Planting in chicken coops

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Planting in chicken coops improves the welfare of the animals and allows them to live out their natural behaviour to a greater extent. This article brings together experiences and results from practical trials to give an overview of what you need to be aware of when establishing plantings in the chicken coop.

Welfare of chickens under trees

Studies have shown that chickens use the planted areas when seeking shade and a cool refuge. In addition, the "forest" supports higher animal welfare by reducing the risk of stress among the animals and providing protection from predators, wind and rain. The animals also have more opportunity for diversity in their foraging behaviour. Well-designed chicken coops allow animals to be active, which can prevent injuries by allowing them to use their musculoskeletal system.

In addition, there is an increased risk of bird flu transmission from wild birds to chickens in chicken coops with less than 5% tree cover. It has been shown that far fewer high-risk species of wading and wetland birds have been found to be present in densely planted chicken coops.

Tree species in chicken coops

The type of tree you plant in your chicken coop depends on your long-term planning, as it takes time and investment to establish the planting. Newly planted trees need to be protected for the first time and it is necessary to keep the animals in a different area until the trees are strong enough to develop as desired when animals have access to them.

Willow, poplar and fruit trees generally thrive in agroforestry systems with poultry and are the most common. Willow and poplar because they are easy to establish and grow quickly, and fruit trees because poultry are effective against the pests that can attack the trees.

Willow and poplar tree cover in chicken coops will encourage chickens to seek out their entire coop area, rather than just the area closest to their house, studies show. This is beneficial as the chickens spread their manure over a larger area rather than just around the exit holes from their house, keep weeds at bay and engage in natural behaviour by moving, scratching and dustbathing in the area.

When planting fruit trees in the coop, you should pay attention to the tree's robustness to the animals' manure and behaviour. For example, 'Dalinco' apple trees performed better than 'Santana' in a comparison of the two apple varieties in chicken coops, indicating that certain varieties are better in coops with chickens, probably due to better fertiliser utilisation and a more robust root system.

Distance of trees to the hens' exit holes

Generally speaking, there is a higher density of hens close to the hens' exit holes than further away, which may be reflected in different effects on the trees depending on their distance to the hens' house. For example, there may be more parasite damage in the trees closest to the hen house, and this needs to be addressed.

The quality of tree leaves has also been shown in studies to be lowest in the trees closest to the exit holes. This may be related to the fact that hens can lower the value of the soil around the trees due to behaviour and manure and make the soil more compact, especially around trees that are planted close to the hens' house.

Young plants will often be disturbed by the chickens as the chickens are attracted to the green bark. It is therefore recommended to plant cheaper trees close to the hen house, as there will be less financial loss if they need to be replanted.

In trials with nut trees in chicken coops, there has been an indication that the trees closest to the coop produce more nuts than those further away. This trial has also shown that there is a higher amount of N, C, P and K in the soil around the trees close to the house.

However, trials with fruit trees have shown that the fruit yield is not affected by the distance to the hens' exit holes under good management. It is necessary to care for the trees as in pure fruit production to ensure the best yield.