Growing greens for your flock

[sophiegnr]

Hello!! What do you grow for your hens regarding greens? Usually we sprout lentils in the winter and summer grow kale, chard, lettuces, and mustard greens and give the ladies some to munch on but I recently read that some of these greens may interfere with calcium absorption so was wanting to see if there was something else people chose to grow instead!
Our ladies don’t free range much bc we live in a small yard! Thanks!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Ours free range in the warmer months and in winter we provide a good grass hay mix for em to pick through. They also get any pulled up garden produce that we aren't going to eat.

Any greens are fine as long as they have access to a good ration and oyster shells.

 

[Perris]

Recently I watched a video of a chicken farmer who at different times used physalis (the whole plant above ground, including immature fruits) and banana stem (not leaves) minced up as the greenstuff for a home made feed. Prompted by that, you could try finely chopping what greens you have to hand and seeing if your birds show any interest. I am thinking of things like the outside leaves of a cabbage, broccoli or cauliflower, for example. Historically root vegetable peelings were a staple for home made chicken feeds.

 

[Altairsky]

I free range my birds. I farm 3 different vegetable gardens:
- the spring crops (onions, potatoes, garlic, peas, salad, etc.)
- the summer crops (tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, beans, etc)
- the winter crops (chicory, cabbage, broccoli, brussels, etc.)
My flock is allowed to demolish each vegetable garden when it gets to the end of season. They clean everything, and get rid of pests.
Everything you can eat, they can also eat, and if it's something that might be toxic like onion, raw potatoes and garlic, they will simply leave it alone, as long as it's not finely mixed with other edible stuff.