Growing A Year-Round Chicken Forage Garden In The Desert

Planting for Your Chickens

Gardens and planting are not only for us, many of us want to use our gardens to support our pets and animals companions. In the past we shared a post on The Dog-Friendly Garden, it is time for the chickens though. This post was inspired by a lovely member of our group who was looking for a forage mix for her chickens. We came up with a list of plants to support them year round.

What Not to Plant For Chickens

Before we share what you can plant for your chickens, here are some tips on what to keep away from them.

Members of the solanum family such as tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers should not be within reach of chickens. The leaves are poisonous to chickens. They can however eat ripe tomatoes. Do not feed them green potatoes either. Also keep away onions, rhubarb leaves, avocados, and citrus. Dried or raw beans are also not good for chickens. Nicotiana/tobacco can make chickens really sick. Also avoid aloe vera, large amounts of comfrey, eucalyptus, foxglove, tansy, and wormwood. In very small amounts wormwood can be used as a dewormer but large quantities are not safe for chickens.

Vegetables to Plant for your Chickens

There is a wide variety of veggies that can be planted to support your chicken’s health, including a large variety of leafy greens for all seasons. Choose from any of the options below.

Amaranth
Arugula
Bok Choy
Broccoli Raab
Cabbage
Corn
Cucumbers- can be grown away from chickens and fruit fed to them
Egyptian Spinach
Fennel
Kale
Lettuce
Oats
Melons
Mustard
Nutritional grasses such as alfalfa, wheat, barley, millet
Peas
Pumpkins-can be grown away from chickens and fruit fed to them
Radish
Squash-can be grown away from chickens and fruit fed to them
Strawberries- grow away from chickens
Sweet potato greens
Swiss Chard

Flower for Your Chickens

While they cannot smell the roses, they certainly will appreciate a nibble on some flowers. The list below supports chicken health and egg development. Some flowers will even affect the color of the yolks. For example, foraging on calendula will result in a richer more deeply colored yolk.

Bachelors buttons
Calendula
Flax
Marigolds
Nasturtiums- grow above if possible and allow to cascade down
Sunflowers – for the seeds
Violets

Herbs for Chickens

A Chicken friendly garden is not complete without a variety of herbs to keep your chickens happy. Herbs such as nettle, borage, marshmallow, and chickweed are excellent for maintaining healthy chickens.