Grass Clippings

[Chick or Treat]

I think that it is cool that you use grass clippings for your friends to scratch on! I personally wouldn’t use clippings from other properties either, just as a precaution. Either way, I hope it works out!

 

[jjaazzy]

I agree with others, I always mow very late in the day, so that the grass has a chance to shrivel and dry up. The chickens do love it but I have lost birds due to impaction after mowing earlier in the day.

 

[Seaecho]

If grass clippings are dangerous, then so is hay. I use grass hay in my runs and coops, and one day one of my chickens had a piece of hay hanging from her beak. I watched for a moment as she tried to dislodge it. I was about ready to go into the run when another chicken ran up and pulled it out for her, thinking she had something yummy. I swear, about 6 inches came sliding out! That's when I wondered about how safe it was to use hay! (I still use it, by the way. Just too convenient, as I have horses).

 

[112Days]

x2. If grass clippings are dangerous, so is supervised free ranging in the lawn.

If grass clippings are dangerous, then so is hay. I use grass hay in my runs and coops, and one day one of my chickens had a piece of hay hanging from her beak. I watched for a moment as she tried to dislodge it. I was about ready to go into the run when another chicken ran up and pulled it out for her, thinking she had something yummy. I swear, about 6 inches came sliding out! That's when I wondered about how safe it was to use hay! (I still use it, by the way. Just too convenient, as I have horses).

 

[WildType]

I guess that something else to be aware of is that grass clippings go mouldy quite quicky and the spores could become a problem.

 

[CutieChicken]

x2. If grass clippings are dangerous, so is supervised free ranging in the lawn.

I’ve throught about this myself because my chickens do not free range, but I sometime give them handfuls of grass that I’ve snapped off. I figured out that if I want to keep them from gobbling down the longer blades whole, I have to either hold the blades tight in my hand so they can grab and pull off parts at a time, or I have to break the grass up into pieces for them. I realized that when they are in the yard themselves, I think they grab and pull and that the grass usually breaks apart before they pull the entire blade out of the ground, at least that’s what I’ve seen when a couple of special hens have convinced me to let them have a moment in the yard. They may get the occasional long blade, but it seems that most of the time, they just keep pecking away at it until it’s all gone. Does that seem accurate? Or maybe my hens are just weird

 

[rosemarythyme]

I’ve throught about this myself because my chickens do not free range, but I sometime give them handfuls of grass that I’ve snapped off. I figured out that if I want to keep them from gobbling down the longer blades whole, I have to either hold the blades tight in my hand so they can grab and pull off parts at a time, or I have to break the grass up into pieces for them. I realized that when they are in the yard themselves, I think they grab and pull and that the grass usually breaks apart before they pull the entire blade out of the ground, at least that’s what I’ve seen when a couple of special hens have convinced me to let them have a moment in the yard. They may get the occasional long blade, but it seems that most of the time, they just keep pecking away at it until it’s all gone. Does that seem accurate? Or maybe my hens are just weird

That's the thought behind why letting them break off blades of grass is safer than giving them precut blades - a pile of long cut blades of grass means they're more likely to eat multiple longer blades, versus if they're ripping it out of the lawn, they're more likely to get smaller pieces.

 

[annaBsChick]

It puts them at risk of crop impactions....http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/impacted-crop

 

[jreardon1918]

I cut the lawn pretty regularly. When I catch the grass, I dump it in the run. The clippings are pretty short. Maybe 1”. So far so issues.

 

[Timothy Menezes]

I think it’s great to give the chickens grass clippings as a snack. But I wouldn’t try to give them to much and you should be fine.