Chopped grass OK?

[saysfaa]

Maybe you only feed fresh clippings, but sometimes people think they can stockpile them and that should not be done

You can safely stock pile them if you ensile them.

 

[1muttsfan]

You can for ruminants, but chickens are not gut fermenters, so something that acidic would not be safe as a big part of their diet.

 

[saysfaa]

Many people ferment chicken crumbles without the more acidic feed causing issues.

People also feed silage

This
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17701499/ says, "An experiment was carried out to examine the suitability of using maize silage, barley-pea silage and carrots as foraging materials for egg-laying hens. Production performance, nutrient digestibility, gastrointestinal characteristics, including the composition of the intestinal microflora as well as feather pecking behaviour were the outcome variables....In conclusion, access to different types of foraging material such as silages and carrots improved animal welfare."

This https://www.grit.com/farm-and-garden/making-silage-from-lawn-clippings-ze0z1410zdeh/ includes an exerpt by Gene Logsdon: "Poultry silage can be preserved from… young grass, or clover, to produce an easily digested protein feed that is rich in vitamin A and B. A simple method of preserving the grass is to ... ciderlike smelling ensilage that remains may be fed at the rate of two to five pounds daily to each 100 laying hens and up to 12 pounds daily per 100 turkeys.

 

[saysfaa]

You can for ruminants, but chickens are not gut fermenters, so something that acidic would not be safe as a big part of their diet.

Oh,
Sorry, I missed the "as a big part of their diet." I agree with that although not for the same reason.

I give mine fresh grass clippings but wouldn't make that a large part of their diet either.

I hope no one minds if I leave the references up there in case someone else finds it as interesting as I do.