Cabbage leaves

[Christopher777]

I have had chickens for years but I never given them cabbage leaves before. I tried it and they seemed to like it. I have seen different views on cabbage. Any one with experience with cabbage? My chickens are just starting to lay and I don't want to hurt them.

 

[emvickrey]

If you want fertile eggs DON'T feed cabbage. It will make the roo not fertile for as long as he is eating it. It's not permanant. The hens will still lay as they normally would but they will not hatch.

But cabbage is good for them. I have started mine on it as of yesterday. Getting winter time and keeping chicks warm can be a problem. I chop mine up in pieces small enough for them to swallow. I'm sure they could bite off what they wanted but they're spoiled. I'm surprised they don't want me to feed them and wipe their little beaks. lol

Yeah, i'm crazy.

That's what my daughter tells me anyway.

I was told that pumpkin will worm them too. So I cleaned out a pumpkin and gave them all the guts and scrapings I could get from the inside. They loved it. They get our scrap veggies and sometimes meat too. When I get too many eggs, I scramble them up and give them to them. I also wash out the shells and let them dry they grind them up in my ultimate chopper. I give that to them for calcium and also grit. OH, I could go on but I'll save it. lol

 

[DTchickens]

Hmm, where did you hear cabbage makes the cock sterile as long as he eats it? Never heard of that...

 

[emvickrey]

The breeder I got my AO's from. He said to aid in long tail growth feed fish and lettace or cabbage if I don't want fertile eggs. He did say it is only temporary. And the hen will still lay if she is going to during winter. I really hope mine just stops laying. In about 5 days, I will be putting my last eggs in the bator for this year. I'm only collecting the AO's eggs. My other roo for my EE had to be culled the other day. She is probably still fertile but it would be by the AO rooster. I want to be able to sell the eggs so I can't hatch any of their eggs to get more hens for selling eggs for hatching.