Winter?

[janinepeters]

Sometimes they have to be offered a certain food many times before they realize they like it. Ours love Romaine lettuce and Swiss chard, but will eat almost very other kind of leafy green. They eat a bit of kale and collards, but seem to prefer the more tender greens. Broccoli and cauliflower - they ignore unless cooked.

I usually chop up the greens and scatter them around for the chickens, but have occasionally hung whole leaves for them to jump-hop to, for some exercise. But I found that only the dominant hens get to eat it, if offered like that, so I prefer to scatter chopped greens and all other kinds of treats, because no bully can guard hundreds of little pieces.

 

[janinepeters]

I'll just add that I sometimes chop up a bag of mixed baby green for them. They always prefer the green leaves, leaving most of the reddish ones. But I think it's just a recognition thing - all the other leaves they like to eat while ranging, are green, not red.

 

[mickey328]

Ours are somewhat like that as well...there are quite a few things where they'll gobble the leaves, but not the stems. Not certain it's the color though. I'll put 6 whole chard leaves with stems out there and they'll snarf down the green leaves and the red stems of most, but then just the leaves from a couple. With bindweed, they'll pick every single leaf off it but leave the stem. With clover, they start with the leaf and then munch down the stem too...it's comical to see them running around with a 6 inch stem hanging from their beak...like a kid with a strand of spaghetti!