What to plant in the yard for the chickens to eat?

[WoodlandWoman]

Don't forget the chard! It's the number one favorite here. They've even given up on the hostas, in favor of the chard. The rainbow colored are especially pretty in the yard. It does well for me in the early cool weather, right through the hot summers and into the fall. I harvest outside leaves for myself and let the plants keep growing. That's if I can grow some where the chickens won't get to it. They even eat the stems!

Sautéed in a little butter, yummy!

 

[Sissy]

Welcome Dan..
I found if I plant they will eat LOL
mine arent fussy.

sissy

 

[Garden Gal]

We are just getting ready to fence in our chicken yard; it will also be covered to keep birds in, predators out. Aside from the cold frame idea, is it recommended (and possible) to plant a grass/clover "lawn" in the entire yard? I understand it won't remain in good condition, but is this a good idea to keep the mud, etc... under control?

Thanks!

 

[digitS']

I wish that someone would post some idea of the number of square feet of picked CLEAN ground, 1 chicken is capable of.

My chickens have a "sunporch" attached to their coop. It has a board floor. I haven't had a pen in over 15 years but that pen, and the others before it, were picked clean of anything green. These were small pens but they were also small flocks.

There was a moment, about 3 weeks ago, when I thought that my 4 hens were going to "suppress" my couple thousand square foot backyard lawn. Then, the warmer temperatures helped the grass get ahead of them. They aren't out there all day/every day or it could have been a different story.

I'm going to guess that 1 chicken can ELIMINATE about 100 square feet of every tiny bit of green - right down to the dirt - and keep it that way. More than 100 square feet, maybe she would leave a few horrible weeds or something.

Steve

 

[Bird Brain]

Quote:
Darn I was hoping for some help with my clover problem. Not that it's the end of the world, but I have a "love hate" relationship with my lawn weeds (mostly a collection of clover type varieties) some days I don't mind, other days I hate them!

My BBB turkey chicks LOVE clover!

 

[la dee da]

digitS' :

I wish that someone would post some idea of the number of square feet of picked CLEAN ground, 1 chicken is capable of.

My chickens have a "sunporch" attached to their coop. It has a board floor. I haven't had a pen in over 15 years but that pen, and the others before it, were picked clean of anything green. These were small pens but they were also small flocks.

There was a moment, about 3 weeks ago, when I thought that my 4 hens were going to "suppress" my couple thousand square foot backyard lawn. Then, the warmer temperatures helped the grass get ahead of them. They aren't out there all day/every day or it could have been a different story.

I'm going to guess that 1 chicken can ELIMINATE about 100 square feet of every tiny bit of green - right down to the dirt - and keep it that way. More than 100 square feet, maybe she would leave a few horrible weeds or something.

Steve

This is what I've found.

http://www.plamondon.com/faq_freerange.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yarding


Edited to say: I take the information with a grain of salt, partly because it really depends on what plants are there, what breed of chicken, and what climate you're in. It's a good place to start though.​

 

[digitS']

I was a little discourage reading that

. . . Yes, I'm sure that corporate agriculture is trying to catch every dime both by squeezing the chickens and bamboozling the consumers.

Then it occurred to me that they are talking about "manure load" toxicity. Well, you don't really need to have your hens on the lawn 12 hours each day. If they are allowed out 2 to 4 hours, they will get all they want in the way of green food - it seems to me. And, most of the manure will be indoors where it can be removed and composted before applying to the soil.

And, I did some math on those 12 hour/day foragers:

100 hens/acre, 1 acre = 43,560 square foot

1 hen/435.6 square feet.

I'm not going to have them out for 12 hours at a stretch but a lawn of 2,000 square feet looks like it would be "comfortable" with my 4 hens on it if I did. (Wish that I could say the same for the flower beds

. Uh, what flower beds?)

Steve

 

[nightshade]

try planting your greens for them in grass boxes so that they can not kill it just eat the tops. take 2x4s build a box top it with hardware cloth plant inside of it. When it grows through the wire they can eat it but the can not reach the roots or do the scratching to it that is normally what actually kills it. Hope this helps.

 

[Year of the Rooster]

Quote:
Omg! Don't even get me started on the Hastas!