Winter greens

[lazy gardener]

I'm trying to plan winter greens for my flock. In the past, I've sprouted wheat or barley. Often, I add millet, BOSS, and even some forage seed mixes intended for deer plots.

Whole barley is around $20/50#. I have yet to find a source of whole wheat. Wheat is reported to be slightly higher in protein.

But... Alfalfa cubes look like a nice option. They cost about the same per 50# bag.

I'm looking for information from any readers who have used BOTH alfalfa cubes and sprouts. Please share your experience particularly in regards to using alfalfa cubes. Do your birds like them, do you just soak them, or ferment them, how much of the product do you use? Are they messy to soak/feed? I'm assuming they would be less work than sprouting. I am expecting to go into the winter with 25 - 30 birds.

 

[Lamaremybabies]

Watching

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Rabbet food is pelletized alfalfa.

Good luck getting your birds to eat it.

Some grain, dog or cat food, and laying pellets all mixed up together and soaked in hot water may help.

However chickens are messy eaters and they just may get enough of this water infused feed on their faces to invite frostbite.

 

[Cindy in PA]

I just soak them until they fall apart & then throw them in the run. Once they are on the ground, there is no excessive moisture. My birds scratch at them like they are dry hay & pick out all but the coarsest stems. I just give them randomly, so don't know about an amount.

 

[3riverschick]

Gardner,
check with your local grocery . they throw out greens every day and some of our groceries around here will just give them to you if you ask .all kinds of different greens and stuff.
Karen

 

[lazy gardener]

Thanks, Karen. In the last 5 years, only once have I been able to get a local grocer to give me old produce. Any time I've asked, the employees all seem to be reading from the same script: "We save it for the pig farmers." Last Sunday, I hit the jack pot. I pulled a pouty face, and told the guy, "I'm a chicken farmer." Well, he must have taken pity on me, cause he told me I could have the cart full he had in front of him. His comment: "We have so much, they'll never miss this little bit." It was a grocery cart completely full of 3 bags of stuff. When I got it home, and started going through it, I realized that some of the stuff in those bags was better than what I buy from their shelves! Go figure. If that much stuff is thrown out in a few hours at a single store, the amount of food wasted in this country is an abomination.

Thanks George. From your description, I think I'll stick to my sprouts. I know they will consume every last bit of those. Perhaps, I'll try a few rabbit pellets just for comparison. I bet my dog would go nuts over rabbit pellets. She feasts every time she can get her snout into the FF bucket.

 

[shadowfox]

@lazy gardener Where do you get you grains from? I'm new to keeping chickens. I'd love to sprout grains for them over the winter, but I don't know where to find them other than expensive grains meant for people's consumption.

 

[barred2rock]

I can't say anything about sprouts, but when I've fermented alfalfa pellets with their feed, at the end of the day there's nothing left beside the alfalfa at the bottom of the bowl. I don't know how they do it, but they manage to pick out the feed and leave the alfalfa . Now I just use the alfalfa to add to my compost as a source of nitrogen.

 

[lazy gardener]

@lazy gardener Where do you get you grains from? I'm new to keeping chickens. I'd love to sprout grains for them over the winter, but I don't know where to find them other than expensive grains meant for people's consumption.

I usually buy them at my feed store. I may have to have them order them for me this year, though a Blue Seal that my hubby passes by during his hour commute has whole barley listed on their web site. I buy a 50# bag at a time, figure it will simply take the place of any scratch grains I might possibly buy. Given the quality of feed the grains produce when sprouted, I figure they are worth it, in spite of the initial up front $$$.

I can't say anything about sprouts, but when I've fermented alfalfa pellets with their feed, at the end of the day there's nothing left beside the alfalfa at the bottom of the bowl. I don't know how they do it, but they manage to pick out the feed and leave the alfalfa . Now I just use the alfalfa to add to my compost as a source of nitrogen.

Thanks, B2R. That further confirms my decision to go with sprouts again. Thinking about buying a bag of wheat or barley, and a bag of BOSS.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

.... Thanks George. From your description, I think I'll stick to my sprouts.... Perhaps, I'll try a few rabbit pellets just for comparison. I bet my dog would go nuts over rabbit pellets....

Don't bet more on your dog eating alfalfa pellets than you can afford to lose.