My chickens never ate irises. They were Rhode Island Reds and were good at getting grasshoppers in the garden but never scratched up my seeds or plants. I had a pen around the chicken house but let them out to free range during the day. They alerted me to snakes by making cackling/squawking noises and ate all the ticks. Now that I live with every manner of wildlife I cannot have chickens. I miss them.
