Vinca and Azalias in the back?

[Carpe DiHen]

I am setting up to get my chickens and have a question about poisonous plants. Vinca and Azalias are listed on the poisonous plant list on BYC. I have both of these plants in by backyard where I plan to let my chickens free run sometimes. They will spend most their time in the run when I am not home.

Has anyone had their chickens around these plants? Especially vinca, since it is a ground cover. Will they leave it alone?

Ivy is also listed as a poisonous plant. I do not have ivy, but I would think half the chicken in England would be dead if this is a problem?

I swear I've seen chicken scratching under Rhododenrons and Azalias before?

Thanks for your help to a newbie!

Coming soon 6 chicks: Black Giant Jersey, Blue Cochin, Lite Brahma, Easter Egger, Golden Polish, Sussex.

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current cridder family consists of an 8yr old male German shepherd (Dasher), a 6yr old male black Standard Poodle (Donner), 2 cats (Jester and Gypsy) and a bunny (named Millie which is short for "454,000 milligrams" because that equals 1lb and I got her at "the pound").

 

[enola]

I wouldn't plant poisonous plants in the main chicken yard, but if the hens are free ranging and other stuff is available they leave poisonous plants alone.

 

[jbowyer01]

I live in Georgia and azaleas are all over. I have three or four of them in the chickens sid eof the yard and the most they ever do is dig under them during the summer. I'm not sure about vinca though I have tons of honey suckle and they eat it all the time.

 

[jeremy]

I have Algerian Ivy and English Ivy literally carpeting my back yard at the new home I purchased. I didn't know that this would be a problem for hens??

 

[Carpe DiHen]

Hi urbanfarmboi!

I'm a newbie trying to figure this out! The plants that are listed as poisonous are not meant to be food or fed to the chickens....but i think they will not eat what is not good for them if they have a choice out on the free range? The respose about the chickens scratching under the (poisonous listed) azalias is a good example of this (Thank you jbowyer01!).

I'm just seeing if the BYC folk have had bad experiences with some of these plants...from casual exposure. Vinca, or Periwinkle is such a common plant in the backyard (at least in CA)...like Ivy in England...it seems it would be ok? Obviously not to feed them or put in their run. But should be ok to range around?

Thank you all for checking in to help me!

 

[ivan3]

Don't know about Azaleas, but we've got Vinca all around the house. We also have several Wisterias and a changing parade of various Castor bean varieties every year (deer-proof ornamentals). Don't know how the chooks know what is what, but they do. Cass keeps Fuschia Princess under lights in the house all winter. We place them on the back deck in the summer. The chooks devour the leaves. The Castor Bean starts sit next to them ignored.

They've had four+ yrs. to do themselves a Socrates, but they've demurred.

I'd not plant anything like that on or near the run fencing and, if these guys had a limited area to free range in, I'd probably be a bit concerned.

 

[Carpe DiHen]

ivan3, thank you for the Vinca info!

Your response was profound and enlightening.

Along the line of the Socrates note; vinca is listed as a hallucinogenic and medicinal plant too. Oh wow, happy chickens

 

[ivan3]

ChookJoy wrote: vinca is listed as a hallucinogenic and medicinal plant too. Oh wow, happy chickens

Yeah, gotta watch `em or they'll all be out back taking a `sandoz'...

 

[gsim]

Quote:

What kind of chickens do you have? Mine were raised on lots of live greens, both garden stuff, and grass and weeds. Yet they do not eat honeysuckle if I toss it in to them. I have tons of it and they refused it and wild privet also. Reading this, it seems I should try again since it seems to work for yours. I have 23 and nothing lasts long once it hits the ground inside of their run.

Am guessing that unless they were confined with it, they would be likely to avoid eating the toxic stuff.

 

[Carpe DiHen]

Yeah, gotta watch `em or they'll all be out back taking a `sandoz'...

Whoa ivan3, watch out for their eggs! (nice negative image)​