Good morning. I am not yet a chicken mama, looking forward to being this spring though. We live on 7 acres, surrounded by farm field that rotates soybeans and corn. The coop will be behind our barn right at the edge of the field. I am planning on free ranging our girls - is this going to be an issue with the soybeans? Its not our field, so I am worried #1 that they will ruin the plants and #2 that the beans won't be good for them. Any help or info would be greatly appreciated. I look forward to all of your expert opinions.
Greetings from Kansas and . Great to have you with us. Here's an old link where chickens eating soybeans is discussed: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/98543/can-chickens-eat-soybeans Intuitively, it would seem that soybeans shouldn't be a problem - wild game birds like pheasant and quail do okay on them. The thread says yes to soybeans but that should be cooked first? I'll defer to others rather than give you incorrect advice. You might also post here https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/housing-and-feeding-your-chickens In terms of them hurting the plants, I know the beans themselves are encased in a fuzzy, tough pod that I don't think chickens would undertake. A lot of work for the reward. After harvest there are always loose beans that scatter. But I think they could trample the plants foraging after the grasshoppers that seem to infest soybean fields! Good luck to you and thanks for joining BYC!
Thinking you may want to keep them in a run until the fields take off and are older. Not sure how many chickens you have, but they could still be after those plants every day. :/ Go to the housing/feeding link given. There will be some there that know how they could be around the plant. I'm sure they can eat it, it's just how much they will mow down!
Hi and welcome to BYC! You've already got some great advice, so I just wanted to say thanks for joining us!
Welcome to Backyard chickens!! I hope you enjoy it and the camaraderie here and everybody that goes nuts over chickens (me being one of them....) Have fun! And ask questions!
I don't know about soybeans but Raccoons and such LOVE corn. I would imagine they would be ransacking your neighbors crops once they are mature. Raccoons love chicken as well, and that will spill over to your birds. It might be best to have your flock in a large run covered run rather than free range.
Welcome to BYC! It's great to have you. Chickens will kill practically any plant they can get their hands (er, well, wings) on.
