Alfalfa question...

[EggsForIHOP]

I had a tiny little rabbit sized bale of alfalfa that I threw out to the chicks - which they seemed to love! Clearly, the cost effectiveness of such a tiny bale is ZERO....so i am weighing my options...IF I can find a big real bale of alfalfa, I shall do it...but what about the cubes? Do you really need to soak them first? Or will they pick them apart as is? I know my feed store doesn't have any, been calling around hunting a bale - no luck yet...so I was thinking of alternatives. They REALLY go for the green stuff, and since they have knocked out all the grass in the run, I was trying to find a suitable substitute for the days when they don't get to free range in the yard. I know my feed store has the cubes - just wondering if it's worth an extra trip down there....

 

[greyhorsewoman]

Ours love tearing apart regular hay bales ... just mixed grasses.

 

[EggsForIHOP]

The horse hay just gets ignored, stomped on, sat on, but mostly ignored. Tried it, figured the horses wouldn't mind sharing - which they didn't. The chickens on the other hand....guess they were too good to share. That little alfalfa one tho - they LOVED it. Had a friend give it to me when her kids pet rabbit died so it was a free test of sorts. Tried the regular hay next after that was gone and that's probably where I went wrong - never shoulda let them have them good stuff first!

 

[Ariel301]

Mine love to scratch through the hay my goats waste and eat bits of it or just play with it. If you could find a big cheap bale, I'd go for it, even if they just play with it. That much hay would last a while with chickens.

 

[Frogdogtimestwo]

All my birds love fresh alfalfa hay, but would not touch alfalfa pellets or cubes soaked/dry.

 

[cassie]

I have a small hay feeder hung in the chicken pen. I just put in a flake and when it is gone I put in another. Chickens will eat a surprising amount of alfalfa if they get the chance.

 

[EggsForIHOP]

Thank ya'll! I think I shall stick to my hunt for a bale of the alfalfa - I may rig up some feeders out of left over wire from the coop building to use to feed it to them. Better not to get the cubes and be stuck with a bag no one will eat I suppose right?

 

[Cindy in PA]

I have used the cubes and my chickens had a great time scratching through them after they were soaked in water so they would come apart. Just like regular hay in smaller pieces. I'm sure a regular bale is great, but I never had a place to store it.

 

[enggass]

I can get bales of Hay, Straw and Alfalfa... I was planning on getting either hay or straw as something to throw on the floor of their run when it snows.
I've heard that chickens like alfalfa, and I know alfalfa is good for them so I was wondering, could I use that the way I intended with the hay or straw? Or would that not be good for them as they may tend to snack a lot

Thanks.

 

[dsqard]

Quote:
Get a hay net and put a flake in at a time and hang it up. You can find them at feed stores and they are relatively cheap.