Planting for chickens

[CJW]

I am loving the ideas!

I am planning on growing a large area of purslane for our salads, but will end up giving quite a bit to my birds.

 

[RustyDHart]

I grow Red Amaranth and my Bantams love it...and my sheep love the stocks....only problem that I have with it is how productive it really is. It re-seeds like crazy in areas (like with my Dahlias) that I don't want it to grow.....

 

[MuranoFarms]

I grow Red Amaranth and my Bantams love it...and my sheep love the stocks....only problem that I have with it is how productive it really is. It re-seeds like crazy in areas (like with my Dahlias) that I don't want it to grow.....

Looking for info on red amaranth....is this the ornamental kind? The leaf kind or grain? I'm confused, and google lead me to wikipedia which will probably confuse me more! lol

I would like to find something I can plant in some of the clearings in our woods. Something that reseeds would be optimal.

 

[RustyDHart]

My Red Amaranth might be a combination of both....it gets pretty large seed trusses and has an over all beautiful look. The WHOLE plant is Burgundy Red.....everything. The plants get about 7-8ft. tall and about 3 1/2ft. across.... I did not save any seed...only because it pops up in the Spring anyway. If you want...I can save some seed for you from my re-seeds this year....you won't be able to plant 'til next year but at least you'll have some.....I know that I'll have some coming up all over. Just a thought.... I also use the side branches and trusses in Harvest type arrangements....another great use for them.

 

[MuranoFarms]

My Red Amaranth might be a combination of both....it gets pretty large seed trusses and has an over all beautiful look. The WHOLE plant is Burgundy Red.....everything. The plants get about 7-8ft. tall and about 3 1/2ft. across.... I did not save any seed...only because it pops up in the Spring anyway. If you want...I can save some seed for you from my re-seeds this year....you won't be able to plant 'til next year but at least you'll have some.....I know that I'll have some coming up all over. Just a thought.... I also use the side branches and trusses in Harvest type arrangements....another great use for them.

Wow, thank you! That would be great!
It sounds like they don't need too much care. The brush is kind of low down by the street, I would love to put them there as a visual distraction. You can't really see the house from the street (especially in summer) but something bright red would draw the eye towards them and away from looking down the driveway. Plus the guineas like that area for nests, so I'm sure they'll enjoy the cover and fallen seed. (really REALLY trying to get the guineas to nest where I want them to this year! lol)

 

[MsPony]

My chickens ate my cactus garden 4 years in the making

Great suggestions though!!

 

[Chicken.Lytle]

I finally got around to testing out my super-cheap WalMart Economy Bird Seed. I recently realized that if it would grow in a garden it would sprout in a jar, so....

I successfully sprouted my birdseed and the chickens, though weirded out, ate every last seedling.

When the freezes stop I will need to prepare places to grow. Any suggestions?

 

[lesa]

Chicken, I find that it grows like weeds! So, very little preparing should be necessary. The only thing I would say- if you are planning on planting it in the chicken yard- you will need to fence it off- or it will be eaten, before it is grown!! Happy Gardening!

 

[i_am2bz]

I can't let my chickens free-range b/c of the hawks......so DH built them a tractor that I dragged around the backyard, until about a month or so ago when all the grass & clover finally died.

Now I have myself a little sprouting farm!

I've accumulated 5 jars (pickle, PB, etc) & keep a rotating crop of lentils, sunflower seeds, & pumpkin seeds. I had a piece of window screen, cut it into appropriate sizes, & keep them fixed around the tops of the jars with a thick rubber band. I just rinse 2x a day; run water from the tap, swish aound, dump the water, done!

The chickens LOVE IT.

I do have some cheap Walley World birdseed that I've been meaning to try to sprout - think I'll do that this weekend.

 

[emmak]

nicholsgardennursery.com has a greens mixture to plant for chickens. It's listed in their catalog as chicken scratch. I'm going to order the seeds and see how it goes.