Alfalfa....will they eat it?

[Rhonda0115]

I have quite a few chickens and they can clear a patch of grass really quickly. I was wondering if I could give them dry alfalfa as a treat or supplement? I know they go crazy when I change out the straw in their coop and just wondered if adding the alfalfa would be good also?

 

[Ekagj]

i know of several people who use alfalfa as bedding for their chickens because they love to eat it! I use timothy hay and alfalfa cubes for my horses and I toss the broke up cubes and timothy to them every couple of days and after the "OH MY GOODNESS! SHE IS THROWING BOMBS AT US! RUN AND FLAP OUR WINGS FOR DEAR LIFE!!!" faze, they love it! its gone within the hour.

TIP: if you use cubes make sure they are broke up, I put some whole cubes in there thinking they would peck at them and they completely ignored them. If they are broke up they love it!

 

[4 the Birds]

Sure you can give them alfalfa. I don't think of it as a supplement or treat though. Our chickens roam in an alfalfa and grass field. They share it with goats that get dried alfalfa/hay each day in their bin during the Winter months. The chickens like to scratch in fresh hay and straw. Probably looking for bugs or seeds to eat more than anything.

Alfalfa/Hay goat bin


Free ranging in alfala/grass field

 

[fishnet1971]

I bought mine a bag of alfalfa pellets this winter when there was no green around, and they snubbed their noses at it.

 

[RiddleMe]

I bought mine a bag of alfalfa pellets this winter when there was no green around, and they snubbed their noses at it.

Try wetting them down, mine won't touch the dry pellets but if I put them in a bowl, cover with water and let them soak it up, mine will go to town. It also works as a good greens supplement during the winter, keeps the yolks nice and yellow. Of course, they also really like to just eat the leaves on the baled alfalfa, but since I don't have anyone to eat the stems that's a lot of leftover material that just ends up in my compost pile.

 

[mommissan]

Chickens are funny. What they wouldn't eat last year they can't get enough of now. I gave them alfalfa cubes last winter, and they just composted it. If they like eating it than that's GREAT!