Chicken food

[ronron]

I want to put in four long rows of plants and veggies specifically for chicken feed, I want to have some to store for winter feeding and some for immediate food I have a small flock 10 chickens...I also bring left over food home from work.....Also Is there a bread product ie. cornbread that could be made to feed chickens cheaply. The only thing you can't feed them that I know of potatoes. What would you grow thats fast producing for immediate use?

[Kmac15]

first off, I feed mine potatoes all the time just not a lot of it. I like to grow extra pumpkins and squash for my chickens. for fast growing food I would plant a row of radishes. I see an amazing darkening of the yolks after they eat a pumpkin.

[ldc]

It's the potato skins that are a problem. How about sorghum and sunflowers? ldc

[lilray]

mangle beets. I grow succelents for our chickens. They go crazy.

[Callieslamb]

Mine are hard to keep OUT of the garden. They will eat anything out there. But, I specifically grow sunflowers for them. They continue to lay really well in the winter when I feed them sunflower seeds.

[beaglebiz]

I didnt know you weren't supposed to give them potato skins. I give mine raw peelings all the time

[anniew]

I think you could grow most of the grains that are in scratch feed. Rather than de-graining/hulling them, just cut off the heads and let them do the work. Like others, I think sunflowers are good, soy beans, corn, summer squashes, winter squashes and pumpkins which will last a long time into winter. Grain heads could be cut off and dried and kept in a 55 gallon barrel or two and not spoil, along with the dried sunflower heads.

[big rockpile]

There is not much Chickens can't eat just like Hogs.This is the reason they are so cheap to maintain.

big rockpile

[Joshie]

Chickens here are not cheap to keep. You really don't want to only feed them things from your garden. They need plenty of protein. They also need calcium.

We do plan to grow extra in our garden for the chickens. We've given our chickens potato skins. Many chickens won't eat the skins but it's not dangerous for them. I wouldn't want to give them green skins. The green is poisonous for humans even. If you ate enough it'd hurt you.

You might want to ask questions on the poultry board.

[Bonnie L]

I've successfully grown millet for my chickens. They love it.

[deb]

Kale is very hardy and high in vitamins. Chickens love it and it gives them nice dark yokes.

[ChristieAcres]

I also feed mine Comfrey leaves. If you get a plant, it usually has plenty of leaves within a few months. The 2nd year, Comfrey gets a lot bushier and produces leaves prolifically. My chickens will eat the leaves fresh; I've read they prefer them wilted.

[whodunit]

Our chickens eat alot of grass. We don't sue any fertilizer or pesticides on it and let them free range.

[huisjen]

Mine should arrive tomorrow.

Once out of the brooder, I'm going to supplement their diet with maggot filled dead crabs.

Dan

[SuburbanHermett]

Originally Posted by huisjen

Mine should arrive tomorrow.

Once out of the brooder, I'm going to supplement their diet with maggot filled dead crabs.

Dan

ROFL!! You made me think of something I haven't had to think/see in over 20 years. LOL Great idea!

I was always told that chickens would eat anything that didn't eat them first.

I also didn't/don't know about potato skins being bad for them.

[ldc]

It's the "solanacae" nightshade chemical; when the skins are green, due to their low body weight, spud skins are sposed to be poisonous to chickens. Heard this in ag school. ldc

[big rockpile]

Originally Posted by ldc

It's the "solanacae" nightshade chemical; when the skins are green, due to their low body weight, spud skins are sposed to be poisonous to chickens. Heard this in ag school. ldc

I have doughts in this considering Poultry can cosume many poisons with no ill effects.

This is why you don't want to trust if they eat it,its safe for you.

big rockpile

[AnnieinBC]

We grow lots of veggies, both for our pigs and our chickens. They love kale, mangels, sugar beets, squash, all types of greens, etc....

I'm also guilty of feeding the chickens nice hot porridge on very cold winter mornings!

[lmrose]

Our hens love chard, spinich, squash, cooked potatoes, cabbage, mangels and turnips. We have a small flock of 15 hens and one rooster. They eat a turnip a day all winter. We cut it in half and they clean it out. We also have grown wheat for them . When we milk the goats the hens have a pan of milk every day. They also love clabbered milk. They have a box of crushed oyster shells available all the time to benefit their crop. Before the garden is in they are free ranged. Later they run in the pasture. If they won't stay in the pasture lastly they are confined to the hen yard until the garden is harvested. We would free range all the time but chickens do an excellent job of rearranging what is planted.We buy a bag of laying pellets but not very often.