are hay sweepings ok for the chickens?

[patandchickens]

What about the fine, almost dusty stuff you lose from hay when you take the bale apart to feed it to horses. This is mostly grass hay with just a little if any alfalfa in most of it. I could screen it to keep out longer hay strands, and I could moisten the fine stuff if it'd make it easier for chickens to eat and less dusty.

My older TB sometimes chokes if I feed it to him (used to mix it with his grain) so I have to keep this really fine stuff away from the horses, but it seems a shame to just compost it if chickens will eat it... but then I don't want to hurt the chickens... what do you think?

Pat

 

[jenichick]

Mine love it....they pick though it and scratch it and eat the seeds. I regularly take my horse hay dropping and throw a bit into the run. It's all dirt anyway and I've had no health issues at all, knock on wood.

 

[Standard Hen]

If you just throw that in their run they will have a ball scratching all over the place. It has never harmed mine in any way.

 

[bayouchica]

I used to get hay for my chickens,not anymore.

Mine usually end up with impacted crops.