I'm also an ex dairy farmer who lives in Wisconsin. We haven't quite started putting hay outside yet. Chickens will eat the seeds and leaves of hay so finding a good soft second or third cutting is better, but anything with edible forage is good. They won't eat the stems. Our chickens are still...
We put out grass clipping for birds to pick through. Others say they have troubles but I never have. We also routinely toss the chickens and turkeys slabs of hay throughout winter to forage through and to stand on to get off the snow. I also toss slabs of hay inside my bantam coop to bulk up...