Can Chickens Eat Alfalfa Hay?

[western edge]

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I've fed grass clippings for the 50 years I've kept chickens & I've never had a crop bound bird. Not one.


Maybe it was the 6 to 8 inch blades of the Broam grass along with the alfalfa that I was cutting fresh from the field daily because thats what I found in their crops. Either way, no more cut grasses.

 

[mrdevensmom]

Twice a week I soak the pellets in raw milk that is starting to sour. The hens love it and it is a great way to get them greens during the winter. We also put hay in the nesting boxes but they like to drag it out but we have never had a problem.

 

[perchie.girl]

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And make sure you dont get a lungfull in the process. I discovered the hard way that I was allergic to the mold.

 

[NYREDS]

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Maybe it was the 6 to 8 inch blades of the Broam grass along with the alfalfa that I was cutting fresh from the field daily because thats what I found in their crops. Either way, no more cut grasses.

To clarify, I am talking about grass clippings from when I mow the lawn. I have a bagger on the mower & I dump that into the runs. It's chopped up pretty small.

 

[spiritdance]

Quote:
Maybe it was the 6 to 8 inch blades of the Broam grass along with the alfalfa that I was cutting fresh from the field daily because thats what I found in their crops. Either way, no more cut grasses.

To clarify, I am talking about grass clippings from when I mow the lawn. I have a bagger on the mower & I dump that into the runs. It's chopped up pretty small.

I do this too. My "lawn" is the same coastal bermuda/clover/rye mix that grows in my pastures. The birds love it, and I always make sure it's finely chopped so they don't have issues with crop binding. I also give them plain yogurt on the days they get the clippings. It helps with the "interesting" poo.

 

[animalover]

I had been tossing a flake of alfalfa hay into the run every week or so all winter. Yesterday, my Auracana appeared lethargic, and this morning she was dead. Autopsy showed an impacted crop, with strands of the hay, seeds, and the mealworms that she got last Saturday. How sad. I was not expecting this; it all happened so fast. I don't why it happened, when it had been fine all winter, but I don't think I will give it to them again. The soaked alfalfa pellets sound so much safer.

 

[nelgkel]

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So sorry to hear about the loss of your Auracana.

 

[southerndesert]

Use alfalfa here in AZ because we have no grass etc. in our desert "dirt" yard for the chickens to graze on, lots of yummy bugs though and they love the scorpions that they scratch out from under shrubs. Never had a problem yet feeding alfalfa, sure hope not too and it gives the girls some needed greens... 14.50 a bale here though

But the chickens love it...

 

[urbanfarmqueen]

I too feed my girls Alfalfa during the winter months because of the dry late summer and lack of greenery. I toss a few flakes onto the coop floor, especially if rain is forecasted and or it will not be a free-ranging day for them. They two eat love to scratch in it and from what I notice just the leaves, but the other day we saw one of our girls with an alfalfa straw sticking out of her mouth. She seemed in a panic so my hubby pulled it out and then she was fine. I noticed their poo is a healthy looking dark, bright green now. The eggs seem to be the same, no change and as usual a bright, big orange yolk. I will continue to toss a flake every week or so & monitor them. I can't seem how its bad for them. How many farms have alfalfa and chickens around?..

 

[Organic Farm]

I know this has nothing to do with the thread, but if you don't mind me asking, how did you manage to get barnevelders? I didn't know you could get that breed in the us. I would "love" to add some to my flock if that’s even possible.