Does anyone grow there own hay for there chickens?

[Roberts2100]

If you do what kind of hay is best for chickens? What would grow well for North Alabama?

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Chickens are not ruminants so they can't really digest very much in the way of hay. A small amount, sure, but not a lot of it the way cattle, goats, and sheep can.

If you want to cut and cure (dry) forage for them then you'd be better off making some sort of legume hay, whatever grows well in your area. They won't be able to eat the woody parts, but the dried leaves and such they may consume.

I use hay with my birds but only as nest box litter. They eat a few leaves of the Coastal Bermuda hay I buy for the purpose, but that's about it. Now fresh young, tender grass they chow down on pretty good.

 

[Contrary]

I cut a hay field with a rotary mower to provide grass silage for my birds in the wintertime. I make it in 55 gallon plastic barrels.

www.ksre.ksu.edu/historicpublications/pubs/SB320.PDF

 

[bj taylor]

i plan on growing winter rye as a cover crop for my garden and am hoping the birds can use it. i plan on cutting it at least twice during the winter. i need to somehow cut it up before giving it to the chickens.
last winter i had volunteer grass, don't know what kind come up in the raised bed from the horse manure i put in. i gave some of it to the birds & they ate it pretty good.

 

[Wilber Farms]

We have a field that we mow and we just take the grass when it dries out and we put it in the chicken coop and in the goat house but he also just bought a bail of hay. I didn't know there were different kinds of hay.