Do chickens like grass?

[haddiemoo]

I have noticed a few posts on the forum where people say their chickens love grass. Do the chickens like to eat this grass or play with it or what?
Can I just pull some grass out of the ground and feed it to them or do I use lawnmower clippings for them to play in? From the number of posts I have seen about grass I realize that they must like it but in what way? Thanks for the help

 

[matthewschickens]

Chickens love grass! That's what they eat in the wild along with bugs. All chickens should have access to some form of grass. I free range mine and it's lowered my food bills greatly!

Matthew

 

[allison finch]

Just make sure all grass you give them is not treated in any way. Heavily fertilized grass can be harmful too. I have heard that grass clippings give them pieces of grass longer than they would have if they were tearing at it in the wild. These long pieces could cause a crop problem, couldn't they?

 

[chicmom]

Oh yes! YUMMY! That's usually the first treat I give chicks.....I pull some grass from the yard and put a little pile of it in the brooder once they're about 3 weeks old. They love it!

In the winter, if I have chicks in the brooder, the grocery store has little containers of live wheat grass, and they love that!

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Chickens love young, tender grass. It does wonders for improving the quality of the eggs and the meat.

But chickens are not ruminants. They can only digest it partially so they need other foods for the rest of their diet. It's a great supplement, but can't take the place of regular chicken feed.

 

[Stevo]

It does wonders for their poop too. PPPP UUUUUUUUU!

 

[JoAnn_WI_4-H_Mom]

In spring we remove birds from winter quarters (no grass) and put them on pasture. The squawk and complain while being caught and transported. Such noise! As we set each bird down they go silent...they are eating grass.

 

[Boo-Boo's Mama]

I pull the fuzzy sticker grass for my girls and my neighbor gives me grass clippings. They go nuts over just about anything green. It makes their egg yolks a dark yellow/orange. Grass fed livestock produces much healthier meat and eggs.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Hoo yeah they are like cows. Don't give them long pieces of grass, though. They will get crop-bound. Short clippings are ok.

 

[woodmort]

Do woodchucks chuck wood? Did the little piggie go wee wee wee all the way home? Is Too Tall Jones too tall? My chickens hate grass so much they want to destroy every bit by eating it as soon as it sticks above ground.