Best greens for chickens in the winter?

[Hen Pen Jem]

Crooked Chicken, I'm glad you mentioned baking pumpkin. I was wondering if anyone else did this.

My chickens, have never been interested in pumpkin when it is raw. But, they'll eat it if it's baked. They also love steamed spaghetti squash. However, they do love raw zucchini if I slice it in discs for them.

I had a bumper crop of white and orange pumpkins, spaghetti squash, and carnival squash this Summer. I am going to see if they'll eat some of the carnival squash too.

 

[Josh0625]

They can run around and find their own all spring through fall, but what's the best to give in the winter? I keep reading different views. Spinach, but not much; Kale, but not too much; cabbage, but mine have no interest in it.....

Have you tried letting the cabbage head hang from a rope or I used string trimmer line. Mine saw it as a toy and ended up loving it. Its their favorite treat now

 

[Josh0625]

Besides the obvious kitchen scraps, a small bale (50#) for $10 from the feed store will last 10 hens a month. It will provide hours of entertainment as well as extra protein and calcium.

A bail of what? Alfalfa?

 

[chickens really]

Mine get a bunch of perpetual spinach from the garden almost every day with no shell quality issues and lovely dark orange yolks..... although no eggs at all at the moment since the old girls are all moulting. They get an occasional cabbage or lettuce but spinach is the big favourite.

Your point is you feed Spinach...Look it up its not good for Birds..

 

[Percheron chick]

Alfalfa. My brain was still in first gear.

A bail of what? Alfalfa?

 

[greggooo]

Have you tried letting the cabbage head hang from a rope or I used string trimmer line. Mine saw it as a toy and ended up loving it. Its their favorite treat now

I have tried it twice. They look at me like I’m crazy. Maybe I’m doing it wrong.

 

[greggooo]

Alfalfa. My brain was still in first gear.

Like the shredded bail?

 

[greggooo]

Crooked Chicken, I'm glad you mentioned baking pumpkin. I was wondering if anyone else did this.

My chickens, have never been interested in pumpkin when it is raw. But, they'll eat it if it's baked. They also love steamed spaghetti squash. However, they do love raw zucchini if I slice it in discs for them.

I had a bumper crop of white and orange pumpkins, spaghetti squash, and carnival squash this Summer. I am going to see if they'll eat some of the carnival squash too.

OH! Great idea. They had pumpkin last week and ate the insides and left everything else. I will try baking it.

 

[Crooked Chicken]

I've given them raw pumpkin too, and they do it eat it, but they do prefer baked pumpkin, squash and sweet potatoes.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I just give them whatever's on hand, especially bits that would normally be thrown out, like carrot tops, cauliflower and broccoli greens. I still have parsley and kale going in the garden so they get some of that sometimes as well.