Good cover crops and forage options for chicken yard?

[CaliforniaMountainChicks]

I'm trying to come up with some good forage crops to plant in my chicken yard. It's an enclosed yard for them with two separate sections. One section is 25'x25', this is where the coop is, and another section is 33'x25'. I was thinking about starting to periodically close off the larger section to let a mixture of fast growing cover crops grow that will be good for the chickens. Maybe some white clover and rye grass? Do any of you have some favorites that you like to grow for your chickens, let me know!

 

[becstalls]

My dad said that what people used to do was plant a mulberry tree/bush for their chickens.

 

[CaliforniaMountainChicks]

My dad said that what people used to do was plant a mulberry tree/bush for their chickens.

I planted a small mulberry tree in their run last spring and it tripled in size since! Hoping to get some fruit from it this year for them!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Depends on your climate. and yes, I've planted mutiple clovers in mine, comes into season at different times of year. Also look for something with a bit more height. Scribner's panic grass is doing well for me - its a prarie grass and drought tolerant. Same with little blue stem. Sorrels, sorghum (or the sorghum/sudangrass hybrid), methi (fenugreek), thyme, oregano, and quinoa are all things I've experimented with.
I don't plant things like marigold, but of course you could.

 

[centrarchid]

Being a chicken-fighting guy, I may have some useful intel. I like a mixed planting that includes a mixture of perineal grasses and legumes that thrive in my local soils and climate. Native prairie-type plants are also a good choice.

Typically, my gamebirds denude everything and kill even when the runs are of an area like described by the OP, so I cheat.

I put in a couple empty cock pens in area to be foraged and allowed desired plant community to grow up inside those pens. The chickens can reach in and get some although not all the growth making for a sustainable supplemental forage. For some reason I get growth even during periods of drought and most of the winter using this approach. I'll show pictures tomorrow.

 

[Perris]

my flock are very partial to the young leaves of this perennial
https://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/cephalaria-gigantea/
(syn. Scabiosa gigantea) which is robust enough to withstand their depredations and grow beyond their reach, is attractive to insects which they also eat, and makes a very pretty addition to the garden. It will self seed around too, though young plants will need protection until they're established enough to survive the chickens' attention.
The chickens think it's good for them and this would suggest their instincts are good
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6313729/

 

[centrarchid]

Images not the best although they do illustrate point I'm trying to make.

First is where 8' x 8' chicken pen contains only a trio of Aseels so they have about 64 feet squared divided by 3 for about 21.3 feet squared per bird. They still totally destroy all vegetation within the pen. Once the soil is denuded like that, new growth is slow to establish owing to killing of plants and depletion of germinating seeds. Even when such areas are reseeded, vegetation is slow to reestablish owing to soil compaction, very high nutrient load and possibly pH issues. To get around this problem I typically move the pens frequently before such damage is realized.


Outside the pen with reach of their beaks you can see a strip of vegetation they can consume although they are not killing it. The problem is they graze it down so short that its ability to regenerate is hampered. Ideally, the birds would have access to such areas for short periods of time followed by intervals for regeneration.

Below is another approach with an empty broody hen pen with gate closed. The chickens can consume vegetation in reach that is replenished by plants growing back into reach. When I pull that pen out it will take the trio of adult game chickens only a couple days to totally consume those greens effectively killing it.

My observations of the free-ranging hens foraging behavior and crop-fill is that the bulk of their intake by volume is vegetative greens. The greens the penned birds consume is thus likely little more than a treat although I do not know if they are getting real benefit from such small rates of intake.

 

[Rurumo]

My dad said that what people used to do was plant a mulberry tree/bush for their chickens.

Oh gosh, he would have gotten along with my Grandma, she used to tell me the same thing. I actually planted two mulberry trees in my yard 2 years ago because I knew I'd eventually get back into chickens, but after hitting -40 this winter, they look a bit worse for wear, hopefully they survive! They are a great option for reliable chicken forage for sure, as part of a mix of other grasses, flowers, herbs etc.

For the OP, I also highly recommend seeking out chickweed-it's a weed lots of places, but it's hard to find when you want seeds-I have a pack germinating now in a wet paper towel-from Strictly Medicinal Seeds. The culinary herbs are great too-lots of thyme, oregano, peppermint, lavender-they are all incredibly useful in the diet and in the coop. Scatter peppermint in the coop and around the run and feeding area to deter pests. I like to grow lots of holy basil for both myself and my chickens. They also sell 1 lb bags of chicken forage seeds on Amazon for around $8 per bag-I've used that as a green manure/forage after harvesting veggies in the fall in my raised beds-it has rye, flax, and other stuff in it and germinated well.

 

[CaliforniaMountainChicks]

Thank you all for your great recommendations so far, I appreciate it! Making up my list for options to plant soon!