Garden Legumes for Laying Hens

[digitS']

Several years ago when I had a young laying flock and this huge garden, I became interested in what I really could grow for the hens in the garden.

I know the usual things they like, summer squash, lettuce, tomatoes, etc. These are all low protein foods whereas eggs are very high protein. Their diet needed to sustain the hens while they were producing up to an egg each day for very near an entire year! I'd have to go to a very high-protein feed if they were eating very many summer squash, etc.

What to do? I already had a little grain in the garden. Wheat, no problem but "unbalanced" 15% protein. How about a legume to add?

I read about heat processing of feeds. Seemed fairly quick and easy if I used an old rice cooker we had.

This is dry peas and lentil country. The little wheat, lentils and peas I cooked for them, the hens loved! Are there other, maybe better suited to the garden legumes?

I'm asking our knowledgeable pulse gardeners especially. @Pulsegleaner , @marshallsmyth , @Bluejay77 , others - I know you don't have chickens. A big kidney bean is too large if it isn't cooked for hours. Twenty minutes in a rice cooker and lentils are fine. Tiny plants - kind of a bother for a gardener. Even the vining peas - not real productive and, please, no trellising!

Steve

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Hmm tricky. Your really far north, so horse gram won't work. Neither will moth bean I think (mine didn't and I'm two or three zones further south than you). Or Lablabs (deer love it so maybe chickens would) As I said in the PM, I'm happy to send you some leftovers from my rice bean hunts once the season when the "good" ones (the ones that have a chance of growing) comes back, but since you are so far north even they might not work for you. I'm kicking myself for throwing out that bag of lentils on the mulch pile yesterday (even if they hadn't been able to grow for you, it would have given you 4-5lbs of seed to feed to your chickens directly if you chose). Vetch WILL probably grow but your chickens would get sick if they ate a lot of vetch. Andean Lupine (Lupinus mutablis) might grow, but since they need leaching before being edible for people, I tend to think they'd have the same issue for chickens as the vetch does. As I said in the PM my best recommendation is probably Siberian Pea Shrub (Caragana arborescens)

 

[Ridgerunner]

Beans contain a lectin (hemaglutinin or something like that) that can be toxic in high amounts, to people as well as chickens. Different beans contain different amounts of this lectin, red kidney beans being the most concentrated. This lectin is broken down and made harmless by boiling. I've seen different recommendations for minimum times they need to boil, everywhere form 10 minutes to 30 minutes so pick whichever one you believe. The shorter time may be in a pressure cooker, I don't know. But cooking them in a slow cooker below boiling does not break down that poison. I'd be real nervous about using a rice cooker for that.

I don't know about nutritional content, just about having to boil them well to make them safe. And it has to be boiling. Dry heat does not work for some reason.

 

[digitS']

I'm going to continue in an informal way. Keep in mind I now have ONE pet, 7 year old hen in the chicken house.

Caution is advised.

Breaking down the anti-nutrients is necessary, although I recall that the heat required varies. I was surprised when I checked on this that some milled legumes only have the heat generated during extrusion of the mixed feed. This heat, however, was higher than I would have imagined. Other feed was pasteurized.

Dry peas looked like my best option. The animal nutritionists (Canadian) published research which indicates that peas have the lowest requirements for processing but I ran them thru the cooker.

Steve

 

[so lucky]

Sort of absentmindedly reading through this thread and the words "breaking down anti-nutrients" popped out. I don't know if this is applicable, but a little apple cider vinegar in the soak-water is used to detoxify the anti-nutrients in beans, oats, wheat, etc for humans. This might enable you to use a lower heat form of softening up the legumes.

 

[bobm]

What I did to increase the protein content for the chickens and rabbits and not having to using processing of beans, etc. myself as a fresh supplement only as the commercial feed produced by the National feed companies are properly nutritionally formulated by nutrition scientists to be balanced in virtually every bite ... I planted an area of the yard to alfalfa . I harvested just enough that they would clean up in 15 minutes for their daily needs every morning in a rotational manner and gave it to them. The yolks become orange instead of yellow and their feathers were glossy. The rabbits also benefited in body condition from it.

 

[digitS']

OSU had a premier poultry specialist about 100 years ago. He was responsible for the first 300 egg/year laying hen. His poultry guide is on their website and he talks about alfalfa hay and. "scalding" it for feed.

A more modern guide is on the website of a group of Canadian vets. Scroll down the page about half way to:

4. Alternative Feeds
b) Protein sources
I. Grain legumes

Poultry Husbandry (link)
by Richard J. Julian, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph

cow peas; Vinga unguicalata
pigeon peas; Canjanus canjan
chick peas; Cicer arietinum
sweet lupin; Lupinus albus
vetch; Lathyrus species
(L. odoratus, sweet pea; L. hirsutis, caley pea; L. pusillus; L. roseus)
vetch; Vicia species
jack beans; Caravalia ensifornis
faba (field) beans; Vicia faba
narbon beans; Vicia nabonenis
kidney bean; Phaseolus vulgaris
lima beans; Phaseolus lunatus
soybeans; Glycine max
peanuts, Arachis hypogaea

Small size would be important to the gardener so that they could be eaten whole after cooking. I don't even know what some of the above are ...

Steve

 

[Pulsegleaner]

A lot of the "less familiar' ones are tropical(like the jack beans), so there is no hope of them growing where you are (I've tried growing pigeon peas and here I'm lucky if they even germinate)

Lathyrus is going to have the same problems as the vetch, it's only OK as food if it is a minor component with other things; on it's own the toxins will build up.

Favas are going to have the same problem as the kidney beans, the seeds are too big for most chickens to swallow whole. Even the feverole type ones are the size of peanuts (but a lot harder so they cant be pecked apart).

 

[digitS']

It seems to come down, for me, to Pisum sativum the regular old garden pea.

I tried growing field peas in my hulless oats one year. Disappointing! The production of this not very productive vegetable went down to practically nothing! I had thought my only problem would be thrashing the seed of both, at the same time ...

Oh well. Keep the idea in mind, everyone. There is a lot of enthusiasm out there. Just limits, I suppose.

Steve

 

[AMKuska]

I'll be watching this thread with interest. I've experimented with making my own feed for the chickens, but most of their protein comes from bugs. They love bug hunting in the backyard, and I get them meal worms and sometimes even crickets from the pet store.