Growing Food for Chickens?

[dalmation1080]

I'm already thinking about spring! I'd like to grow some stuff for my chickens/ducks to eat this upcoming year, to help save on my feed bill a little. My plan is to start rasining mealworms and duckweed to make sure they get enough protien, but is there anything I can put into a "Chicken Garden". Stuff they could pick around at? Does anyone have a list of stuff I could grow, or a place were I could buy a mix of seeds (I've searched online, but I just can't seem to find someone who sells a nice large amount.)

 

[Granny Hatchet]

they sure play hay with my tommytoes. i never get one.lol

 

[BarredBuff]

My suggestions are:

Squash
Melons
Sweet corn

Then if I have partially rotten tomatoes they can get them too plus any canning scraps.

 

[FarmalI]

The list is really endless, you could do: wheat, oats, cucumbers, melons, corn, soybeans, squash, tomatoes, (pumpkin, and i dont know how true it is but ive heard that they are a natural dewormer for chickens), sunflowers are very good.

If you have more questions, please ask.

 

[Clay Mudd]

As far as "stuff they could pick around at", green come to mind. Right now, I have a half-dozen mustard plants surviving in the summer garden that the chickens get to graze on a few hours a day. (not to mention the bugs and weeds in there!) They'll eat most greens -- mine go wild over collards and kale in particular. Now and then I plant buckwheat and cowpeas as a cover crop, and they'll graze that without completely destroying it. Your mileage may vary, though -- it depends a lot on what else they have to eat.

Of course, if you want stuff to pick and give them, the sky's the limit.

 

[Granny Hatchet]

you are making me hungry, mustard is one of my favorites. bad chicky ! mine go for the clover and dandelions .

 

[Clay Mudd]

Clover and dandelions are excellent -- and usually free! Chickweed, too. A lot of the weeds that people work themselves to death to get rid of are good chicken pasture.

 

[Granny Hatchet]

they have no problem finding them in my yard. lol