Anyone plant crops for chickens

[U_Stormcrow]

I just posted this in another thread....

 

[dearmeghann]

They're obsessed with pineapple sage! We have two large plants right by their coop. Hilariously enough, the older girls only want us to hand-feed it to them. The little ones jump at it!

They love oregano and thyme. We try to keep those in a pot so they don't eat them all in one sitting. And I've spread a bunch of clover all over. I also got a cover-crop fodder mix off of Amazon, but I haven't seen them go after it as much as the deer.

 

[eikome]

Anyone plant vegetables or herbs etc for their chickens?

I don't plant things for them specifically, but I do pick them things from my garden. Kale, cabbage, lettuce, and chard leaves that have slug holes in them. "Weeds" like lambs quarters they absolutely love. Strawberries and raspberries that are bug damaged or squished. Cukes and zukes and summer squash when I just have too many or that I've let grow just a little too big (they love the seeds inside.) Whenever there's something good I just don't want to eat for whatever reason, the hens get it instead of the compost pile.

 

[aimee750]

Of course they get the garden rejects and scraps but I do have a seperate section that I call the animal garden. It is 25x50 and this year has sunflowers, dent corn, pumpkins, patty pan squash and field peas.

 

[sals_chicks]

We have done a bunch of chicken safe planting, and weed relocation specifically for the chickens... We have lots of mugwart and wood sorrel, so we have transplanted that all along the perimeter of our chicken yard, and harvest from it regularly for them - they go crazy for it! I also toss them dandelion leaves often.

I plant a bunch of herb pots in the spring, and then rotate a pot or two into the chicken yard for them to pick at... Lots of basil, rosemary, thyme, parsely, various leafy things (lettuce, etc) and even some marigold...

This year I planted some lemon grass in the chicken yard - it is currently fenced off with some chicken wire until it gets established, but hoping they can pick at that all summer long after a couple years.

In the fall I let them munch on my decorative chrysanthemums and pumpkins.

I like adding things that are safe for them to munch on. And it does give them enrichment.