# what can I grow to feed my chickens?



## will (Apr 14, 2013)

I want to plant something and grow it to feed my chicken something that will keep growing.. any ideas?


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## 7chicks (Jun 29, 2012)

They LOVE LOVE LOVE tomatoes!!! Also lettuce is another favorite. Abbie helped herself when I wasn't looking last summer.


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## cluck_and_quack (Mar 21, 2013)

I am responding to this thread so I can get some good ideas too. I want to able to plant near their run so it has a chance to grow before they eat the seeds. I had my whole vegetable drawer go a little bad. I chopped up everything in it and gave it to the birds. Lettuce, cucumber, tomato, carrots, and celery. It was a HUGE salad. They ate it all in minutes. They left the carrots behind! The squirrels are trying to sneak in and get them!


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## Roslyn (Jun 21, 2012)

A good perennial pasture mix that has a variety of greens. If it's a good mix for horses, then it's a good mix for chickens.


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## thewhisperingoaks (Jul 8, 2012)

I went to our local seed supplier, we live in a farming community and bought a 50# bag of wheat. we then started a bunch of flats of wheat grass. They absolutely love it. I can grow a flat every day for a couple of months on the $15 I spent on the seed. Just an idea. good luck, i'm interested in other fast to grow stuff also.


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## dcfrenkel (Nov 1, 2012)

I got a great idea off of the following link. I love the chicken grazing frames. One could even modify the design so that it could work with different plant types...

http://thehomesteadsurvival.com/tutorial-your-chickens-can-snack-on-the-green-tips-and-the-frame-protects-the-roots-so-that-the-grass-survives-to-grow-another-day/#.UXCNalfm9A5


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## dcfrenkel (Nov 1, 2012)

...........


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## klindner (May 8, 2013)

Love to see chickens able to get at greens, but we will plant ours in the ground. Once established, the roots should go very deep (talking 4-8 feet and some may go deeper!) --chickens scratching may also find bugs, worms and weeds, but should not destroy the grass! Esp. if you keep them moving/rotating through various areas using electric netting.


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## megmil (May 8, 2013)

I think chooks vary in what they like as much as people. My girls ignore the tomatoes in the garden but any warragul greens (New Zealnd spinach) gets dso throughly devoured that even with wire over the top it doesn't survive. They love all types of spinach, young wheat and celery. Most herbs will get a mild pecking but only "in passing".


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## Sundancers (Jun 20, 2012)

I feed mine any extras from the garden ... they love it.


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## ReTIRED (Mar 28, 2013)

Alfalfa. Give it _time enough _for the roots to go deep _before _letting the chickens ATTACK it. It will come back each year.
Let it grow for one season. _THEN..._let them get to about 1/2 of it....and see how it does the next year.
I just _trim _my little alfalfa patch....and throw the chickens the _trimmings. _( GOOD Protein ! )

-ReTIRED-


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## lillyrose (May 8, 2013)

cluck_and_quack said:


> I am responding to this thread so I can get some good ideas too. I want to able to plant near their run so it has a chance to grow before they eat the seeds. I had my whole vegetable drawer go a little bad. I chopped up everything in it and gave it to the birds. Lettuce, cucumber, tomato, carrots, and celery. It was a HUGE salad. They ate it all in minutes. They left the carrots behind! The squirrels are trying to sneak in and get them!


Mine lives carrot but won't eat any green veg or salad bit. Turns her beak up at tomato too.


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## fodderfeed (Feb 14, 2013)

Black sunflower seeds


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## Wazza (Aug 19, 2012)

Definitely the new zealand spinach/warragul greens. My chooks will eat almost anything from the garden, they love corn and even nibble the leaves. Spinach, lettuce any leafy greens. They will even eat potato and tomato leaves and chili/pepper/capsicum leaves. They ate all the leaves off a fairly large branch of an eggplant/aubergine. So pretty much anything. They eat a lot of grass too.


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## kahiltna_flock (Sep 20, 2012)

I am planting extra for my chickens as well. I am trying 3 different types if sunflower seeds, lots of kale, collard greens, and all the dandelions I can pull from my yard. I am the rebel in the neighborhood. I don't use any chemicals on my yard, and that really irks them. They are still dumping boatloads of chemicals so they can have astro turf looking lawns. I try to appease and pull as many as I can so they don't go to seed and spread....so they can dump more chemicals. Anyway, the chickens and my husbands bearded dragon love dandelions


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## JC17 (Apr 4, 2013)

Get some bird seed and bury it under an inch of soil. I'm always surprised at what springs up


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## piglett (Jun 21, 2012)

mine love squash, pumpkins,cucumbers. they will also go after onions & green peppers if you cook them up 1st


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## Dyanne05 (Apr 10, 2013)

Mine love cook oatmeal


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## kahiltna_flock (Sep 20, 2012)

Oh yeah, I forgot about the pumpkins, trying those too


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## piglett (Jun 21, 2012)

kahiltna_flock said:


> Oh yeah, I forgot about the pumpkins, trying those too


 if you cook the pumpkin 1st they will eat all of it even the outside part


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## kahiltna_flock (Sep 20, 2012)

piglett said:


> if you cook the pumpkin 1st they will eat all of it even the outside part


Good to know, thanks


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## ReTIRED (Mar 28, 2013)

I commonly throw _unusable _slices fom my veggies. 
The chickens (NOW mature )...EAT it ALL !
Since NONE of them have "croacked" ....
OR acted in anyway like a "croacking turtle"...
I reckon it's O.K. to give then ANY left-overs ?
( If'n it ain't killin' me...it's _unlikely _to kill them. )

*"Hey, chickens ! *Do you want some leftover nitroglycerine pills?"

-_just kidding, there. 

_*Ha-Ha !
-*ReTIRED-


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## dcfrenkel (Nov 1, 2012)

I love the wire over grass/wheat (which is planted in the ground). My girls have a fenced in yard that is big, about 30x50, and they managed to turn the whole thing into a mud pit. putting the wire mesh over the tops of wheat that i plant has made such a huge difference. They can really destroy grass; even well established grass.


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## piglett (Jun 21, 2012)

ReTIRED said:


> I commonly throw _unusable _slices fom my veggies.
> The chickens (NOW mature )...EAT it ALL !
> Since NONE of them have "croacked" ....
> OR acted in anyway like a "croacking turtle"...
> ...


*chickens will eat most anything that will not eat them 1st*


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## icarusdiedquick (May 10, 2013)

They love watermelon in the heat of the summer,and rye grass grows well in the winter!


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## piglett (Jun 21, 2012)

icarusdiedquick said:


> They love watermelon in the heat of the summer,and rye grass grows well in the winter!


 will it grow under 4 feet of snow???
that must be some tough grass

sorry i just had to
piglett
new hampshire


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## creeperolie (Jul 9, 2012)

My chickens will eat ANYTHING!!! Their favourite is oregano (not sure why), I've had to put a barrier around it!


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## GenFoe (Apr 3, 2013)

Its raining here so I didn't let them out today. I grow oat grass in the house in little containers so I brought one out to them to have something to munch on. They love it but always end up dumping it over and scratching it all over the coop!


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## TJsGirls (Apr 6, 2013)

I'm planting pumpkins, sunflowers and Swiss chard for mine, I'm thinking I'll try wheat grass.


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## icarusdiedquick (May 10, 2013)

piglett said:


> will it grow under 4 feet of snow???
> that must be some tough grass
> 
> sorry i just had to
> ...


Lol what's snow?Never see it much in southeast Texas lol


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## piglett (Jun 21, 2012)

icarusdiedquick said:


> Lol what's snow?Never see it much in southeast Texas lol


 well if your willing to show up here with a big truck near the end of the year i'm sure we can fix you rite up with a good big load of it.
you can be the only Texan with a huge snow man in your front yard

piglett


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## icarusdiedquick (May 10, 2013)

Thanks,but think I'll pass on the snow!


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## Energyvet (Jul 25, 2012)

A garden. Lol. With lots of worms and grubs!


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## halcyonflorida (May 4, 2013)

My girls LOVE sprouts-so far mung, brocolli and kohlrabi sprouts. I think I am going to get some seeds and a growing container online as it will save money in the long run!


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