Grains and cover crops

[Selena]

After we finish building our chicken tractors and dividing my current flock into them, I'm wanting to divide my 30'x22' garden/chicken yard into 3 sections. Planting a mixed cover crop in one section, keeping chickens in another section, and growing my veggies/keeping ducks in the third section. I plan to then rotate them. I figure the cover crop can grow... then I can unleash the chickens into it. I'm only going to have a roo and maybe 4 hens in it (when I get some Marans next spring, I want to keep them in their own flock).

On to my question:
What cover crops/grains are good for chickens? I know that clover is loved by just about everything... what else?

Also! I'm also getting mixed info on vetch, and I think I have some established in an area of my yard. I had hoped to use that area to tractor my birds over. Is vetch bad for them? Should I avoid that area?

 

[digitS']

I think CourageousChic came up with an interesting forage mix, recently.

Quite a few outfits sell permanent pasture mixes. Sand Hill Preservation sells mixes for annual chicken forage.

Not sure why vetch would be a problem. I've planted it with oats as a hay crop. If it grows real well it is difficult to swath, rake and bale. But, that doesn't have much to do with its suitability for livestock feed.

My birds like wheat real well and I've grown that for them

.

Steve