Growing Chicken Feed - BroomCorn

[GermanRooster]

About two years ago I attended a class on Shaker Broom making. It was a lot of fun but I had difficulty finding inexpensive broom corn to make brooms. I began to plant my own. Did you know broomcorn is a type of sorgum and chickens love it. When making brooms the kernels are a waste product. You can't rely on this as the only source of food but its not a bad supplement. You make the brooms as a hobby, sell them to buy feed, use the colored broom corn in floral arrangements, and give the waste kernels to the chickens.

 

[AntiqueB]

I love the look of broom corn, too! I'm going to plant some for the chickens (and for me!).

 

[GermanRooster]

I thought I would include a picture of it. You can get seeds all over the internet, even on Amazon. Its very easy to grows. One Seed Supplier

 

[GermanRooster]

Another source of free food and protein is the compost pile. Unfortunately, I would need to relocate my pile or fence to to give the chickens access. I read an article in MotherEarth News that some people use it as a major source of food without any store-bought feed. My Uncle's Farm in Germany uses very little store bought food for the Chickens because there are so many free sources.

 

[AntiqueB]

I would love to compost, but we don't really eat enough veggies for that!

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Here’s a good thread on compost in the chicken run:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/composting-chicken-run.1336030/

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

On broomcorn, a good thought. My father grows some broomcorn and I may snag some seeds. It grows very tall....great green manure in addition to the other uses.

 

[GermanRooster]

I would love to compost, but we don't really eat enough veggies for that!

Composting isn't just vegetables. Grass clippings and leaves make up the bulk of my compost pile. The pile can get rather large in the Fall with all the leaves. The mix of grass and brown leaves in a roughly 3' x 3' area will start to generate heat. It attracts earth worms which further break down the material into fine black mulch. The chickens love to eat these worms.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Composting isn't just vegetables. Grass clippings and leaves make up the bulk of my compost pile. The pile can get rather large in the Fall with all the leaves. The mix of grass and brown leaves in a roughly 3' x 3' area will start to generate heat. It attracts earth worms which further break down the material into fine black mulch. The chickens love to eat these worms.

Soiled wood shavings, straw, and hay from coop clean outs are three more great compost inputs.

 

[AntiqueB]

Now, that kind of composting I can do! That's really all you need? Grass clippings, leaves, and chicken poop with soiled shavings?