Backyard chickens are making headlines! With the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture encouraging Americans to raise chickens, many gardeners are considering adding a small flock to their homestead. But did you know that your garden can help support your chickens—while they support your garden in return?
Chickens love to forage, scratch, and snack on fresh greens, seeds, and insects. By growing crops specifically for your flock, you can cut feed costs, improve their nutrition, and create a more sustainable backyard ecosystem. Below, we’ll explore the best vegetables, herbs, fruits, and cover crops to grow for your chickens, plus a few tips on chicken-safe vs. unsafe plants.
Best Crops to Grow for Your Backyard Chickens
🥦 Vegetables Chickens Love
While chickens should have a balanced diet, adding fresh veggies gives them extra vitamins and minerals while keeping them entertained.
✅ Best Vegetables for Chickens:
- Leafy Greens: Kale, Swiss chard, lettuce, collards, mustard greens, and spinach (in moderation).
- Cruciferous Vegetables: Broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage (great for hanging in the coop as enrichment).
- Root Vegetables: Beets, radishes, turnips, carrots, and sweet potatoes (either cooked or raw).
- Squash & Pumpkins: Chickens love pecking at pumpkin flesh and seeds, which naturally deworm them.
- Cucumbers & Zucchini: Hydrating and fun for chickens to eat.
🥕 Pro Tip: Grow extra carrots and pumpkins in the fall—beta-carotene enhances egg yolk color!
🌿 Herbs to Grow for Healthier Hens
Herbs do more than just add flavor—they can help boost immunity, deter pests, and even reduce stress in the flock.
✅ Best Herbs for Chickens:
- Basil & Oregano – Natural immune boosters.
- Thyme & Rosemary – Repel insects and parasites.
- Dill & Fennel – Aid digestion.
- Lavender & Chamomile – Calming for chickens (great for nesting boxes).
- Mint – Cooling in summer, repels rodents.
🐔 Bonus Tip: Dry extra herbs and mix them into nesting box bedding for a fresh-smelling, pest-resistant coop!
🍉 Fruits & Berries for a Nutrient Boost
Chickens love sweet treats, but some fruits are better than others.
✅ Best Fruits for Chickens:
- Watermelon & Cantaloupe: High in water content—perfect for hot Florida days.
- Berries: Blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries are rich in antioxidants.
- Bananas: A good source of potassium.
- Mulberries: Mulberry trees provide shade and self-harvested chicken snacks!
- Papaya: Contains natural digestive enzymes.
🌾 Grains & Cover Crops for Extra Nutrition
Want a low-maintenance way to grow food for chickens? Consider cover crops! These fast-growing plants enrich the soil while providing forage for your flock.
✅ Best Cover Crops & Grains for Chickens:
- Sunflowers: Grow them for their nutritious seeds.
- Millet: A great, protein-rich grain.
- Buckwheat: Attracts pollinators and provides greens for chickens.
- Amaranth & Quinoa: Nutritious seeds that can be harvested and fed to chickens.
- Clover & Alfalfa: Excellent forage crops that fix nitrogen in the soil.
🐔 Tip: After a harvest, let your chickens free-range in the spent garden beds to clean up weeds and fertilize naturally!
What NOT to Feed Chickens: Toxic Plants to Avoid
🚫 Some plants are dangerous for chickens. Be sure to keep these out of their foraging areas:
- Nightshades (Tomato, Potato, Eggplant) Leaves & Green Potatoes – Contain solanine, which is toxic.
- Onions & Garlic in Large Amounts – Can cause digestive upset.
- Raw Beans – Contain lectins, which can be deadly.
- Avocado (Pit & Skin) – Contains persin, a toxin to chickens.
- Rhubarb & Foxglove – Contain oxalates that are harmful.
Chickens & Gardening: A Perfect Match
Backyard chickens don’t just eat from the garden—they help improve it too! Their scratching naturally aerates the soil, their droppings make great fertilizer, and they keep pests like ticks and grasshoppers under control.
By planting with your chickens in mind, you can create a sustainable cycle where your garden and flock support each other—reducing waste, improving soil health, and producing healthier, happier hens.
🐓🌱 Thinking about adding chickens to your backyard garden? Let’s design a space that works for both you and your flock! Visit www.steppingstonegc.com for garden coaching and design services.
Grow and Swap: Supporting Local Chickens (Even If You Don’t Have Your Own!)
Not everyone has the space, time, or desire to keep backyard chickens—but that doesn’t mean you can’t take part in the benefits of homegrown eggs! If you have neighbors, friends, or family who raise chickens, you can grow chicken-friendly crops in your garden and swap them for fresh eggs.
Backyard chickens love a variety of greens, herbs, and grains, and many of these are easy to grow in Florida gardens. By growing extra kale, lettuce, amaranth, sunflowers, or herbs like oregano and basil, you can trade your harvest for fresh, pasture-raised eggs.
Not only does this strengthen community connections, but it also creates a more sustainable, local food system. Instead of relying on store-bought feed, backyard chicken keepers can supplement with homegrown nutrition—reducing costs and providing their hens with fresh, organic treats.
If you don’t have chickens but want to get involved:
- Ask a neighbor if they’d be interested in a “greens-for-eggs” swap.
- Offer your garden extras to a local farmer or homesteader.
- Consider planting a “chicken-friendly garden bed” specifically for trading.
By working together, backyard gardeners and chicken keepers can support each other in creating healthier, more sustainable food sources—one crop (or egg) at a time!