betty
Junior Member
Posts: 53
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Post by betty on Jun 22, 2009 20:24:21 GMT 8
Hi can anybody suggest what are good plants/shrubs to plant around the outside of our chicken coup.
Cheers Betty
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Post by lakelands on Jun 22, 2009 23:33:50 GMT 8
Hi Betty, I have wormwood planted around outside as is good for keeping fleas and stickfasts at bay. Tansy is an imune booster and I have a passionfruit growing over for shade.
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betty
Junior Member
Posts: 53
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Post by betty on Jun 23, 2009 8:57:11 GMT 8
Hi and thanks heaps for the info on what to plant.... I will be buying them to plant around my Taj Mahal chicken coup : )
Cheers Betty
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Post by shea on Jun 23, 2009 9:47:02 GMT 8
We've got a couple of grape vines for a bit of summer shade and winter sun.
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Post by beck on Jun 23, 2009 14:17:56 GMT 8
i have 2 types of passion fruit in there 2nd year and they are huge and covered in fruit ( must be all the chook poo ) and i also find strappy grasses like liriop ( can't spell sorry ) and dietes are also good as when you free range your chooks they tend to dig around and not reck them too much they are pretty hardy oh also the matapori bay is a nice one it also get small white flowers lovely !!! let us know what you pick
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betty
Junior Member
Posts: 53
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Post by betty on Jun 23, 2009 16:40:54 GMT 8
Oh, oh oh all sounds sooo nice will go and check them all out at the nursey and let you know what we go for...but I think we will put them all in hahaha why not hey: ) as it isnt called the TAJ MAHAL CHICKEN COUP FOR NOTHING!!! : )
Betty
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Post by lakelands on Jun 23, 2009 19:18:45 GMT 8
Good name Betty I have one pen called Taj McChicken Hut so tggreat minds think alike....Love to see some photos of the TAJ
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Post by roleyranch on Jun 26, 2009 9:01:34 GMT 8
another good option is to plant sunflowers (summer) they put on a lovely display with the added bonus of the seeds for feed later!
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Post by westozdonna on Jul 22, 2009 19:30:39 GMT 8
I haven't got the chooks yet (hence watching this list amongst others) but I've reserved an area for where the pen will go. Apart from Passion-fruit vines, I've heard Chokos do very well and the vines and fruit feed both humans and chooks alike (http://www.annettemcfarlane.com/Stories/Choko.pdf & forum.backyardpoultry.com/viewtopic.php?t=5473&sid=7405f418a320d2b2d45333f59ebd14a3). I've started Fat Hen salad greens (http://www.edenseeds.com.au/content/default.asp) from Eden seeds to form a 'hedge' around that section of the garden for the same reason. I've just planted a choko on another part of the garden, so if it goes OK, I can offer to swap fruits later.
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Post by Duck Diva on Jul 22, 2009 21:00:49 GMT 8
Thanks for those links Donna The Fat Hen sounds interesting. I might give it a go. Cheers, Wendy
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Post by ladyfeatherfoot on Jul 23, 2009 18:31:58 GMT 8
Just had a look around for that fat hen, i've never seen it before and i love it!
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Post by westozdonna on Jul 23, 2009 19:12:02 GMT 8
It's also known as Lambs Quarters.The seed is very fine and until I just did a google, I hadn't realised that it's considered a weed in some places. In other sites, it's praised as a nutritious herb.
I've just found out from one article that it germinates readily with light and that one farmer found that sowing at night with tractor lights can start it off. Still in a garden with hens, it shouldn't be a big problem (no worse than clover, couch and thistles).
Anyway, with a name like that it should be ideal for chooks!
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Post by roleyranch on Jul 24, 2009 11:24:52 GMT 8
I grew fat hen last summer, the chooks loved it, very easy to germinate, quite hardy. The easiest way to avoid it becoming a weed.....well the girls would be happy to eat the lot, does have a lot of flowers so I guess best to pull at at this stage and throw it to the girls!
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Post by andrewh on Oct 6, 2009 19:31:30 GMT 8
I grow Comfry around the outside as well as wormwood(previously mentioned), then hens peck at the comfrey which has high levels of calcium and other nutrients, just split it and replant to get more plants
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