What do you grow to feed the chickens??

[Arielle]

I'm interested in knowing which herbs, greens, and similar plants are good for feeding chickens. Suggestions?

 

[Peaches Lee]

Basically, my chickens eat whatever we grow/cook for ourselves LOL! I did plant some lettuce leaf last year for them. They absolutely love my heirloom squashes, they prefer it cooked though. Tomatoes, they just help themselves to those (cocky little things!). They don't bother my pepper plants other than digging up the roots because the soil is perfect for dusting.

 

[nikki1]

My girls LOVE the insides of canteloupe, along with the rinds. They also like corn on the cob. Last year I wound up sharing the tomatoes with The Girls. They got all the ones they could reach, and I got the ones at the tops of the vines. (I have a fenced garden this year! :0)

--Nikki

 

[Arielle]

Quote: THere is a chinese proverb about 10 years ago being the best time to plant a tree, however the next best time is NOW.

 

[daveyblevins]

i grow head lettice and when it gets ready to cut i hang it up in my chicken house and let them peck at it they really love it and its gone in just a couple of mini hang abut 3 or 4 at a time and it gives them something to do so they want be bored when there in the coop and if you have chickens pecking eachother it will make them stop i think its a really good idea and my chickens love it

 

[Arielle]

I planted some oats but now I have reservations. Tall grasses are not favored by the chickens-- horses but not chickens. THe birds have almost abandoned the back yard to grow tall, where as in the spring they had it nipped into a buzz cut!! ( I put the sheep out there now to kep it down).

My impression is that some grasses are better than others for chickens. Generally low , not tall.

 

[Arielle]

I definitely need a good recipe for collards. It is not a food I grew up with so I don't know how to use it other than like a salad: oil and vinegar.

Your garden still looks good -- the advantage of the cole crops.

ONe of the aspects I learned from a book called THe ROot Celler, is to use the ground to hold crops into the winter. We humans get some fresh food and the chooks get the leftovers.

Next year more winter squash for sure.thee weeds took over and prevented the sun from reaching them. Not enough weed management!! lol

 

[Arielle]

We moved to a sub-tropical climate 4 years ago which has proved to be a challenge for me to grow things in. I've planted a tropical hardy apple tree, nashi, papaya, had a lot of success growing pineapple from heads off pineapples I've bought and a Macadamia nut tree which is native to Queensland & died within a few months.

I've struggled with veggies & my best find has been this website http://www.gardenate.com.au/zones/Australia+-+sub-tropical which tells you what you can grow & when. I now have sunflowers coming up for the chickens, nasturtiums & have planted herbs around their run. Our biggest predators are snakes, some of which are extremely venemous so no chance of free-ranging here! I also gave up trying to get brassicas to germinate & bought seedlings, so now I have broccoli & cabbages that I'll share when they are ready.

I'm trying to grow some plants in the run (butterfly bush and roses) but they are struggling. Every time they grow near the wire they get eaten so they are not getting enough height for me to take the fencing off. I'm thinking that I need something solid around the plants like clear corrugated roofing to get them to grow tall enough that they will survive their lower foliage being eaten off. I've also bought a grapevine, but am undecided whether to plant it inside the run or next to it. Any ideas on protecting plants in the run will be appreciated.

How wonderful to have a web site with the keys to sucessful planting in your area!!

I have found that the chickens will decimate everything within reach. THey really prefer the live food to the pellets. At least mine do. All the runs are essentially bare; I use deep litter in the runs to keep them busy digging and looking for goodies. OTherwise I do free range for them to get to forages. CUtting grassand tossing in chopped grass is a time killer-- but I do it occassionally.

So I would plant outside the run, perhaps plants that vine and hangover and can drop in fruit . . . . perhaps have a mobile covered pen to graze . . . .and just for the recond all my lovely flower bed have been destroyed. THey have eaten everything despite a full feeder.

Perhaps bringing them food from another garden plot would work well for you.

Keep us posted!!

 

[lazy gardener]

Could you put the perforated landscape fabric on the bottom to help keep the soil from washing out?

An other option for the gardener who can't bend over to tend the typical garden might be hay or straw bale gardens. But, I'm not sure how attractive they would be to the fire ants. If you do do the hay bale garden, be sure to place it near a hose. They are thirsty buggers, even when wrapped with poly.

 

[Arielle]

http://www.starkbros.com/products/berry-plants/honeyberry-plants

Chickadoodles-- here are several varieties of honeyberries to compare to. While I have honeyberry plants, they are babies, and no fruit to compare. sorry. I'm hoping these photos will help.