Hay for your birds?

[ChirpNEggBaby]

I feed a handful up to a flake of hay per pen a couple times a week....I also have horses. Sometimes they get alfalfa, sometimes pnut, sometimes orchard. They love it, eat it and what they dont just becomes bedding. Give them as much as they want, they know when to stop eating. You dont have to chop it up.

 

[ChirpNEggBaby]

PS I even shake the smaller pieces off a flake over my brooders for the chicks!

 

[flowerchild59]

I had a big round bale of hay dumped into my run last fall, the hens scratched through it all winter long. It was like a chicken gym.......they were up and down on it all the time.
They ate a quite of bit of it and were always scratching around the base looking for goodies. A square bale would serve the same purpose too I suppose. I never lost a hen to impaced crop or anything like that but I do know it is arisk.
I tried the pellets and it was the only thing I ever fed my hens that they would not touch. If you can, try to get just a little bit from a feedstore that can weigh out what you need. Try a little and see if they will eat it. They wouldn't eat it even if I soaked it.

 

[HiddenBrookAcres]

My hens are free range hens and they pick on everything. I also have horses and I have noticed my hens picking at the horse's hay. They all seem fine and the hay is not dusty or moldy otherwise I wouldn't feed it out. They eat a lot of fresh greens as well.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Quote:
Probably not, as is. I mix it 4 parts mash to 1 part "melted" alfalfa pellets. I agree, in that they not eat it otherwise. I'd prefer to just mix dry alfalfa flake, but don't have an affordable source, at this point. Since I prefer to feed the mash moistened a bit anyhow, the moist, broken down pellets serve the purpose well.

 

[Clay Mudd]

Fred's Hens :

Probably not, as is. I mix it 4 parts mash to 1 part "melted" alfalfa pellets. I agree, in that they not eat it otherwise. I'd prefer to just mix dry alfalfa flake, but don't have an affordable source, at this point. Since I prefer to feed the mash moistened a bit anyhow, the moist, broken down pellets serve the purpose well.

I've found that a wet mash is a great way to feed ingredients that they otherwise wouldn't eat. Depending on how the winter goes (well what passes for winter here), I might give the pellets a try.​

 

[kuntrychick]

Fred's Hens :

You can also buy alfalfa in pellet form. $15 for a 50# bag. The pellet size is for horses and too big for chickens, as is.

But, here's the thing. If you put just a handful in a bucket and cover with an inch of water and leave it overnight. In the morning, the pellets have exploded into a huge size!!! They fluff into an enormous amount. You can experiment. See if your chickens will take to eating it as is. Or, you can mix into a pail of their regular mash or crumble. I've been mixing at a 4 parts mash to 1 part alfalfa ratio. It is a way of feeding greens to your birds when the grass is dead or covered with snow. It does wonders for the egg yolk color as well.

Can someone please post a pic of the alfalfa pellets? The only ones I can find on TSC website for my area has alfalfa, corn, & molasses. They're Purina Nicker Makers Horse Treats.

Oh, & the cubes too, please. I have no idea what to look for.​

 

[mammat]

We made the mistake of getting bales of hay a few winters ago to provide added instulation to our coop. We had our favorite austrolorp die of impacted crop from it. They did a necropsy and she was full of it.

 

[Cindy in PA]

Quote:
Can someone please post a pic of the alfalfa pellets? The only ones I can find on TSC website for my area has alfalfa, corn, & molasses. They're Purina Nicker Makers Horse Treats.

Oh, & the cubes too, please. I have no idea what to look for.

My TSC has Standlee brand plain alfalfa pellets & also alfalfa cubes. They also have timothy grass & timothy & alfalfa mix pellets.