EddieSalita
Songster
Hi,
I thought I would introduce some lesser known fodder plants those who like to add variety might be interested in. I did a quick search and didn't see this one,
My general rules for such things in the chook run are perennial, fast growing, nutritious, hardy, easy to propagate.
Job's tears (Coix lacryma-jobi) is the wild variety of this ancient grass. It grows to 3ft under ideal conditions in my subtropical climate. It's not at all fussy. It can be cut and will regrow readily. Up to 6 cuts per year is very doable.
It gets numerous pea sized grains which when mature have a very hard outer shell. However that causes my chickens (australorp and rhode Island red) no problem, their crops seem up to the task. Poops claim complete digestibility. I remember reading somewhere this is an ancient ancestor of modern corn/maize.
This grain is still used today in many countries as food, drink and ornamental. I'll leave checking that out to you.
My chooks love the leaves of this plant also. They are quite a tender leaf. Not fibrous, easy to peck. They will of course kill it if given enough time, it is pretty tenacious in its desire to shoot back up. Being a taller broad leaf grass, if I put it in a mesh top grazing box a foot or so high, it persists almost indefinitely. Or you can grow it outside the run and just cut it off a few inches high, throw it to the chooks and let it regrow.
It's has quite a range of amino acids. Including methionine. The grain protien is about 15%. I imagine the plant itself is about the same. Much like any grass.
Anyway, i find it great, the chooks love it. And collecting seed and propagating it is a piece of cake.
Links:
https://www.feedipedia.org/node/12217
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Job's_tears
I thought I would introduce some lesser known fodder plants those who like to add variety might be interested in. I did a quick search and didn't see this one,
My general rules for such things in the chook run are perennial, fast growing, nutritious, hardy, easy to propagate.
Job's tears (Coix lacryma-jobi) is the wild variety of this ancient grass. It grows to 3ft under ideal conditions in my subtropical climate. It's not at all fussy. It can be cut and will regrow readily. Up to 6 cuts per year is very doable.
It gets numerous pea sized grains which when mature have a very hard outer shell. However that causes my chickens (australorp and rhode Island red) no problem, their crops seem up to the task. Poops claim complete digestibility. I remember reading somewhere this is an ancient ancestor of modern corn/maize.
This grain is still used today in many countries as food, drink and ornamental. I'll leave checking that out to you.
My chooks love the leaves of this plant also. They are quite a tender leaf. Not fibrous, easy to peck. They will of course kill it if given enough time, it is pretty tenacious in its desire to shoot back up. Being a taller broad leaf grass, if I put it in a mesh top grazing box a foot or so high, it persists almost indefinitely. Or you can grow it outside the run and just cut it off a few inches high, throw it to the chooks and let it regrow.
It's has quite a range of amino acids. Including methionine. The grain protien is about 15%. I imagine the plant itself is about the same. Much like any grass.
Anyway, i find it great, the chooks love it. And collecting seed and propagating it is a piece of cake.
Links:
https://www.feedipedia.org/node/12217
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Job's_tears
