Do you plant anything especially for your chickens?

[digitS']

. . . ah yes, air.

 

[BarredBuff]

Hay probably would be the best. Rabbits would eat it for sure. Ducks might. IDK about chickens

 

[RickF]

Hoodat...Never heard of chicken football. But then I never knew of anyone with chickens before I got mine 1 1/2 yrs. ago. The things I learn on this site!

My chickens are very dumb though. I don't think they could figure it out. They are suuuuuch picky eaters. They only eat their layer pellets, greens, scratch, and boss. I've tried introducing them to alot of stuff but they just look at it!

We've got 4 birds -- two Orps and two Auracana's.. The Auracana's are the smart ones -- they show the Orps what to do,etc.. Last night the run door apparently got closed enough that the birds couldn't get into the coop.. They all climbed into the storage area below the coop protected from the weather and predators and sat there until we got them into the coop at about 9:30.. One of them got a bit upset and was flapping around and squawking at me.. I had to leave the flash light on them until they all were able to get on their bar for a good nights sleep.. Of course one of the Auracana's was the first to do that.. Their night vision must be really poor.

As for the food, they'll eat just about anything.. left over Waffle bits, bananas, lettuce -- a few things they don't seem interested in but most they're happy munching up...

 

[lesa]

That is why they are such "sitting ducks" at night- they just can't see a thing! Also, why it is so much easier to move them, etc. after dark. They just don't fuss, the way they do in the daylight. I agree Rick- there isn't much my chickens won't eat!

 

[FarmerDenise]

we plant foxtail millet, broomcorn, corn, and this year amaranth and wheat for the chickens and the other critters as well. Of course everything is multipurpose.
We also dry the leftover sweet corn and feed it to the chickens. They love the millet. I thresh it, i just give it to them as is and they go crazy for it. Our amaranth isn't dry yet, so we'll see how that goes. Our rabbit loves the amaranth though.
The chickens also get whole sprays of broomcorn, which keeps them nicely occupied.

Of course the chickens also get plenty of other garden products. But every year, we grow a little bit more stuff for the chickens and the goats.

 

[lesa]

What do you do to dry the corn, FarmerDenise? When I tried it, it all got moldy... Do you give them whole kernels, or do you crack it?

 

[Kassaundra]

This is my first time to have chickens, this coming garden season will be the first w/ chickens and we plan on growing quinoa, amarynth, sorgum, millet, comfry, vetch, sweet potatoes (and of course all the garden waste) for the girls. This isn't planting, but as of this week we will be growing insects for the girls.

 

[FarmerDenise]

What do you do to dry the corn, FarmerDenise? When I tried it, it all got moldy... Do you give them whole kernels, or do you crack it?

Mold is a problem for us too. I leave them on the stalk as long as possible to dry. It is a fine balance though, since we get corn worm and they eat the corn, and their poo makes the mold grow. I usually start checking the corn for worms and feed those to the chickens. Usually I try to pick the corn before the first rain in the fall. we put the corn in wooden boxes or bushel baskets. We have learned to bring them into the house for two reasons. One is that the house its dryer and two, the rats tend to find the corn if it is left out in the porch. This year I decided to strip it right after picking it. We were caught off guard by a heavy 3 day rainstorm. After stripping it we placed it on a sheet, so we could more easily move it. We let it sit outside on sunny days and brought it in on cloudy days. When we had to keep it inside for more than two days in a row, I decided to stack it on the mantle in the living room to dry. It is not the decor you would expect to see in House Beautiful, but it is fall decoration . I set a nice orange pumpkin on top to pretty it up a bit.
Once it is completely dry, I strip it off the cob with my hands. I just work the kernels loose and let them drop into a bowl. It is not difficult, just tedious. I do this while watching tv.
I use these for cooking (I grind them for corn bread) and feed them to my chickens whole. They love our home grown corn and won't touch store bought stuff, even when I buy organic
I have spoiled chickens