I planted a duranta vine near the chicken coop. Then, AFTER it was done, I was reading in my Southwest Gardner book that the berries are poisonous to people, can be to some birds. It doesn't say if they are poisonous to chickens and I didn't see anything on the internet. Anyone heard of this? It's also known as a sky flower or pigeon berry. Thanks.
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I have a couple of large duranta bushes; one is in one of my chicken pens (gives them fantastic shade). I've never had problems with it. Many wild birds eat the berries, but I have not really seen the chickens go for them like they do for pyracantha berries; thy go nuts for those.
Duranta attracts wild birds which feed on the fruits and it is one of the few flowers that attract both hummingbirds and butterflies.
Most references, however, caution that the berries can be poisonous to humans if eaten – I'm not sure how poisonous, but I know that some cultures have used them medicinally.
Jeanette > Dolores TestermanOctober 8, 2010 at 5:11am
Thanks. I'll leave it where it was planted (rather than running out to move it to the front yard).
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Most references, however, caution that the berries can be poisonous to humans if eaten – I'm not sure how poisonous, but I know that some cultures have used them medicinally.