TOP FIVE, growing extra food for your flock

[Badchickenpun]

This is not a thread to talk about replacing store bought feed with home grown...
This is about supplementing the feed.
Give me your top five plants that you would or do grow to give to your flock to supplement their feed.
Either as treats, to boost health or to mix in with your regular feed.
TOP FIVE... GO!

 

[igorsMistress]

Oregano, garlic, melons, cucumbers and grass.

Oregano and garlic for immune boosters, melons and cukes for summer treats that also provide hydration, and grass as a boredom buster and greens. Living in the desert, we don’t have a lot of grass so I grow it in a kiddie pool.

 

[Iluveggers]

1. Winter squash
2. kale/collards
3. sunflowers
4. marigolds
5. herbs

I live where I can’t grow anything in winter, and the squash & dried sunflower heads store well and can be pulled out during a snowy time, kale/collards because they don’t die when it snows and I can pick some during a thaw for quick greens, marigolds because the girls love them, I can feed them dried heads in winter, and the yolks turn a nice gold, and herbs because they don’t take up much room and can be dried and used in winter.

Your growing season might not be as harsh as mine, but this works well for year-round treats in NY!

 

[triciayoung]

Fodder, cucumbers, corn, herbs, blueberries

 

[AnnPann]

1 - watermelon & cantaloupe for summer hydration (rinds/guts only after we've eaten the rest)
2 - blackberries - a favorite, and i always have uglies/extra to share
3 - blueberries - another favorite
4 - kale - cheap and easy to grow, especially during times when there's not much green to eat.
5 - marigolds - chickens wont eat the plants, but the flowers attract Japanese Beetles, and they LOVE those.

none of mine will touch cucumbers or squash for whatever reason - plants or fruit.

 

[saysfaa]

Clover, radishes, chard, broccoli, peas

 

[SourRoses]

1. Alfalfa (protein, calcium, magnesium)
2. Katuk (protein) (still trying get some)
3. Beauty Berry (they love it, it grows here)
4. Paper Mulberry (they love it, it grows here)
5. Mature trees (encourage bugs, plus all the other benefits)

6. All the other plants are mine!!!

P.S. Plants that grow well in your environment / soil are far more beneficial than ones that don't thrive, no matter what they look like on paper.

 

[ManueB]

Most of what I grow and give to my chickens, is grown for us.
1. Chards or beet tops. They love it and so do we. High in oxalic acid though.
2. Cucumber., Melon and watermelons. Great in summer and to rehydrate sick birds, but the season isn't long.
3. Grapes. They love it and they are very easily frozen and given all year round.
4. Sunflower seeds for the reasons already mentioned.
5. Kale..because when there's nothing green left there is kale.

 

[Sally PB]

2. Weeds from the garden
3. Melon (seeds/guts)
4. Butternut squash or other squash (seeds/guts)
5. Marigolds
1. Japanese Beetles
Not a plant, but I hunt them down and the chickens LOVE them. I am on a mission to eradicate JBs as adults and grubs from my property. Since they're here, I suppose I can claim I grew them...? because I haven't gotten rid of them all. Yet.

 

[Sally PB]

@U_Stormcrow, care to weigh in? How are your acres of weeds doing?