Can I feed my chickens kale?

[dsqard]

Now that looks like chicken heaven A.T. Hagan!

 

[Yay Chicks!]

I love kale, so my girls get the stems in a suet cage. Keeps them busy!

 

[chuckzoo]

I was just reading an article on uses for Kale as winter forage for cattle and it stated that Kale contains 17-18% protein in addition to the flavonoids and beta carotenes that A T Hagan mentioned (which for simplicitys sake are refered to as Vitamins).

It is really an under-utilised vegetable and not easy to get, at least where I am. Grocery stores got it over Christmas and I haven't seen it since.

Kale has a myriad of health benefits, including lower cholestrol, for more information check out this website;

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=38

 

[HenPecked_bychildren]

A.T. Hagan :

Green vegetables don't actually contain any vitamin A. What they contain are precursors such as beta carotenes that can be converted into vitamin A within the body. It's not like eating too much shark liver where you are getting concentrated vitamin A.

Upon a time commercial birds were raised in fields of green kale or other winter forage or were fed large amounts of it that was cut from some place else. The birds will eat their fill then leave the rest.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_SxFfd4HLezA/T... Hagan corn patch, December 16, 2007 - 02.jpg

That wasn't kale but oats, wheat, and turnips but they were some happy birds that winter.

Wow love that. I wish our run wasn't 100% shaded so we could do that.

How big is your coop and how many chickens do you have in it? We have a hoop coop like that, it's 9x16. We used to have 14 in it full time, no run. They were just let out in the yard every day. They have since died and I am thinking of keeping 30ish in that with access to a run over 800sq. ft. from sun up to sun down. I don't know if that will be too much mess in the coop though. How do you have your nests/roost arranged in that?​

 

[A.T. Hagan]

The tractor you see in the photo is approximately 8x8ft inside and I typically keep 10-12 dual-purpose size birds in each one. I try to move them every day so I don't let them out unless I'm doing something like planting winter forage as I did there. I favor at least five square feet per bird in the tractors. If you'll be letting them out to free range every day then I'd put as many as twenty in each one since they'd mostly only be inside to roost, lay eggs, or get to the feeders and waterers.

 

[PaleMelanesian]

Mine love kale.

When the last growing season was over, the chickens got to run in the garden and clean it up for me. The first thing they devoured was the kale. 10 minutes and it was simply *gone*.

 

[Mervin]

Quote:
That's interesting. My hens get some kale or spinach every now in again. In the last couple of weeks, they've gotten a good bit of spinach b/c I've been eating more of it recently and because I feel guilty that the snow is keeping them inside. They've been hammering the oyster shell/crushed egg shells and wasn't able to figure out why. Yesterday, I got a very thin-shelled egg. It's the first one I recall getting and I was a little confused because of the oyster shells. I guess I will have to lay off the spinach a little a increase the ACV a bit to help with calcium absorption.

 

[Inkheart]

I heard the same and was all happy - my hens turned up their noses and wanted nothing to do with it - even the goats - who will eat anything - were less than amused

 

[Gunner]

This is great news since my kale is growing so fast I keep harvesting it and have been running out of things to do with it. Friends and neighbors are beginning to start our conversations with "No, I don't want any Kale.". Tried giving some to my new chickens and they went crazy for it. Thanks for the info.

 

[newbiedood]

The concern with Kale is Oxalic Acid.

I am hoping someone who is knowledgable and experienced with this topic can provide some insight.