Grass clippins in my Hen House?

[mountaintopchicken]

I feed grass clippings. Not all of my birds get to free-range everyday, so the ones that have to stay inside that day get clippings. I mow about half a bag for them per coop.

The trick is to mow so that the clippings you get are short. So if the grass is high, mow on a high setting, not a low one. The goal is to have bite-sized clippings, so there's no danger of impaction.

And, with fresh clippings, you don't want to give so much that it sits in the coop, packs down and gets moldy.

I even feed dried grass clippings in the winter, but again, I am neurotic about making sure they are short and won't cause impaction.

 

[Ladyhawke1]

I am assuming that everything you cut is called grass. However, has anyone ever had any problems with “foxtails”? That is what we call them here in the southwest.

Veterinarians make millions of dollars every year taking these “grasses” out of dog's ears, rears and any other areas of the body.

These little arrow shaped grass seeds are deadly. Because of their shape, they only go one way …forward. They “dig” in, burrow though flesh, and keep going.

Has anyone had problems with these with their chickens? My vast acreage is full of them.

 

[mountaintopchicken]

I am assuming that everything you cut is called grass.

Actually, no.... what I cut includes dandelion, clover, plantain, lots of other stuff besides grass, which I think the chickens actually like better than the plain grass.

No foxtails, though... I don't think I'd use cuttings if I had those!​

 

[Chew593]

I'd like to know about foxtails too. I have an abundance of them.