What kind of grain or grass ahould i cultivate around the outside of pen to provide green feed.l?

[yellowherb]

I use the deer forage seed bought from tractor supply. That way I know it's all safe for animals, if deer can eat it chickens can too I figure. I grow it in plant troughs though and feed it as 3-5 inch seedlings. A cheaper alternative is oats. I paid $15 for a 50lb bag and although it takes a while to sprout, it makes a nice tall grass. They will eat it, but not decimate it like they do the deer plot seed plants.

 

[jeannetteshari]

Thank you

 

[jeannetteshari]

I think I will plant oat. Hope it does well here in mississippi. Don't think i'll have a problem with it getting out of hand because the lawn will boarder it and we'll mow the edges to control. I use organic local wood chips for gardening by the truck loads from the tree triming companies that service our road sides. For now, i've started the process of killing off the lawn around the pen with some seasoned chips full of worms and bugs and have used some rain gutters i had laying around to make shallow root planting areas for some shade loving herbs i'll grow through the summer while the chips are doing the job of getting rid of the lawn. Our chicks love the bugs that scatter when i process the chips with water when watering the herb seeds i just planted. My mom and i built a great pen for the 12 EE hen chicks we got easter weedend : ) i love these birds. They are growing like weeds and are so tame. Thank you all for the advice.

 

[jeannetteshari]

 

[jeannetteshari]

Thank you. Unfortunately from what I read, Mississippi prohibits this kind of sale although, I'm going to check it out next time I go to TSC. I'd like to take a look at it : )

 

[jeannetteshari]

what lucky chickens!

 

[mimsy]

Thank you very much! I'm definitely going to do something like this. I wish I could grow it through the winter when greens are less plentiful for them.

You could just sprout the seed during the winter. Most seeds only take a couple of days to a week depending on far along you want them and its really easy to do in the house.

 

[DreamsInPink]

You  could just sprout the seed during the winter.   Most seeds only take a couple of days to a week depending on far along you want them and its really easy to do in the house.

Haha, I was just thinking this myself! Trying to think what room of the house I could use for my chicken fodder! It'll probably end up in my craft room. Won't my chickies be delighted to get some yummy greens on a cold winter day!?

 

[turboscooby07]

I dont know if it grows where you are but my chickens love hemlock and johnson grass. Hemlock is poisonous to humans but around here it grows 2 inches a day! personally I dont react to weed whipping it but some people do. The two legged weed whippers keep up with it ok, and they can eat all the johnson grass they want

 

[mimsy]

Hemlock (both water and poison) is not safe for chickens. Water hemlock used to grow so thick around here that a lot of folks would lose livestock every spring to it.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2369382