CHICKEN PLANTS NATIVE TO TUCSON, ARIZONA
(and a few exotic plants also loved by chickens)
Compiled by Brad Lancaster 2004 - 2008
* The best chicken plants
All but the shortest plants offer the chickens shelter in addition to food

TREES
Canyon Hackberry, Celtis reticulata:
grows to 30 feet; winter deciduous; fruits October to November; Chickens love the fruit and we can eat it too. Less drought hardy.

Mexican Elderberry, Sambucus mexicana:
Grows to 20 feet; summer deciduous; fruits May to October; chickens love the fruit and we can eat it too. Less drought hardy.

Texas Mulberry, Morus microphylla:
Grows from 3 to 26 feet; winter deciduous; fruits May to August; chickens love the fruit and we can eat it too. Less drought hardy.

Velvet mesquite, Prosopis velutina
Grows to 25 feet; semi-winter deciduos; fruits June to September; chickens eat the pods if ground and we can too.

Desert ironwood, Olyna tesota:
Grows to 25 feet; evergreen; fruits May-July; chickens eat the seeds and we can too.

SHRUBS:
Barberry, Berberis hematocarpa and B. trifoliate:
Grows to 6 or 12 feet; evergreen; fruits Feb-May; chickens love the fruit and we can eat them too. A great medicinal plant.

*Desert Hackberry, Celtis pallida:
Grows to 5 to 15 feet; semi-evergreen; fruits July-Sept; chickens eat the fruit and leaves

*Wolfberry, Lycium fremontii:
Grows to 5 feet; drought deciduous; fruits year round with enough moisture; chickens love the fruit and leaves. We can eat the fruit too. Note- other wolfberries work well too, but this native variety has the largest fruits.

Jojoba, Simmondsia chinensis:
Grows 3-16 feet; evergreen; fruiting time is variable; chickens reportedly eat the fruit (though I have not observed this).

Chiltepine, Capsicum aviculare:
Grows 2 to 10 feet; evergreen, but frost sensitive; fruits August to November; chickens love the fruit and I do too!

*Quail Brush, Atriplex lentiformis:
Grows to 8 feet; evergreen; very fast growing chicken shelter, chickens eat the leaves, and sometimes eat the seeds.

Greythorn, Ziziphus obtusifolia:
Evergreen, thorny, chickens eat the fruit when they can get to it. Great nesting habitat for native birds. Place along fencelines.

VINES:
Coyote Gourd, Cucurbita digitata:
Winter and drought deciduous; chickens eat the leaves

CACTI:
Hedgehog, Echinocereus engelmanii:
Evergreen; chickens love the fruit if you brush off the thorns first. We can eat the tasty fruit too.

Prickly pear, Opuntia Engelmannii
Evergreen; chickens eat the fruit and we can too.

Saguaro, Carnegiea gigantean
Evergreen, fruits in June; chickens eat the fruit and seeds (once fruit has opened) and we can too.

ANNUALS:
Chickens love to eat tansy mustard, Descurainia pinnata; sow thistle, Sonchus oleraceus; winter grasses; amaranth, Amaranthus palmeri and Amaranthus Fimbriatus; red spiderling, Boerhavia coulteri; portulaca; Lambsquarters

OTHER DROUGHT-TOLERANT CHICKEN PLANTS NOT NATIVE TO TUCSON:
Nopal, Opuntia ficus-indica:
Grows to 10 feet, evergreen; chickens eat the younger tender pads, fruit, and seeds – and we can too.

Fan palm, Washington filifera:
Grows to 60 feet; evergreen; fruits Dec-Jan; chickens eat the fruit and we can too.

Pomegranate, Punica granatum:
Grows to 12 feet; winter deciduous; fruits June to Ocotober; chickens love the seeds (but you usually have to open the fruit up for them so they can access the seed) and we can eat the fruit too.

I wouldn’t plant it, but chickens love to eat Bermuda grass and will weed it for you.