planting forage for free rangers . . .

[KatyTheChickenLady]

Alan that is exactly what I wanted to see and hear!!!! How long did you let it get established before you let the birds on it? and what made you choose those greens, just asking to hear your opinion as that is pretty much what I am thinking too.
and how many birds did it take to eat that lush greenery to the ground in a few months? Did you supplement feed?

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Took about a month to a month and a half to get it to the point I'd let the birds on it.

I chose that mix because it all grows well here in the winter. It was a bag of feed store oats, a bag of deer forage seed mix, and a pound each of mustards and turnip seed. Of the deer forage mix only the soft wheat really amounted to much. I'm on the Florida sand ridge and it was a somewhat dry winter so ground with better moisture retention than mine and more rain would have kept it going for longer than mine lasted.

There were forty birds between those two tractors as I recall. I hung free-choice tube feeders of Flock Raiser and grain in each tractor and they had access to the forage outside pretty much all day. They'd eat a lot of grain, a little Flock Raiser, and a lot of that young tender stuff. This is typical as green feed like that typically has a fair amount of protein, lots of vitamins and minerals, but not a lot of extractable carbohydrates.

It was mostly their scratching that gradually eliminated the growth. Meat birds would probably be easier in that regard than my layers as they aren't so vigorous that way.

.....Alan.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

lol you should see the hole my 18 month CX's dig for a dust bath! they look like hippos at the wallor.
Thanks so much for you info. My sandy loam top soil just got delivered, more sandy than I wanted, but then this is Idaho, they don't grow potatoes here for no reason at all

I want to plant hard wheat (as opposed to soft) in the off chance that any might grow to seed, and I can get it for 5.00 a 50# bag. and I am really wondering what they will do to young growing sunflower plants, going to give them a try too. Boy do my kids have their work cut out for them this weekend!

 

[WoodlandWoman]

You could think about doing some rotational grazing, too. That would give one area a chance to recover or get going, while they're in a different area.

 

[Illia]

Okay this has been an ongoing obsession of mine, - What to plant for forage in the pasture. I have 3 acres, and planted a lot of grass seed on it, some is popping up already and the rest either didn't make it or will pop up later. But I also threw out some Quinoa, Wheat, Sunflower, Flax, and Millet.

So, do you guys actually put beets, turnip, and mustard in the pasture and it does well? I'd think it would do better in the garden but it DOES sound like a great idea!!

Also, someone mentioned Comfrey. Now, isn't too much comfrey not good for other livestock? Because it grows REALLY well out here and I need to start separating my comfrey in the garden and planting it elsewhere, it does so well. . . So would it be fine if I just put out a couple?

Anyone else have other ideas for plants?

 

[A.T. Hagan]

For permanent pasture forage I don't think you can do any better than whatever grass and legume mix works best for your area. Here in Florida I'd look at Bahia or Bermuda and if I had enough soil moisture some white clover. If I could go all out I'd add perennial peanut to that mix. Keep it mowed regular so there is always new, tender growth. Irrigate if necessary.

In other areas I'd look to my local extension office for advise. Whatever grass/legume mix is good for cattle and sheep grazing should be good for poultry as well.

.....Alan.

 

[digitS']

Comfrey, comfrey, comfrey . . . For the last 40 years I keep seeing the word associated with livestock forage. And, even 30 and 40 years ago, I never saw one farmer harvest an acre for feed.

Here's what Cornell says about comfrey: ". . . comfrey . . . contains at least eight pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA). . . PAs are hepatoxins and can cause irreversible liver damage. One of the problems is that the effects of the alkaloids can be cumulative. Therefore, damage to the liver may not be associated to the alkaloids in comfrey. Sometimes toxicity signs will not be present until an animal is stressed by something that requires greater liver function (e.g., lactation). Also, the leaves and roots of comfrey have been shown to be carcinogenic." Plants Poisonous to Livestock - Cornell University, Department of Animal Science

Here is a little more information about pyrrolizidine alkaloids. They put comfrey into the group including tansy. " . . . most toxic for pigs, then poultry, cattle, horses, goats and sheep, with sheep being the least susceptible. These alkaloids cause photosensitization, liver and kidney damage and can also cause cancer and heart failure." Oregon State Unversity

So, what might we be losing by NOT feeding or eating comfrey? Looks like very little: "comfrey has lower amounts of eight amino acids that are essential for humans than turnip greens or spinach, but more than cabbage. Comfrey, like most green vegetables, is deficient in methionine and is also low in phenylalanine. Three ounces of dried turnip greens or spinach, in comparison to 20 oz of dried comfrey, supply adults with the total daily requirement of all essential amino acids, except for methionine." Thirty year-old information from the University of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin, and Purdue University.

Steve

 

[Illia]

digitS' :

Comfrey, comfrey, comfrey . . . For the last 40 years I keep seeing the word associated with livestock forage. And, even 30 and 40 years ago, I never saw one farmer harvest an acre for feed.

Here's what Cornell says about comfrey: ". . . comfrey . . . contains at least eight pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA). . . PAs are hepatoxins and can cause irreversible liver damage. One of the problems is that the effects of the alkaloids can be cumulative. Therefore, damage to the liver may not be associated to the alkaloids in comfrey. Sometimes toxicity signs will not be present until an animal is stressed by something that requires greater liver function (e.g., lactation). Also, the leaves and roots of comfrey have been shown to be carcinogenic." Plants Poisonous to Livestock - Cornell University, Department of Animal Science

Here is a little more information about pyrrolizidine alkaloids. They put comfrey into the group including tansy. " . . . most toxic for pigs, then poultry, cattle, horses, goats and sheep, with sheep being the least susceptible. These alkaloids cause photosensitization, liver and kidney damage and can also cause cancer and heart failure." Oregon State Unversity

So, what might we be losing by NOT feeding or eating comfrey? Looks like very little: "comfrey has lower amounts of eight amino acids that are essential for humans than turnip greens or spinach, but more than cabbage. Comfrey, like most green vegetables, is deficient in methionine and is also low in phenylalanine. Three ounces of dried turnip greens or spinach, in comparison to 20 oz of dried comfrey, supply adults with the total daily requirement of all essential amino acids, except for methionine." Thirty year-old information from the University of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin, and Purdue University.

Steve

Yeah a couple people have told me not to use it, as consuming too much causes a LOT of problems.

Makes me think of the list of Toxic plants for poultry. . .

 

[digitS']

A.T. Hagan :

For permanent pasture forage I don't think you can do any better than whatever grass and legume mix works best for your area. Here in Florida I'd look at Bahia or Bermuda and if I had enough soil moisture some white clover. If I could go all out I'd add perennial peanut to that mix. Keep it mowed regular so there is always new, tender growth. Irrigate if necessary.

In other areas I'd look to my local extension office for advise. Whatever grass/legume mix is good for cattle and sheep grazing should be good for poultry as well.

.....Alan.

I'm going to agree with Alan about permanent pasture choices.

Here are some ideas from the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service. Scroll about half the way down to the "Pasture" section.

Realize that the poultry scientists often limit what they say can be expected from pasturing to about 10% reduction in feed. They are usually looking at very young birds, used for meat. This organization certainly doesn't discount what Joel Salatin says and they quote him in their publications on his argument that feed reduction can be as much as 30%.

Steve​

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I don't feed comfrey. I learned to leave that discussion alone on this forum a couple of years ago. Basically, if I wanted that much drama, I would have started a thread on abortion, politics or war.

At this point, I will say that I view comfrey more as a medicinal herb with potentially toxic side effects, than as a forage. As a forage, you are not losing anything that you can't get with other forages. There are differences between strains/varieties and their levels of toxins, which only muddies the waters, when personal experiences are shared. The actual content of a strain/variety, the amount consumed, how much is consumed and the species consuming it are huge variables. Over the years, I just always tell people that are interested in comfrey to read up on it, so they are informed of the risks.

My chickens forage in an area that was sheep pasture, with grasses and legumes growing there. They have other areas they forage, where I have planted bulkier leafy foods. Plus there is woodland area, that has a lot of leaf litter. Plus they hang out in my yard by the house, with all the things planted there. Mostly they behave, sometimes, not so much.

I would be tempted to give them a small area planted with some of the non-pasture plants. I think chickens do pretty well with straight pasture, mine used to be in with our sheep. I also think you could do more if you were interested in giving them more variety. The forage you provide can be strictly about nutrition or it can also be about the richness of their environment. It just depends on what you want to do. I know one of the people here even had chickens that would eat the beets in the ground, later in the year. After they ate the tops off, they ate the beet and would scratch around to get at it. I thought that was interesting.

I know a lot of people are interested in these thread topics and have different goals and different sized areas they want to plant. I think it also makes a difference if people just want to pasture meat birds or if they're wanting to do something extra for their pet hens.