winter greens for free rangers?

[ebonykawai]

For those of you who free range your birds a few hours a day, do you give additional greens or anything special in the winter (not talking scratch here, but specificaly things to substitute for all the greens they get in the warmer months)? Produce gets to be expensive, so I wasn't thinking about giving anything on a daily basis, but I was curious what others do. Thanks in advance!

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Things like kale, parsley and winter rye, grow into the colder weather. You can also sprout seeds in winter, for green feed. Chickens also usually like alfalfa leaves, from hay.

I started a worm bin again this year, to make up for the loss of bugs in the winter. I'm not into raising mealworms, but some people are. Last year, Santa brought a big tub of dried mealworms for the girls.

Of course, chickens all have their own likes and dislikes. Some like these foods and some are picky. YMMV.

 

[AussieSharon]

Frozen peas. You can get a BIG bag at places like Walmart. The generic brand is cheapest and provides green nutrition for the chickens.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Down here in the south there is still a lot of vegetation for them to check out in the winter but I have bought cans from the local discount grocery store of green beans and peas and dumped it out for them on days when it was too hot or too cold to be outside much. If they are hanging out in the coops I figure they must be missing some meals and I am a sucker for a cute face.

Frozen peas were a big hit this summer. I plan on buying some cans of corn for the winter. They sell dented cans for $0.25 at the discount store so it can be affordable for the chickens and some other critters we have here.
Spinach and turnip greens in the cans weren't as big a hit but if they want some greens they'll eat it.

 

[Kung Foo Chicken]

Quote:
I'm in Upstate SC so yes, there is a good bit of greens here during the winters. We've had them kinda mild the last few years. My Elephant Ear type plants even kept growing over the winter in the yard. Yeah, they don't really care much for turnip greens do they. I do give them some japanese honeysuckle leaves during the winter as they keep leaves.

 

[ml]

Right now planting in my pasture, turnips, Rape , and rutagabas for them to nibble on plus Kale. You can find bulk seeds on line that sale forage crops for deer. Also some seed companys sale by the lb. I found turnip and rape seeds the cheepest in price. It is a great plus for your birds and feed bill.

ML