what kind of greens do you feed your flock for winter.

[littleflocker]

I noticed that my picky birds were not as interested in potential treats if they were at ground level, but if i hang them at eye level they will get pecked away to nothing. Like chemguy said, sometimes it takes some contemplating before the first peck but after that it will disappear.

 

[Aves]

I feed them a scratch that I mix: whole corn, whole oats and horse alfalfa pellet (only ingredient) and throw it out to them 1 -2 times daily in addition to their layer...also any kitchen scraps

Aves

 

[wsmoak]

Quote:
Same here -- only the bag of oats I bought for the horse was moldy, so I threw away that part and tossed half the bag out in the newly tilled summer garden area. It is waist high in places and the chickens and rabbits love it!

ETA: here's a picture of the oats growing (that's a bed of collards in the middle):

111125_5949 by wsmoak, on Flickr

If you have a grow-light setup for seed starting, oats will sprout very well under it.

-Wendy

 

[stoopid]

I try to get the produce guy to give me his garbage bag.
Have you ever seen the amount of goodies they throw away trying to make their veggies look pretty?
Ok, I have to pick thru it, and take out plastic bags, and rubber bands and such.
But try it sometime, it is worth the shame of asking for it.
Or maybe it will cost you a dozen eggs....

 

[georgiagail]

Here in the deep south we can have some sort of garden year round. Beet/turnip/kale/collard greens are plentiful now. This fall/winter we're been building raised beds in our garden and right now I've been growing greens for them.

When I cut my tenants lawns I save the grass clippings for them.

Gail

 

[flowergirl60]

Mine love romaine lettuce, spinach and green leaf lettuce. Also broccoli stems.

 

[rfwombat]

I grow beets for my birds. Mangle beets can get up to 20 lbs and produce tons of greens. I harvest the largest beet greens while they are growing and then throw the beet in for them whole when it's large enough. They peck at it like a flock block and eat it over a few days.

 

[omegorchards]

What winter feed you use depends upon your budget and the ability/willingness to grow your own. By far the easiest, yet most expensive source of "greens" (green is misleading- any vegetable/fruit, not matter the color, will do) is alfalfa pellets sold for rabbit food. Wheat sprouts are less costly than alfalfa pellets but they take more time to prepare and can lead to a real mess if proper sanitation isnt followed. I quit after a few batches of them.

If you have the ability and time to grow your own feed I like to grow winter squashes in my summer garden and store them in my root cellar. These squashes are packed with nutrients, easy to grow, good producers and store very well up to spring. The best ones I have found (click links for my seed company source) are Hubbard , pink banana and butternut squashes. When I feed the squashes I simply crack them open with an axe, and yes you need an AXE to open the Hubbard and pink banana squashes, and place one half for the birds to eat and the other half in the refrigerator to store for up to two weeks. Its best to hand the squash half on a nail above the litter so the flesh isnt fouled (no pun intended) by you birds as they eat. The birds love the seeds, seed silk and flesh. Another hint: if you cant grow your own squashes or you just dont get around to it you can often get great deals on squashes at farmer's markets in the fall when the growers have a ton of squashes ready all at once. Even grocery stores will sometimes have butternut squash on clearance right after Thanksgiving and Christmas. I've seen them for as cheap as $2/squash. You might get some real stares buying 24 squash but you save a ton! Oh one more thing: my 20 chickens and 10 turkeys take about a week to eat a 1/2 of a Hubbard or pink banana squash.

 

[vclark321]

I buy a big bunch of kale or collard greens among other things, but for winter that is what I use.

 

[Illia]

Well there's ALWAYS grass where I live, but, I get them alfalfa, homegrown chard, and homegrown bok choy now and then. In the winter since there is indeed always a green pasture for them though, I focus more on getting them stored or frozen goods like berries and squash from the previous season. Keeps their vitamin intake going if you don't cook the food.