[karenjayne]

just thinking of moving the chicken coop and run.  the new area we thinking about is covered in clover and nettles.  i know nettles the chicks love, but is clover all right for them too?

[themagicaltoad1]

Chickens tend to know what they can and can't eat, I suspect the clover won't last very long at all. The whole area will soon be one big bald patch lol.

[Lindeggs]

Yes, clover is another favourite of my chickens (I just posted in another thread about dandelions which are also apparently delicious to chicken taste-buds).

My chickens have been really good at choosing what they will and won't eat when given free-run of pasture.  They eat lots of grasses, clovers and broad-leaf weeds while avoiding anything in the nightshade family (including tomatoes), castor-oil plants, and marigolds.

I have a book of common weeds in NZ and had a fairly good idea about what weeds would be likely to be toxic to livestock in general and poultry in particular.  I think the chickens must have read the same book because their grazing matches up very nicely with what I thought they "should" and "shouldn't" eat.

A word of warning though, if you leave them on the same piece of ground for long enough they will end up eating everything.  You're better to move them as soon as they've given the patch the once-over and eaten their first-choice plants.

[karenjayne]

well thanks for that.  strange not tomato plants, when tomatoes are favourite treats!   but will go and check to see if any other delight grow in this area, as its part of garden we never use.

[helens-hens]

They don't eat the actual tomato plants (they have a very distinctive smell and I have read that tomato seedings are poisonous for humans, possibly also hens?) however should you grow tomatoes outside like I do, you will quickly find that they will do anything in their power to get to the fruit when it develops and starts to ripen!

If you find you are plagued by bindweed you may find they will like that (ours are quite good at keeping it under control!).