Our chickens got out one day and there are a on of poison ivy plants all over the farm. There is a thread somewhere with things chooks can and can't eat. With that in mind, while doing spring yard cleanup, it's smart to pay extra attention to things that could potentially damage your foraging hens. Chickens and Poison Ivy **Picture warning....there are a couple of gross poison ivy pictures at the end of the post!! Most chickens are not picky eaters and will be thrilled if you offer them anything on this list. goats, however, do a great job munching that stuff down! But, if you go this route, expect the herd to devour all of the treats quickly – often before the plant matures and produces the produce is yields that they would most enjoy. Only then did we realize that we had made a bit of a mistake! Plain and simple! I'm not sure exactly where the chickens have gone, but we rounded them up and put them away. Another great benefit to feeding weeds to chickens is it gives you an excuse to maintain your garden and landscaping, so it’s never left looking neglected and scraggly. It’s better to be safe than sorry, and to limit their access to poisonous plants in ways that make sense. next day I have it on my hand and on my fore arm. Chickens will eat most anything! Can you give chickens elderberries? Grape Ivy Annual *Nasturtium Annual *Rose 3-11 Perennial Swedish Ivy Annual Virginia Creeper 3-9 Perennial. Turn the chickens loose on it! The winter snow covers so much, and invariably I find things like screws, nails, candy wrappers, Styrofoam pieces & cigarette butts… Although shrubs like azalea and rhododendron can pose a risk, these plants are perfectly safe. That's the only way I can explain how I am getting it. Does that mean I trust the chickens to 100% never eat anything dangerous, or that I could leave them in their chicken tractor parked over a bed of daffodils. You can plant many of these healthy treats in the goat herd browsing area, or inside their pen as a free choice snack. Chicken-Safe Shrubs. Nope. You may be worried about shrubs on your property when you begin to free-range your chickens. ** :) A little over a week ago we decided to up our chicken flock by four. I stumbled on the easiest way to rid an area of poison ivy. i agree, only negative is handling birds after. I turned a flock of about a dozen hens into a yard full of trash and this noxious weed. Oak leaves as well as acorns can be toxic to chickens and as chickens are very curious eaters, you can’t assume that they will know to keep away from them. By the end of summer, the poison ivy was gone (and never came back) and the hens had uncovered piles of bricks, tires, 2x4s and other junk. if your area is over-run w/ poison ivy, keep in mind, you will have to be out there caring for them, treat your shoes, laces, pant-legs...if you are sensitive to the plant, could be a problem. Although these omnivorous birds can eat the vast majority of the foods that we eat, there are some definite foods that chickens shouldn’t eat. As you can see, the list of foods that chickens can eat is pretty epic! After buying the chickens we brought them to the back of the house and let them go. my chickens are free range during the mild weather, getting into all kinds of stuff. Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans (L.) Kuntze) Poke (Phytolacca americana L.) The more your chickens can fill up on the free plants growing on your property, the less they’re eating of that expensive feed. Spring has sprung, and the chickens are getting much more outside time. 95 Things Goats Can Eat