Growing chicken greens - what seeds do i need?

[Kiwi Chicky]

Which types of seeds can I use to grow some plants for my chickies to eat?

 

[Nemo]

Pretty much any of the leaf veggies. We have a couple rows of kale and chard, both of which are s'posed to be high in vitamins.

 

[PAJerry]

I use spinach and kale. The hens love them both and they are very nutritious and easy to grow. If you plant spinach now, it will over-winter and you will have a source of greens early in the spring.

 

[Sissy]

I have some planted kale and brocculi.
my flock love their greens.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Mine will eat any of the greens I've tried except New Zealand spinach. How's that for irony. Lettuce, spinach, chard, kale, bak choi. After the cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower produce for me, I feed the leaves to the chickens.

I don't know how soon you can sow seeds in New Zealand, but about any greens you can eat, so can they. One exception is raw or undercooked beans. These contain something bad for he chickens. I'll include a link to a treats chart that tells what they can have. Near the bottom, it has what they should not have.

Good luck!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2593-Treats_Chart

 

[darkmatter]

Quote:
My chickens are more then happy to pick though the lawn clippings I dump to them. For chicks, I handpick clover each day as greens to supplement commercial starter.
I live in a rural setting and the area I mow for clippings contains a lot more then grass---chickens love it.

 

[spotman47]

I was surprised that they seem to like quack grass the most out of all the green goodies I collect. I thought good hay would be a favroite, but they want that crab or quack grass over most green things that are safe.

 

[Kiwi Chicky]

Thank you for replying

I won't be over wintering anything though!

It's coming into spring here

I have a small garden in the chook run and I thought I'd plant them some greens to munch, and make sure I make a cover for our vege garden!

lol about the NZ spinach!

I think it's more bitter than normal spinach

 

[Ridgerunner]

Quote:
I agree. That's why you have to cook it, I guess, and can't eat it raw. And it really shrinks when you cook it. But it grows well in our hot dry climate, the bugs don't bother it, and makes a nice change of pace for me in the summer. Chard is the only other greens I can get to grow here during the summer. The rest either bolt, turn bitter, dry up, or get really bug infested.

I'd think the texture doesn't bother the chickens, so it would have to be the taste. Or it may just be my chickens. I've seen posts where other people's chickens won't eat cabbage.

 

[The Gotfeather]

Can you get buckwheat seeds? I have grown this in Tassie from spring through to summer and it is very fast. However I have no idea whether chooks will eat it or even if they should eat it.

You could take your basic free range layer mix and plant this out?