Best Plants for Chickens to Forage On

[glib]

Thank you so much for the good advice. Will you please recommend something that I can plant now here in Central NC? I have already turned over some of the dirt in the 50 x 50 run. The chickens are in the run helping me get it ready for seed planting. They have been enjoying the worms that I have been uncovering. Of course I will move the run before planting the seed.
Thanks again,

Favas germinate at very low temperatures. You can get them at Territorial Seed and plant them right away. It is possible that field peas, too, will germinate quickly. Both are fast growers. Some of the brassica types also germinate at low temps but not nearly the same push out of the ground.

 

[ravenvalor]

Great thread. Just last night I was googling this topic and the best plants suggested were white clover and rye grass. Getting a packaged mix seems like a good option. The run is only 40' x 40' and always has some wild grass but I would like to add a bit more nutrition if I can.

That's awesome.How many chickens do you have on this 40 x 40 run? I just sent groworganic.com an email asking them if their product will regrow every year or not. I do not plan to let the chickens overgraze on any one plot. I plan to create 3 - separate 50 x 50 grazing plots. I would like to move the run daily as explained on the Smith Meadows website (see post 7) however that is too time consuming. Thinking outside of the box here - What if I could build a wireless electric poultry fence that can be moved by moving corner stakes that have reflectors on them. Sorta like the invisible beam at the bottom of a garage door opener. When the beam gets broken a device will transmit a corrective pulse.- Okay back on planet earth

 

[ravenvalor]

Looks good. Thanks for the help.

Looks good. Thanks for the help.

Thanks for the link, just ordered 2 lbs. I found a similar mixture on another site for TWICE the price so this seems like a fair deal.

I just ordeed 10 - lbs for my 1/6 acre plot. Thanks.

 

[Wyandotte 123]

If you just get grass seed and make like what ever size box and cover it with chicken wire the chickens will not destroy it and when it gets below the chicken wire where they can't eat it. Then when its above the chicken wire again they can eat I don't know but i really like this idea.

 

[farmerbrowne]

Just make sure your birdies cant get to the seed! it has a coating that can make them sick. its some sort of antirot chemical

 

[ravenvalor]

Hi Folks,

Jim here in Elon, North Carolina.

So I ordered some grass seed last spring but was delayed in planting it because the area was not ready yet. I would like to plant it this fall but fear that may not be possible due to the possible lack of nutrients in the soil. I cleared out a 1/4 acre wooded area but I believe that it needs the basic nutrients before I plant grass seed on it. Can someone please recommend a good source of organic nutrients that I can use? I do not want to use harmful fertilizer but want to stay organic. Should I plant clover first for a couple of years before planting the seed mix? If so will the seed mix keep in storage long enough to use it in a couple of years? The grass seed that I have is a forage mix from GrowOrganic.com. It is called PVFS Omega 3 Chicken Forage Blend and consists of the following seeds.

SEED MIX

Consists of:
Tetrelite intermediate ryegrass
Tetraploid perennial ryegrass
Common Flax
Buckwheat
Tetraploid annual ryegrass
Japanese Millet in Spring and Summer or Ryegrain in Fall and winter
Red clover, OMRI listed coating
Strawberry clover, OMRI listed coating
Alfalfa, OMRI listed coating
Ladino clover, OMRI listed coating
Broadleaf Trefoil, OMRI listed coating

Thank you for the great advice. I hope you are having a great season.

Jim

 

[nguyenkinhphuc2]

Will alfafa survive during winter? I live in Virginia.

Purslane is good, but not enough mass. The blends are annual. The best forage is alfalfa, high in bio-mass and because it lasts 5 years. If you really want the most bio-mass, plant a fava cover crop in the Fall, for spring consumption. At 5 ft tall, a little scything may be needed.

 

[ravenvalor]

Not sure but if I find out I will let you know.

 

[glib]

definitely.

 

[ravenvalor]

Thanks.