No taste for greens

[Hyper_Chicken05]

Hi everyone, My chickens somehow just hate veggies. Brocoli, Spinnach, Silverbeat, Carrots, Cabbage, And any other veggies ( Greens in particular ), They won’t eat. They get plenty of grass and bugs to eat, We feed them lots of fruit, Meat, Infact I make them fruit smoothies ( Out of scrap fruit). I’ve tried blending them, Boiling, Mashing them. Their not interested.

Is the normal?, does anyone else have chooks like this? And finally, Why do they not like them?, Thanks for your help.

 

[The Phantom]

Mine all love greens

 

[Hyper_Chicken05]

Mine all love greens

Lol, That’s what I wish I could say.

 

[JaeG]

Are the greens home grown? Mine love home grown greens but will ignore store bought. Nothing like having fussy hens!!!

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Mine love fresh, preferably still growing in the garden or just picked. They will eat my leftover salad but I don't use salad dressings so the greens are still fresh and not wilted or nasty. Now the Ameraucanas love mostly anything, because the place they were at before never gave them any attention, so they seem so grateful, they love to even see me walking towards them and will gladly try anything I bring them. My Barred Rocks, I spoiled from youth, so they are more picky, don't even seem to care for fresh tomatoes, but will eat fresh picked greens.

My dad tried to give all of them green beans out of a can once and they didn't go for it, to which I said, see that, I keep telling you veggies out of a can are not good, even the chickens know it, there's your proof. LOL

All of mine absolutely love Chickweed. I watched them as they foraged and noticed a particular weed they liked, yes they nibble at clover but they LOVE Chickweed. (my entire 2 acres is mostly weeds but hey, it's green and no darn chemicals, doesn't bother me) So, I noticed the Chickweek is all through my yard but especially next to things like fence posts, barn steps, etc. So I dug some up, planted it in window box type pots, but it did really well when I added these little mini trellis things I found at the dollar store. So it doesn't really climb them, but it grows thicker and fuller with longer stems and leaves, acts like it wants to climb, if that makes sense. It's a plant that prefers cooler weather, we get a lot growing in Spring then it dies out in Summer heat, so planting it in a room that stays cooler works well.

I also took some of my Pigeon feed, just sprinkled it on the ground and grew plants from the various grains, and all birds like to nibble on the baby leaves of the young plants, Pigeons, Cockatiels, Parakeets and the Chickens. Greens are a good treat, they have nutrients, better than just cracked corn I would think.

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

Greetings Hyper_Chicken05,

It's not unusual that some chickens don't like vegies of any kind.

My chickens love them, fruit too. However, they learned how to eat greens as youngsters. I used to take them down to the vegetable garden to play while I worked. They were very curious, and just started to peck at the leaves on their own. They grew to love those greens and some of the herbs too. But, hard vegetables like carrots, celery, and bell peppers, are not something that appeals to chickens.

I cook hard vegies and mix them with cooked grains: brown rice, wheat berries, oat groats and barley, then I add a scrabbled egg and a bit of garlic powder, and voila! A delectable vegie confetti creation!

And I also reduce waste by cutting the greens into smaller sizes and then stuff them into large suet baskets. I toss in some sliced up fruit, tomato, or little wedges of buttered toast. The chickens enjoy running from basket to basket foraging for their favorite goodies, then they'll eat the remaining greens. This is great, when they have to stay in their pen.

Sometimes you just have to try different things to get them interested. But, do they have to eat vegies? NO. If your girls prefer grass that's fine, just have be careful that long grasses don't get stuck in their crops. I also, have a little pen in the run which I toss some alfalfa hay into. My hens also enjoy eating the little alfalfa leaves and scratching around the hay, too. They are allowed to forage everyday, but they have eaten most of the edible vegitation, so it's good to have other options for them.

Fresh greens and vegetables are good for their health, they add more vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and cancer fighting phytonutrients. If your chickens eat greens and other vegetables they'll also make some nice dark orange yolks.

Pumpkins are also good for chickens, unfortunately, mine don't really care for them. Unless I bake them and sprinkle a bit of cinnamon on them...I know, spoiled rotten chickens!

So that's my condensed rant on greens and vegies for chickens.

God Bless

 

[The Phantom]

Lol, That’s what I wish I could say.

Lol

 

[RWise]

I would say they are getting what in their opinion is better greens from the yard and would not worry about it..

 

[rosemarythyme]

Every flock seems to develop their own preference to what they will and won't eat. Mine like sweet things like strawberries, peaches, melons. But they also eat squash seeds and greens like kale, parsley, carrot tops, pea leaves. A huge favorite is the base off a head of cauliflower, leaves and stem, which they pick over for days until there's nothing left.

 

[alexa009]

Some do, some don't. Mine don't go wild over vegetables but very wild over fruit.