What do y’all plant before running your meat chickens?

[Iluveggers]

I have plans to try meat chickens in a tractor over a big tilled field. Any suggestions on what to plant there now, so they have good nutrition (besides bugs) once we set the tractor and move it over the field?

Thanks!

 

[Ridgerunner]

What do you plan to use that field for when you don't have meat chickens? Will you want a pretty lawn turf, will it go back to nature, maybe a veggie garden? That would influence my choices.

But in general for chickens, think in terms of what grows well in your climate. I'm partial to native grasses, whatever yours are. Clover is a great forage crop. There are two basic types of clover, red and white, and many different varieties of each. Alfalfa is a great forage crop.
There are several garden crops they would love such as cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, collard greens, mustard greens, chard, and kale, but I don't think those would work well with a tractor. Mabe plant those separately in a garden and feed them the leaves.

My suggestion is to chat with your county extension office. They should know your local growing conditions and what grows well. They should know your native forage grasses. They could probably recommend a specific clover. They may even have a specific mix if they are into poultry.

 

[Iluveggers]

What do you plan to use that field for when you don't have meat chickens? Will you want a pretty lawn turf, will it go back to nature, maybe a veggie garden? That would influence my choices.

But in general for chickens, think in terms of what grows well in your climate. I'm partial to native grasses, whatever yours are. Clover is a great forage crop. There are two basic types of clover, red and white, and many different varieties of each. Alfalfa is a great forage crop.
There are several garden crops they would love such as cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, collard greens, mustard greens, chard, and kale, but I don't think those would work well with a tractor. Mabe plant those separately in a garden and feed them the leaves.

My suggestion is to chat with your county extension office. They should know your local growing conditions and what grows well. They should know your native forage grasses. They could probably recommend a specific clover. They may even have a specific mix if they are into poultry.

Thanks! It is just open field (guessing an acre or so), and won’t be used after the chickens as it is quite far from the house. Might do another batch or two next year if it goes well. I will probably plant some greens in the garden plot by the house, clover & alfalfa were on my mind as possibilities, thanks!

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

I was at TSC the other day and noticed they had something called a "forage mix" or something in the grass section. It was a mix of different pasture grasses, clovers, etc. that supposedly are good for chicken foraging. I didn't buy it but that might be an easy option to just scatter some of that.

This year, I added some white Dutch clover to my back lawn where we run our chicken tractor and where the layers free range. So our yard is just a mix of regular grass, red and white clover, and some weeds. They seem to enjoy it.

 

[samanthaoverton]

Walmart and ebay sell forage plot seed. Theres something called stud seven and it has a mix of plants (including clover). It's to attract deer but the weeds/plants are good for chickens too.

 

[Iluveggers]

Thank you both