I’d like. One that I very much hate, but the chickens seem to love is opuntia (prickly pears). Not a hedge by any means, but the huge wall of opuntia that grows at the far end of the property is a popular hangout spot. The lower pads have completely lost their spikes after decades of growing, and thus are quite accessible for the smaller sized hens. The males seem to share my hatred of them

 

[HiEverybirdy]

Thinking of the shrubs which my lot like most, and spend most time under or near, year round, foraging and lounging, and that don't grow tall (or are very tolerant of pruning) so won't throw shade onto people's veg plots, besides choisya, there is

• skimmia japonica https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/17401/skimmia-japonica/details
• griselinia (https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/8123/griselinia-littoralis/details
• elaeagnus (several types), e.g. https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/6314/elaeagnus-pungens/details
• pittosporums (https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pittosporum
• yew hedges (extremely useful, as can be trimmed to more or less any size and shape, and even regrow when cut back hard, unlike most conifers), and, of course, the
• parrotia persicas, in opposite corners of the garden; this one https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/227964/parrotia-persica-felicie/details is their favourite (the other is a more upright, less colourful variety, but they still enjoy its cover and find lots to forage under it).

None are food plants for humans or chickens. But they attract fauna that are food for chickens, and offer a preferred type of cover from aerial (and perhaps also terrestrial) predators. And they are evergreen or colourful, and most are fragrant, for me.

All plants here were chosen with a view to coping with the exposure to Atlantic storms occasionally blasting in from the south west, so what thrives here should be able to cope with your windy hilltop. The RHS pages linked give details about what each plant likes and doesn't like if you scroll down, including preferred soil types.

How long they take to grow to a useful size will depend on how happy they are with the conditions in which they find themselves, initially, and for the rest of their first year especially. I usually add a handful of blood, fish and bone to the planting hole if putting something in at this time of year. And make sure to water well if there's a dry spell (that's not normally an issue here though ); to encourage deep rooting, a lot occasionally is better than little and often.

Are any of these plants natives to Great Britain? Here, hedgerows tend to have a native component.

Short video that covers what DH and I were told when we explored conservation mini-grant options with the local USDA extension, back in the late 20-teens:

Page of documents: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources...lanting-ft-422-conservation-practice-standard

Also, is there a movement in the UK toward no-mow and native plantings? I've mentioned the entomologist Doug Tallamy before in regards to tiny things in the soil; he does a solid job explaining the wide-ranging impacts of native vs. non-native planting:

Because our pastures are surrounded by thick forest, hedgerows would've been extraneous, as were most of the initiatives covered by USDA NRCS funding.

It turns out that land like ours, left to its own devices for a decade+ before we came along, does a fabulous job conserving itself. Had we engaged in the program, we would've been taking money to disrupt restoration already occurring, from creating standing timber snags for wildlife, to promoting the return of local grasses in meadows not actively seeded for hay.

The one grant we could've justified was for invasive-plant removal...if we hadn't already cleared an acre of kudzu and ripped out hundreds of heaven trees, privet and amur honeysuckle bushes on our own dime, sigh!

 

[HiEverybirdy]

Trespassing-related tax: Fewer dogs mean more room in the barndominium for chickens. They're all about an open door!

And food-forest-related tax: Peck and Nugs have recently become obsessed with a new foraging spot. Just this week, they've started pacing the fence near dusk, desperate escape the chickenyard, despite the abundance of plants and bugs inside the safety of the yard.

I'm helpless to deny them so have been brewing a late-afternoon mug of chicken-chaperoning decaf and swinging wide the chickenyard gate at the height of the owling hour, perhaps against my better judgment.

They beeline 300 yards to the woodline, where they appear to be clearing the ground of dried seeds, possibly elm or hackberry.

They'll walk right past juicy insects to scratch up more seeds.

What they've found is one of several food-forest areas we've been cultivating for the past 7 years. The canopy is fruit- and nut-bearing trees like hackberry, elm, and black walnut. A thinned berry-briar shrub layer has made way for spring ephemerals like toothworts and a host of medicinal herbs at the ground level, not to mention a seasonal mushroom-foraging honey hole

As summer sets in, the area is packed with warm-weather plants like jewelweed, amazing for relieving itches and stings and releasing tasty, nutty seeds by late summer. Other portions of the property have a greater variety of berries and larger native fruits like persimmons and pawpaws.

Because the land had years to heal from humans before we moved here, we've only needed to learn how to support most of the plants, rather than intentionally adding/transplanting much. Between this and the fact that we're on another continent, I hadn't been contributing to the food-forest commentary, but it's something we're proud of, and something we'd recommend to anyone.

With zero intent to turn a profit, we've kept a low-impact approach. But every year, as we continue to remove invasive plants and eschew pesticides, the forest harvest has expanded exponentially. Very yummy, and hey, chickens dig it.

 

[Perris]

Are any of these plants natives to Great Britain? Here, hedgerows tend to have a native component.

The ones I listed there are the ones the chickens here hang out round most often in the [ornamental] garden borders; I do not know offhand whether they are natives or introduced, but none of them have invasive tendencies (unlike the ramsons, which are native and are invading in every direction at this time of year). The hedges here (as opposed to the borders) are all native plants, and mostly deciduous, as described in my article on them. The chickens tend to use them for cover and shelter when in leaf, but not through the winter when they are mostly just sticks.

Also, is there a movement in the UK toward no-mow and native plantings?

Yes. And I have been doing both in areas of the garden for about 25 years now.

It turns out that land like ours, left to its own devices for a decade+ before we came along, does a fabulous job conserving itself. Had we engaged in the program, we would've been taking money to disrupt restoration already occurring

This sad story is repeated constantly here; drives us nuts that the funding bodies cannot understand that sometimes, doing nothing is what is required! And we think that those who are ahead of the curve should be rewarded and encouraged, not passed over, in favour of those who only do something if they are paid to do it.

 

[fuzzi]

Are any of these plants natives to Great Britain? Here, hedgerows tend to have a native component.

Short video that covers what DH and I were told when we explored conservation mini-grant options with the local USDA extension, back in the late 20-teens:

Page of documents: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources...lanting-ft-422-conservation-practice-standard

Also, is there a movement in the UK toward no-mow and native plantings? I've mentioned the entomologist Doug Tallamy before in regards to tiny things in the soil; he does a solid job explaining the wide-ranging impacts of native vs. non-native planting:

Because our pastures are surrounded by thick forest, hedgerows would've been extraneous, as were most of the initiatives covered by USDA NRCS funding.

It turns out that land like ours, left to its own devices for a decade+ before we came along, does a fabulous job conserving itself. Had we engaged in the program, we would've been taking money to disrupt restoration already occurring, from creating standing timber snags for wildlife, to promoting the return of local grasses in meadows not actively seeded for hay.

The one grant we could've justified was for invasive-plant removal...if we hadn't already cleared an acre of kudzu and ripped out hundreds of heaven trees, privet and amur honeysuckle bushes on our own dime, sigh!

I despise privets AND honeysuckle. They take over if I don't hack them regularly. I was clearing out the north side of the house yesterday, and some plants I found were not natives, and some were invasive as well. I uploaded photos to an ID website and found I have the following:

Black cherry (ornamental, NOT keeping)
Roundleaf greenbrier (native, NOT keeping)
Wax-leaf Ligustrum (not native, invasive)
Carolina sweetshrub (native, keeping)
Eastern poison ivy (native, NOT keeping)
Southern live oak (native, NOT keeping
Water oak (native, NOT keeping)
Japanese spindle tree (not native, invasive)
Box elder (native, invasive, NOT keeping)

Sweetshrub, keeping:

Tax (Esther)

 

[Perris]

I'm not going the full food forest route, I probably don't have enough battery life to see the results but I am planning on planting stuff in the extended run that will head in that direction, that's after I've picked Perris's brains a bit on what grows fast and doesn't cost a fortune.

So I haven't gone this route (though I was involved with a relevant project once) and to answer it need to rely more on book knowledge than experience, but since you are looking for edible things to plant, the chicken-friendly ornamentals mentioned earlier might not cut the mustard with the other members of the field association.

So, flicking through Crawford's chapter on Shrubs (chap 13), he starts with the common berries and currants, then moves onto a range of which this is just highlights:
Amelanchier (we have one, more high than wide),
Arbutus unedo aka Strawberry tree (had one, loved it; strongly recommended, evergreen and windproof too),
Quinces - he thinks the flowering varieties (chaenomeles spp) are more reliable and versatile crops than the true quince (cydonia oblonga); we have them but don't consume them,
Fuschias (their fruits are edible but flowers difficult to pollinate here, so don't often produce fruit),
Goji berry (apparently already naturalized in many parts of the UK),
Mahonia (berries are edible; I also have this and recommend it; evergreen, tough - front line shelter belt here - and lovely scented flowers in winter),
Roses (hips are edible),
Elder (have here; recommended; chickens love them too),
Bamboo (seeds are edible - it's a grass, and shoots), which you are familiar with and know makes good chicken cover
Bay, and
Garrya elliptica aka fever bush, which we don't have but I recall my mum was a big fan of in her garden.

How much any of these might cost you I have no idea. Some self seed easily so you might be able to pick up for free if you ask around.

 

[ChaosMom]

Are any of these plants natives to Great Britain? Here, hedgerows tend to have a native component.

Short video that covers what DH and I were told when we explored conservation mini-grant options with the local USDA extension, back in the late 20-teens:

Page of documents: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources...lanting-ft-422-conservation-practice-standard

Also, is there a movement in the UK toward no-mow and native plantings? I've mentioned the entomologist Doug Tallamy before in regards to tiny things in the soil; he does a solid job explaining the wide-ranging impacts of native vs. non-native planting:

Because our pastures are surrounded by thick forest, hedgerows would've been extraneous, as were most of the initiatives covered by USDA NRCS funding.

It turns out that land like ours, left to its own devices for a decade+ before we came along, does a fabulous job conserving itself. Had we engaged in the program, we would've been taking money to disrupt restoration already occurring, from creating standing timber snags for wildlife, to promoting the return of local grasses in meadows not actively seeded for hay.

The one grant we could've justified was for invasive-plant removal...if we hadn't already cleared an acre of kudzu and ripped out hundreds of heaven trees, privet and amur honeysuckle bushes on our own dime, sigh!

I’ve heard him (Doug Tallamy) speak several times, and I’ll be seeing him again in a few weeks. I’ve also got several of his books.

He’s one of those who inspired me to go back and get my BSc in Ecology at my advanced age.

 

[Perris]

I've mentioned the entomologist Doug Tallamy before in regards to tiny things in the soil

As it happens I recently acquired his book on The Nature of Oaks. Focus on the tiny things e.g. in the galls on the oak, as well as the tiny things in the ground around; great book.

 

[ChaosMom]

So I haven't gone this route (though I was involved with a relevant project once) and to answer it need to rely more on book knowledge than experience, but since you are looking for edible things to plant, the chicken-friendly ornamentals mentioned earlier might not cut the mustard with the other members of the field association.

So, flicking through Crawford's chapter on Shrubs (chap 13), he starts with the common berries and currants, then moves onto a range of which this is just highlights:
Amelanchier (we have one, more high than wide),
Arbutus unedo aka Strawberry tree (had one, loved it; strongly recommended, evergreen and windproof too),
Quinces - he thinks the flowering varieties (chaenomeles spp) are more reliable and versatile crops than the true quince (cydonia oblonga); we have them but don't consume them,
Fuschias (their fruits are edible but flowers difficult to pollinate here, so don't often produce fruit),
Goji berry (apparently already naturalized in many parts of the UK),
Mahonia (berries are edible; I also have this and recommend it; evergreen, tough - front line shelter belt here - and lovely scented flowers in winter),
Roses (hips are edible),
Elder (have here; recommended; chickens love them too),
Bamboo (seeds are edible - it's a grass, and shoots), which you are familiar with and know makes good chicken cover
Bay, and
Garrya elliptica aka fever bush, which we don't have but I recall my mum was a big fan of in her garden.

How much any of these might cost you I have no idea. Some self seed easily so you might be able to pick up for free if you ask around.

Chaenomeles (flowering quince) is popularly interplanted with forsythia in the US Southeast, not the least because their bloom times (spring) overlap. Do be aware that it has very impressive spines! You can make a great ornamental hedge with them.

‘Texas Scarlet’ quince: