Spring has sprung, and the chickens are getting much more outside time. 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. The winter snow covers so much, and invariably I find things like screws, nails, candy wrappers, Styrofoam pieces & cigarette butts that somehow find their way into my yard. If I don’t clean those things up, the chickens WILL find them- and if they find them, they’ll try to eat them. They’re not always the smartest of birds.
Additionally, spring is a good time to review what sort of plants you have growing in and around your yard, to make sure you’re not exposing your chickeny charges to something dangerous. Below, I’ve pasted a list of toxic plants from chickenkeepingsecrets.com:
| ARUM LILY | ELEPHANT EAR (TARO) | MOONSEED |
| AMARYLLIS | ENGLISH IVY | MORNING GLORY |
| ARALIA | ERGOT | MTN. LAUREL |
| ARROWHEAD VINE | EUCALYPTUS (DRIED, DYED OR TREATED IN FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS) | MUSHROOMS, AMANITA |
| AUTUMN CROCUS | EUONYMUS (SPINDLE TREE) | MYRTLE |
| AUSTRALIAN FLAMETREE | EUPHORBIA CACTUS | NARCISSUS |
| AUSTRALIAN UMBRELLA TREE | FALSE HELLEBORE | NETTLES |
| AVOCADO | FLAME TREE | NIGHTSHADES: (DEADLY, BLACK, GARDEN, WOODY, BITTERSWEET, |
| AZALEA | FELT PLANT (MATERNITY, AIR & PANDA PLANTS) | EGGPLANT, JERUSALEM CHERRY) |
| BANEBERRY | FIG (WEEPING) | OAK |
| BEANS: (CASTOR, HORSE, FAVA, BROAD, GLORY, SCARLET RUNNER, | FIRE THORN | OLEANDER |
| MESCAL, NAVY, PREGATORY) | FLAMINGO FLOWER | OXALIS |
| BIRD OF PARADISE | FOUR O’CLOCK | PARSLEY |
| BISHOP’S WEED | FOXGLOVE | PEACE LILY |
| BLACK LAUREL | GLOTTIDIUM | PERIWINKLE |
| BLACK LOCUST | GOLDEN CHAIN | PHILODENDRONS: (SPLIT LEAF, SWISS CHEESE, HEART-LEAF) |
| BLEEDING HEART OR DUTCHMAN’S BREECHES | GRASS: (JOHNSON, SORGHUM, SUDAN & BROOM CORN) | PIGWEED |
| BLOODROOT | GROUND CHERRY | POINCIANA |
| BLUEBONNET | HEATHS: (KALMIA, LEUCOTHO, PEIRES, RHODODENDRON, MTN. LAUREL, | POINSETTIA |
| BLUEGREEN ALGAE | BLACK LAUREL, ANDROMEDA & AZALEA) | POISON IVY |
| BOXWOOD | HELIOTROPE | POISON HEMLOCK |
| BRACKEN FERN | HEMLOCK: (POISON & WATER) | POISON OAK: (WESTERN & EASTERN) |
| BUCKTHORN | HENBANE | POKEWEED |
| BULB FLOWERS: (AMARYLLIS, DAFFODIL, NARCISSUS, HYACINTH & IRIS) | HOLLY | POTATO SHOOTS |
| BURDOCK | HONEYSUCKLE | POTHOS |
| BUTTERCUP | HORSE CHESTNUT | PRIVET |
| CACAO | HORSE TAIL | PYRACANTHA |
| CAMEL BUSH | HOYA | RAIN TREE |
| CASTOR BEAN | HYACINTH | RANUNCULUS, BUTTERCUP |
| CALADIUM | HYDRANGEA | RAPE |
| CANA LILY | IRIS IVY: (ENGLISH & OTHERS) | RATTLEBOX, CROTALARIA |
| CARDINAL FLOWER | JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT | RED MAPLE |
| CHALICE (TRUMPET VINE) | JASMINE (JESSAMINE) | RED SAGE (LANTANA) |
| CHERRY TREE | JERUSALEM CHERRY | RHUBARB LEAVES |
| CHINA BERRY TREE | JIMSONWEED | RHODODENDRONS |
| CHRISTMAS CANDLE | JUNIPER | ROSARY PEA SEEDS |
| CLEMATIS (VIRGINIA BOWER) | KY. COFFEE TREE | SAND BOX TREE |
| CLIVIA | LANTANA (RED SAGE) | SKUNK CABBAGE |
| COCKLEBUR | LARKSPUR | SORREL (DOCK) |
| COFFEE (SENNA) | LILY OF THE VALLEY | SNOW DROP |
| COFFEE BEAN (RATTLEBUSH, RATTLE BOX & COFFEEWEED) | LILY, ARUM | SPURGES: (PENCIL TREE, SNOW-ON-MTN, CANDELABRA, CROWN OF THORNS) |
| CORAL PLANT | LOBELIA | STAR OF BETHLEHEM |
| CORIANDER | LOCOWEED (MILK VETCH) | SWEET PEA |
| CORNCOCKLE | LOCUSTS, BLACK / HONEY | SWISS CHEESE PLANT (MONSTERA) |
| COYOTILLO | LORDS & LADIES (CUCKOOPINT) | TANSY RAGWORT |
| COWSLIP | LUPINE | TOBACCO |
| CUTLEAF PHILODENDRON | MALANGA | UMBRELLA PLANT |
| DAFFODIL | MARIJUANA (HEMP) | VETCH: HAIRY/COMMON |
| DAPHNE | MAYAPPLE (MANDRAKE) | VIRGINIA CREEPER |
| DATURA STRAMONIUM (ANGEL’S TRUMPET) | MEXICAN BREADFRUIT | WATTLE |
| DEATH CAMUS | MEXICAN POPPY | WEEPING FIG |
| DELPHINIUM | MILKWEED, COTTON BUSH | WHITE CEDAR, CHINA BERRY |
| DEVIL’S IVY | MISTLETOE | WISTERIA |
| DIEFFENBACHIA (DUMB CANE) | MOCK ORANGE | YEWS |
| ELDERBERRY | MONKSHOOD | YELLOW JASMIN |
This is in no ways definitive, and there are other lists floating around out there. For instance, this list on poultryhelp.com cites several plants that aren’t on the list above, such as lamb’s quarters, a common backyard weed in Michigan. I’ve found nothing that indicates lamb’s quarters are toxic for chickens- in fact, my chickens have eaten them since last year, and I regularly eat them in salads and spinach pie. Likewise, that list also cites alfalfa, which many chicken keepers give directly to their hens. Do your homework with plants you may have around, watch what your chickens go after, and be cautious. For instance, from the above list I have quite a few toxic plants, like daffodils, burdock, wisteria, and lily of the valley. I noticed a few days ago that my daffodils are starting to poke through the ground, and one curious hen grabbed a bit of green in her beak. Before I could chase her off, she let go and walked away- on some of the more toxic plants, they’ll leave them alone of their own accord. 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. Nope. It’s better to be safe than sorry, and to limit their access to poisonous plants in ways that make sense. Most of the things naturally growing in your yard will be fine for your chickens to peck and eat- keep them away from tomato plants & potato plants (nightshades), ornamental plants, and seedpods (especially wisteria).
Ferndale Chickens 