[HairyBear]

Can anyone recommend a chicken/wildlife friendly hedge or climber I can grow alongside my run?  I'm looking for something to provide a partial wind block but also attract wildlife.

[EJCTM]

Depends if you want to provide food for the chickens or not!! If they are confined to the run then they will peck through the fence, and if they free range then it is all up for grabs.

Whatever you plant, if you surround the base with 2 or 3 foot of chicken wire like a cage then the plant stands a chance at survival as whatever grows above that will be too high for them to snaffle up,

Mine eat the grape vine leaves,apple tree and rose leaves, but not the bay tree, euonymus, conifer or lilac (or nettles sadly). Beware poisonous plants such as solanum, ivy, privet, morning glory, yew etc.

If you want a hedge, then a line of small conifers looks nice, good wind block and shade underneath for the chickens. Climbers - I would say perhaps honeysuckle or golden hop?

[tedsdad]

Conifers won't attract wildlife.Why not plant a mixed native hedge?...You'll have to fence the poultry from it at first,but once established no probs,cheap,attractive,and enviromentally sound.

[8doubles]

Depends if you want to provide food for the chickens or not!! If they are confined to the run then they will peck through the fence, and if they free range then it is all up for grabs.

Whatever you plant, if you surround the base with 2 or 3 foot of chicken wire like a cage then the plant stands a chance at survival as whatever grows above that will be too high for them to snaffle up,

Mine eat the grape vine leaves,apple tree and rose leaves, but not the bay tree, euonymus, conifer or lilac (or nettles sadly).Beware  poisonous plants such as solanum, ivy, privet, morning glory, yew etc.

If you want a hedge, then a line of small conifers looks nice, good wind block and shade underneath for the chickens. Climbers - I would say perhaps honeysuckle or golden hop?

My chooks have lived with and eaten the privet hedge for years, it does them no apparent harm.
They like eating the hedge more than i like cutting it.          

[joyfull]

yew is OK for birds as they don't digest the little black seed inside the red berries (it come out with the poo) even we can eat them so long as we remove the seeds - My lecturer demonstrated this at college and several of us tried them - they are horrible and sticky  . I also have private, laurel, apples, plums, pears, cherries, clover, rhubarb etc all of which are supposed to be poisonous to chickens but mine are still OK.

[EJCTM]

Perhaps I worry too much! I also keep tortoises so have to make sure no poisonous plants where they roam, as they can get sick and not show it for months due to the slow metabolism, and then die in hibernation. With chickens you would know the next day really. Funny to hear of other people's chooks not being ill from supposedly poisonous plants though.

Anyway, I like to be better safe than sorry! Couldn't forgive myself if I poisoned one of my animals! 

I would say about conifers, I have a load of sparrows and great tits who use a conifer hedge in my front garden as a stopping off point on their way to the bird table, and give us lots of amusement. I think the sparrows nested in the top this year too, not house sparrow, the other type. Doesn't have to be Leylandii!! Anyway, a hedge is nice whatever is is made from, and I think space is relevant to choice too.

Hairybear - I'm sure we would love to see some pics of your setup - whether before or after the hedge/climber planting 

[tedsdad]

I'm sure many people use conifers as hedging,they are fast growing and, when compared to native hedging,much more profitable to your average garden centre.Birds might use them to land in,but they use native species to feed on.In terms of space,you need to consider the 'umbrella' with both Leylandii and Lawsonia,they are so drying that you will struggle to grow anything within 6 or 7 feet of a 5ft hedge. They're prominance in gardens owes everything to profitability and nothing to suitability.