Broccoli????

[fordmommy]

My girls don't like it uncooked. But they do like it cooked.

I LOVE broccolli and a friend ended up getting a whole large cooler filled with some, for free. She gave me some and I cut off all the stems, blached, and froze the good stuff. All of the rest I cooked up and gave to the chickens. They loved it. I served it a little warm too. And being as cold as it is, they just gobbled it up.

 

[2DogsFarm]

Quote:
I did something similar BEFORE I had chickens - planted 15 zucchini plants
WTH was I thinking???

I was up to my armpits in squash!

Re: the broccoli - my girls prefer theirs cooked, but I have never tried giving them the whole head
Gonna have to test that out!

 

[GraceAK]

Quote:
I did something similar BEFORE I had chickens - planted 15 zucchini plants
WTH was I thinking???

I was up to my armpits in squash!

Re: the broccoli - my girls prefer theirs cooked, but I have never tried giving them the whole head
Gonna have to test that out!

Thats what you need to do AFTER you have chickens! They can eat it and make it into eggs!

And more chickens!
I like both of those things better than zucchini.

I wish I could grow stuff like that. We grew squash once, and had only 1 squash.

Sad sad sad.

My dogs like cooked broccoli. My chickens probably would too, if any of it got past my dogs.

 

[peachlover]

Cook it.... That is what I should have done. I did not even think of that. Fifteen zuccini plants is a lot of produce alright. It is funny how excited we can be when it comes to planting season in the spring. I am already coming up with big plans of growing great eats for the chickens. Mine love lettuce, peas, tomatos, and oversized cucumbers and squash. I slice them in half and they love to eat the seeds out of the middle. I guess I will give a broccoli another try (remember to cook it), but not sixty plants this year. I lhave been looking at the Gurneys, and Burpee catalogs for new ideas to feed the flock, any recomendations?

 

[jojo54]

mine like it cooked too

 

[fldiver97]

Quote:
mine like swiss chard...and it's easy to grow. The few I planted were not supposed to become chicken treats but they devoured the plants. So this year I'll plant more. Lettuce and kale are also a popular thing with my chicks. They completely raided the blueberries and my little lonely gooseberry bush as well as my native wild strawberries that I use as groundcover in some spots. Those little berries disappeared fast!

 

[squeakyballs]

Quote:
What did the cannibal have for breakfast?

A cup of Joe

 

[felidaet]

Mine love fresh broccoli! I usually plant several plants each year. Last year we had an unusual early hot spell that caused it to go seed before it was ready for us to use. I would pull a plant out of the ground and toss the entire plant, including roots, leaves, etc into the run. An hour later there was only a little of the stock left.


Someone asked what to grow for the chickens. Black oil sunflower seeds are a must. I will be growing several 30' rows of them this year. Don't look for seeds in the seeds catalogs. Just plant some of the seeds you would normally feed to the chickens. They germinated great last year. Make sure to use Black oil sunflower seeds. The chickens don't like the gray-stripe seeds as well and I also understand they are harder fore them to digest. Zucchini and Spaghetti squash were also very popular with the chickens. zucchini can be cut off the plant and tossed in the run whole. I cut spaghetti squash in half. Sunflowers i cut off the plant and toss in the run. No need to remove the seeds from the head.

I had some corn on the cob that did not get harvested in time for our family to eat. Fresh corn on the cob was a very popular treat for the chickens. I was careful not not give them too much of it in anyone day. I would toss a few ears in the run a couple of times a week (for 17 chickens).

 

[peachlover]

Thanks for the great ideas: berries, swiss chard, blackoil sunflower seeds, and spaghetti squash are going on the list. I forgot to mention earlier, that my chickens and turkeys went nuts over cantaloupes and watermelons, as most of you probably already know. It is great summer fun to watch them go after the watermelon, with the white chicks turning red from diving in. That also reminds me of watching the orpingtons jump for unripe grapes that were suspended above. For some reason it was the orpingtons jumping for them way more often than any other breed. Has anyone tried brussel sprouts?

 

[LizzyJo]

What did the cannibal have for breakfast?

A cup of Joe

LOL​