alfalfa

[missnatalie]

someone has asked me if chickens can eat alfalfa? i was not sure what to say to that, can anyone help me with that

 

[cafarmgirl]

Yes. Mine get a flake of alfalfa in their coop couple times a week during winter.

 

[missnatalie]

great to know this info, do you also do this in summer?

 

[cafarmgirl]

Yeah I give it to then whenever I think about it, any time of year, just more so in the winter when there's nothing green in the pasture.

 

[TheCrazyChick]

I use alfalfa pellets in my fermented feed. Seems to work just fine for them. I read somewhere that alfalfa during the winter months helps them to continue laying eggs. So far so good.

 

[cinch920]

Chickens can and will eat just about anything you give them. They love scratching around. I like the idea of throwing a flake of hay to them. Thats a great way to keep them busy!

 

[mtnviewfarms]

Yes, not only do they LOVE Alfalfa, it is extremely nourishing for them, especially during those winter months when there is little dark green and leafy to munch on.

I get the Dehydrated Alfalfa Cubes in the Horse section of Tractor Supply. I think a 50 lb. bag was only about $14 and it's lasted me all winter with
giving it regularly to over 100 chickens.

I just get a big plastic pail, fill it about 1/3 full of the cubes then fill the rest up with water. By the next morning you will have a pail full of very dark
green stuff that smells and looks a lot like cut spinach.

I just go from coop to coop slinging the stuff and they literally go crazy over it and fight over it. During the spring and summer they get plenty of
organic greens from pasture and garden but in winter it fills in that nutritional gap and, maybe it's just my imagination, but I think it helps make
my yolks darker orange as well.