what types of plants to grow for my chickens?

[twentynine]

Very interesting question.

Coincidentally I have a couple pictures on my iPhone that I took this morning, right on subject.

Once I figure how to get from iPhone camera roll to website I will have them here.

Anyhow, you guys are way over thinking it. Leafy greens!

Super easy to grow in abundance.

I planted mustard greens, rape, turnip greens, rye grass, and red clover. No rows, simply break the ground open, broadcast the seeds. Couple weeks it can be knee high. Large plants that can sustain grazing intervals of 10 to 12 hours per week.

The pictures I have are before and after. I inter grated some pullets with my older birds. So I moved the tractor into the run. I had to open one of my partitioned grazing areas to accommodate it. Seven days later an after pic. Bare ground with stubble. You guys will be amazed what twenty chickens can do to 200sq ft of succulent greens.

 

[kizanne]

Quote:
My chickens love my snow pea greenery when I clean out my garden of pea plants or bean plants I give them to the birds. They gobble them down.

 

[twentynine]

Here is the pictures.

Before---------------------

After-------------------------

 

[OnceAroundTheBlock]

This is probably a dumb question but I've always wondered......

I've always heard that game like deer, elk, bear, turkeys, etc. have a different flavor of the meat based on the mast they've been eating. Like a deer harvested in the NorthEast will taste different from those in the South or West.

My question is....do chickens' eggs (or meat too) take on the flavor of whatever they eat if given in large amounts? Like if fed lot's and lot's of garlic or onions, pungent herbs, and such....

What say you?

 

[Pele]

Here's what you do to ensure your chickens love what you plant:

Go to your local garden-center, and price hunt among the plants until you find THE most expensive flowers. Then, pare that group down to flowers that are easily injured/and or shallow-rooted. Plant, insert chickens into garden, sit back and watch the devestation. Viola!




lol, sorry couldn't help myself. In all seriousness, leafy greens, and fruits like tomatos are the way to go. They go nuts for those.

 

[maggiec1951]

I have always fed my girls fresh veggies and fruit and of course, they love it! About once a month however, I plant a tablespoon or so of wheat grass (the kind they sell in health food stores for $5 a 5" square for serious juicers) for my cat. Just put it in loose soil, water and in about a week you have 5-6 inch high wheat grass - loaded with lots of good stuff. Siegfreid happily grazes to his hearts content as a rule until...I left it on the ground after watering it and didn't pick it up before letting the girls free range. By the time I got back outside there was only dirt and a few stray blades lying around the pot. So I thought if they liked it that much I would just plant them some. Added a little potting soil and turned up some dirt on the far side of the yard and covered it with one of those picnic food umbrellas until it was about 4". While that little crop was germinating, I planted another one on the opposite side of the yard so will keep one (or more) going since they love it so. Now, they have a new crop to devour every couple of days. And they still expect treats every time I go near them! Spoiled little ingrates I say.

 

[HiddenHens987]

My girls love kale! Kale and grapes seem to be their favorite! Strawberries are so so but I was surprised that they didn't seem to care for Canteloupe.

 

[triplepurpose]

Quote:
I'd say the short answer is yes, it does, at least to some degree. However, my chickens won't really eat any strong tasting herbs. Nor will they touch garlic or onions. They prefer the milder greens like chard, lettuce, kale, beets, collards, etc. So many of the things they eat won't actually impart a recognizeable flavor to meat or eggs--although I feel the meat and eggs we get from our chickens and their varied, diverse diet DO have a more nuanced depth of flavor than something fed only on the typical grain and soy mix. Which naturally I see as a reflection of the high nutritional quality.

Wild or feral chickens often have a "gamey" flavor, which some people like, but I know someone who traps the wild chickens and then feeds them corn for a couple of weeks before they eat them, because they prefer a more generic, "tame" tasting chicken. So obviously it does make a difference. Also some people I know were trying to ween their laying flock off of store-bought feed and they were feeding fish scraps they got for free from local restaurants and markets. However, some of their more finicky customers complained that the eggs tasted too much like fish, so they had to reduce the amount they were feeding, although they still continue, as far as I know, to use it as one of their main sources of protein.

 

[PacsMan]

Quote:
I do know that the color of what you feed them can come out in the yolks. We got a couple of heads of purple cabbage and fed it to our flock. Their poop came out a green color, and a couple of days later, the yolks were a dark DARK orange. It was really weird looking.

 

[HiddenHens987]

I'm going to attempt to start some kale plants in containers and see how they grow. I've done herbs in containers and veggies in the ground but this will be my first year growing Kale. Think I should be good but I'm open to any tips anyone would care to pass along. I'm not all that good with starting seeds, but transplanting Bonnie plants or others purchased from local garden centers and wholesale growers I seem to have great success!