Developing the grass in your yard for increasing free ranging nutrition

[LindaB220]

Here is another article expressing love for kale as the green stuff for yummy poultry products:

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/poultrynews/21537/breed-feed-important-for-taste-in-organic-eggs

Today I've been looking into fermented roughage (silage) for poultry ... this is sort of a sidebar to the Fermented Feed thing, as I've been adding a bit of alfalfa pellets to my fermentation buckets with the belief that fermenting the alfalfa pellets (instead of just soaking them over night) will make them more palatable for the chickens, and also help break down some of the roughage so it is a little easier on the birds' systems ... and I found there is a study going on in Denmark that is investigating various types of silage to be integrated into the poultry diet, not just used as an afterthought. They are investigating alfalfa, maize & hemp, among other things. I haven't yet been able to locate the results of the study, but I'll keep digging.

You can bet that in the historical barn yard the chickens helped themselves to the silage fed to other livestock.

I'm going to up my planting on the kale. I bought curly kale and if it gives a better taste, great.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

I'm going to up my planting on the kale.  I bought curly  kale and if it gives a better taste, great.    

I'm thinking kale would be great in the run under one of those "no scratch" wire platforms ... the "cut and come again" idea. But I'd need about an acre of that to keep my flock busy.

 

[LindaB220]

i need to get my seeds thrown out. I think I will put some clover and other things on the ground that I will put my chicken run. Is it too late to get in the ground? It gets up to 80 something already. Of course it was freezing last night.

 

[Arielle]

Here is another article expressing love for kale as the green stuff for yummy poultry products:

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/poultrynews/21537/breed-feed-important-for-taste-in-organic-eggs

Today I've been looking into fermented roughage (silage) for poultry ... this is sort of a sidebar to the Fermented Feed thing, as I've been adding a bit of alfalfa pellets to my fermentation buckets with the belief that fermenting the alfalfa pellets (instead of just soaking them over night) will make them more palatable for the chickens, and also help break down some of the roughage so it is a little easier on the birds' systems ... and I found there is a study going on in Denmark that is investigating various types of silage to be integrated into the poultry diet, not just used as an afterthought. They are investigating alfalfa, maize & hemp, among other things. I haven't yet been able to locate the results of the study, but I'll keep digging.

You can bet that in the historical barn yard the chickens helped themselves to the silage fed to other livestock.

I 'm sure you are right on this-- my chickens score outside the stall doors picking up grain, then head for vacated hay piles. As for my hay bales, if the bale is cut open, the chickens tear at it until it is a mess. Mess makers!!

 

[joyfulkeeper]

As a nice spring snow storm begins I had my son sprinkle clover, chickory, and grass seed out in several areas of our yard where the flock roams. We did some areas last spring and the chickens and ducks loved it. I wish I could do more... maybe before the next snow fall... which is still very likely to happen here in Minnesota.

 

[Beekissed]

Checked my WDC in the small meadow the other day and it's up already. I love the vigor of that stuff! Bought some more for planting in my garden pathways as soon as all the tilling is done and the rows have been raked up into hills and covered with weed suppression cloth. Then I'll wait right before a good rain and plant those pathways really thick with the WDC.

Also tilled up two areas for planting flowers that attract butterflies and bees...my chickens really loved catching butterflies last year off the row of flowers we had. This year I'm planting milkweed and other flowers that are known butterfly and bee attractants so the birds will have another place to forage...it's like hunting over bait.

It's also a sacrifice row that will hopefully attract nuisance bugs like cucumber and squash vine beetles. I'm planting nasturtiums there as well.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

I think we are finally going to pick up some seed today. I so wish it had been dry enough to work the field before now ... The field was harvested, and then it was plowed a bit during one break in the weather/work load. Then it was tilled a bit during another break in the weather/work load. But it should still be leveled and compacted a bit before it is seeded. We are having great weather right now, so ...

It is also planting season for the nursery, so "real" work might conflict.

 

[Beekissed]

You'll want to try and get those seeded before the native grasses get established this year. These spring rains are the perfect time to get new seeds watered and germinating. I hope you can get your fields tended to so you can get an early established growth of the plants you are wanting to use.

Saturday I'm finishing the tilling of the garden and raking up the hills, covering with the weed suppression cloth and planting those pathways right away so I can get that clover established before I have to walk in those paths. We won't be planting anything out into the garden~except lettuces and early crop salad things~until the middle of May here due to the late frosts we get. I'm late getting my seeds into my inside flat to start seedlings as it is and can only hope they get big enough to plant out in the garden when it's time. We have a pretty short growing season here.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

You'll want to try and get those seeded before the native grasses get established this year. These spring rains are the perfect time to get new seeds watered and germinating. I hope you can get your fields tended to so you can get an early established growth of the plants you are wanting to use.

Saturday I'm finishing the tilling of the garden and raking up the hills, covering with the weed suppression cloth and planting those pathways right away so I can get that clover established before I have to walk in those paths. We won't be planting anything out into the garden~except lettuces and early crop salad things~until the middle of May here due to the late frosts we get. I'm late getting my seeds into my inside flat to start seedlings as it is and can only hope they get big enough to plant out in the garden when it's time. We have a pretty short growing season here.

Yeah ... we keep having this discussion here. Spring grasses are already up. It's all bright green and gorgeousness everywhere on the farm ... EXCEPT the poultry pasture areas. I consider it "late" already.

 

[Beekissed]

That's too bad.

I wished I lived next door to you, LJ, so I could help you with your priorities and let TPTB tend to their own priorities.