Supplementing greens during winter?

[Jennyhaschicks]

So our ground is covered in snow. Besides their grain what else should I be feeding them this time of year?

 

[redhen]

I supplement greens that i buy at the store..
mostly Kale and collard greens sometimes spinach...
Also in winter time i try to give them a warm meal sometimes... like warm oatmeal or grits with veggies (frozen veggies..like peas, carrots..etc..) mixed in with it.
This year i'm going to try to buy hay pellets/hard blocks and soak them and serve them warm mixed in their feed.

 

[Ema]

I give mine apples, lettuce, oatmeal, carrots, squash, alfalfa pellets soaked in warm water it makes a mush, bananas, scrambled eggs, egg shells, chick peas, cabbage, sardines and well anything else I got laying around that is left over.

my chickens love the cabbage, oatmeal and alfalfa mush the best, the lettuce doesn't last very long at all. and I give them red peppers they go insane, they just love it soo much. I also give them BOSS and Scratch before lights out.

 

[Beekissed]

When there is absolutely no grass showing, I put some alfalfa pellets in with my whole grain mix. Not too much, but enough that they clean it up. They seem to eat it better when they haven't had their usual free range for some time. This seems to keep the yolks good and dark and provides some extra protein.

 

[redhen]

OOh yeah.. forgot about squash...
I have a freezer of grated summer squash and zuchs and winter squash from my garden...I'll heat that up also for them.

 

[rainplace]

If money is an issue, try heading to a local grocery and ask what time they trim their greens and if they are willing to give them to you instead of throwing them away. I can go to our local grocery at 11am and pick up all the greens I could possibly want.

 

[The goose girl]

Hahaha, I've been worried sick about my pet goose not being able to forage. And I've tried feeding him apples, carrots, kale, pears, but he wants nothing to do with it. Chews a little, spits it out and leaves it to rot. The pears worked for a while, but it seems they were only interesting whenever I was having one.

I even bought him organic mixed lettuce. Well, at least he had some fun dispensing the leaves evenly all over the bathroom floor...

So I've given up. He gets grains until the snow is gone. Period.

BTW, I read somewhere that spinach is only good for them in smaller amounts.

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
The geese need roughage, mine wouldn't touch the alfalfa pellets if they can get grass but when everything is covered with snow and they have trimmed the trees as far as they can reach they fight over the pellets!

 

[Denninmi]

It's really easy to sprout cereal grains like wheat, oats, and rye. Just fill a shallow plastic tray with about an inch of moist potting soil, sprinkle a generous handful of grain on top, and water it in. Set it somewhere warm with some light, and it will sprout and be like 3-4 inches tall in about 7-10 days.

I don't yet have geese (planning on the spring), but I've done this for other pets and they love it.

 

[Goose and Fig]

I tried the alfalfa pellets too- won't touch it. Our grass is long gone and won't be back for months. I've always bought turnip greens for all the birds. They are pretty cheap, and are also high in calcium. Sometime walmart will have the big bags of already chopped ones on sale. This time of year you can get the bags of fresh cranberries pretty cheap too.