How many greens do chickens need

[LittleRedFace]

California is weird. In winter, there are greens everywhere, but in summer, plants are just withered. I have to buy greens for my chickens. If I just let them eat whenever they want, it would cost me about $30 per week. It is too much for me. I only can afford $6 per week for greens. $5 per week for fruits. But I worry if they don’t eat enough greens, they will get sick.

 

[Pork Pie]

Just feeding them proprietary feed is sufficient for a healthy bird. Any treats, i.e. greens / fruits should constitute no more than 10% of total daily food intake.

Not sure on your set up, but if you can let your flock range in the garden for a couple of hours each day, they will eat vegetation, bugs etc.

If you feel the need to add to their diet, why not use carrot peelings, outer leaves of cabbages etc, from your cooking?

 

[lazy gardener]

What PPK said. I'd never in a million years consider buying food at the grocer for my birds. However, they get plenty of weeds, the frequent overgrown zucchini. When weather is not hospitable for growing veggies and greens in the yard, consider sprouting grains and seeds. Much cheaper and more nutritious than the stuff you'd buy at the grocer. I sprout between October and May. For you, you may need to change that up and do it in the summer.

 

[rosemarythyme]

They don't NEED greens but they do appreciate them. I agree with the others though, no need to buy greens specifically for them (I make an exception at my farmer's market sometimes as they'll sell organic, blemished fruit and veggies at a low price, and I can get a big bag for a few dollars). Mine love things like carrot tops, radish leaves, leftover bits of parsley.

 

[Chickassan]

They do indeed appreciate them. The flock here range the yard from 7to7 with free choice crumbles all day and when the vegetation is nice and new their droppings look more like little cow piles than chicken. In the fall I stock up on those squash and pumpkins they push so hard they practically give them away after season.

 

[lazy gardener]

2 YEARS AGO, IN NOVEMBER, I FOUND A WHOLE PALLET OF SQUASH SITTING OUTSIDE MY LOCAL HANNAFORD STORE. IT WAS MIXED VARIETIES, SOME WERE BLUE HUBBARD, MUST HAVE WEIGHED 15#. THEY WERE SELLING THEM FOR 99 CENTS EACH. I BOUGHT 14 OF THEM. HUBBY THOUGHT I WAS INSANE. NOPE... JUST BEING ME. I FROZE A LOT, GOT TO TRY A LOT OF VARIETIES I'D NEVER HAD, SAVED SOME SEED, CHICKENS GOT SOME, I GAVE SOME AWAY.

 

[LittleRedFace]

Just feeding them proprietary feed is sufficient for a healthy bird. Any treats, i.e. greens / fruits should constitute no more than 10% of total daily food intake.

Not sure on your set up, but if you can let your flock range in the garden for a couple of hours each day, they will eat vegetation, bugs etc.

If you feel the need to add to their diet, why not use carrot peelings, outer leaves of cabbages etc, from your cooking?

Hi, Pork, thank you for your advice. I will try to feed them carrot peelings. Hopefully, they will love. I have a very small back yard, my chickens just roam around there. they have eaten up all greens

 

[LittleRedFace]

What PPK said. I'd never in a million years consider buying food at the grocer for my birds. However, they get plenty of weeds, the frequent overgrown zucchini. When weather is not hospitable for growing veggies and greens in the yard, consider sprouting grains and seeds. Much cheaper and more nutritious than the stuff you'd buy at the grocer. I sprout between October and May. For you, you may need to change that up and do it in the summer.

Oh, lazy gardener, you must have green thumb. But I only have black thumb. plus, everything is dead in summer. In winder, I pick wild weeds for my chickens.

 

[LittleRedFace]

They don't NEED greens but they do appreciate them. I agree with the others though, no need to buy greens specifically for them (I make an exception at my farmer's market sometimes as they'll sell organic, blemished fruit and veggies at a low price, and I can get a big bag for a few dollars). Mine love things like carrot tops, radish leaves, leftover bits of parsley.

So, it's okay to feed them less green. Thank you so much.

 

[Chickassan]

Nice! My hubs thinks I'm bonkers too with the whole seasonal discount veggies. I don't think I've actually bought a garden plant in years, just scoop out seeds and have at it. We've been able to eat alot of interesting stuff that way.

2 YEARS AGO, IN NOVEMBER, I FOUND A WHOLE PALLET OF SQUASH SITTING OUTSIDE MY LOCAL HANNAFORD STORE. IT WAS MIXED VARIETIES, SOME WERE BLUE HUBBARD, MUST HAVE WEIGHED 15#. THEY WERE SELLING THEM FOR 99 CENTS EACH. I BOUGHT 14 OF THEM. HUBBY THOUGHT I WAS INSANE. NOPE... JUST BEING ME. I FROZE A LOT, GOT TO TRY A LOT OF VARIETIES I'D NEVER HAD, SAVED SOME SEED, CHICKENS GOT SOME, I GAVE SOME AWAY.