My run is all dirt now

[gwennym]

I like to keep a small bucket and garden pruners in the car and will stop along side the road (I live in the country between farms) and cut long bunches of flowering clover for the chickens. I do a lot of what everyone else mentioned as well --- saving kitchen scraps, adding newly mowed grass, etc. I also get the end 1/3 of romaine lettuce from a small deli in the building where I work --- they save them for me after they cut romaine for their premade salads.


Gwen

 

[flopshot]

mine are tearing into the onion shoots from the garden like candy. they also get the spent broccolli leaves and played out spinach and romain lettuce.

 

[calicokat]

Before I knew anything about chickens I was worried because we put up the run, but didn't mow there first. The grass was 18 inches tall and I felt bad for the girls living in such an overrun mess. Silly me! They ate it all, now I too have dirt and give them grass clippings & clover.

Wish there was a way to harness their power and train them to mow the lawn, LOL!

 

[cybercat]

Just make sure any grass or any plants have not been treated with anything for it will make them sick. That includes fertilizer as well as sprays or fungial treatments.

 

[Punk-Rock_Chicken]

Quote:
I agree with Mahlzeit...It's most likely the bugs they are missing the most. I live in a small country town and the little mom-n-pop convenient store also happens to sell fishing bait. Every other day I will stop and pick up like 400-500 crickets or meal worms. You wanna talk about CHAOS!! They LOVE 'em!! They know the sight of my little blue bait bucket and will start running and getting so excited that some will jump/fly up onto my arms. I also will pour them into the run with grass clippings, they seem to enjoy the hunt and it gives the crickets a sporting chance. LOL

 

[RioLindoAz]

I just thought of this... And I think it would be a good idea.

You can get a planter and fill it 3/4 with soil. Move the planter into the run and put in some grass seed. Then, set some hardware on the rim of the planter so that the chickens cannot kill the young grass. Once the grass is tall enough, it will go throught the hardware cloth, and the chickens can eat the grass, without being able to dig it out and/or kill it, so they can always have a fresh supply of grass...?


I think I'm going to try that myself.

 

[hungryhensfarm]

That just might work.

Please let us know if it does.

 

[Eric in NC]

A 2x4 frame covered with hardware cloth will do the same thing if you just set it on the ground.

 

[flopshot]

Quote:
anual rye grass grows fast if it's not too hot out and you keep it watered well. it's cheap too.

 

[mcnamarm]

I have one of those "bottomless boxes" full of dirt and covered with chicken wire. I planted crimson clover, and my girls keep it mowed down. I've planted a supplementary box outside their run that I plan to clip and toss in to them. Might as well harvest some of this solar energy!