What do you grow for your chickens?

My hens get lots of extra garden stuff, and I grow extra pumpkins specifically for the chickens. I grew sweet potatoes for the vines a couple years ago. I intend to do it again this year, but I'm running late, on everything really.  I've also grown duckweed. That was easy, but didn't grow as fast as it's supposed to for me ( probably user error).
I want to grow moringa. I planted seeds, a couple years ago, but again maybe to late. They grew a foot or so and died.  It's on my list to try again.
I've been seeing videos of people who grow azolla. There is a California native that looks promising. The hard part is finding the right place, and a container large enough to make it worth while.
I'm not looking to use any of these things by themselves as feed, but to add in, for a diverse nutrition, and to keep the hens happy and healthy.
I'm interested if anyone has tried any of these plants, and have advice. I would also love to hear other suggestions. Thanks

I haven't grown those specific plants for my chickens, but I have grown sunflowers and zuchini. They loved both of those, and in my climate they grow like crazy and don't require much to get them growing.

I let kale go to seed every year so that it's become the main weed.  Chickens love it and it's a good year round crop.  If we are ever in a starvation situation, we can even feed kale to the humans.

I grow tomatoes for mine.  I hate tomatoes and haven't tried canning tomato sauce yet, so I just feed them to the chickens.  At least, I feed the ones the dogs don't pick to the chickens.  My dogs love them straight from the vine.  One of my dogs also picks his own blackberries, but that's for another thread.

My chickens get the extra, to large, or veggies we don't want. That includes all of the above.  There favorite is swiss Chard, it gets very bitter in our hot summers, but they don't mind a big, and will eat it stem and all. I also have purple tree kale that produce year round that we don't enjoy in the summer. I would say my chickens eat better than a lot of people.  
I give them free choice organic layer pellets, and fermented grains. I try to change it up not only to keep them happy, but also healthy. Like I try to keep corn and other high carbs out of there feed in the summer because I understand when processing carbs the chickens body temperature raises.
I think we have to much soy in our diet, so I have been searching for an alternative to add to the grains to keep the protein up. This is why I thought Moringa would be good. Maybe grow enough to dry it to add to the grains.  Azolla is interesting. It's nutritious, a protein source, and I imagine very hydrating.  Lord knows I don't need more to do, but I'm seriously thinking about trying to grow azolla.
I was also thinking I should grow black oil sunflowers. I always add them to my fermented grains. It would be nice not to have to buy them.
Thanks for your input. I always enjoy hearing what others are doing.

Sweet potatoes and pumpkins are great for your hens! Moringa can be tricky, but with enough sun and warmth, it’s worth another try.

Azolla is cool and grows well in shallow water containers. If you want more variety, try herbs like oregano or mint. Your hens will love the extras!

I guess I have picky hens. They won't eat any fresh herbs, or flowers, lots of people say feed chickens calendula. Nope they won't touch it.
I am growing oregano, and parsley. I intend to dry a bunch of it, then I can add it to the fermented grains.
I didn't get my Moringa planted. Or as anything new for that matter. Sometimes life gets in the way.

Our chickens really liked yellow dock/curly dock. Also wild strawberries.

we grow a large garden so they get those items but we also have a fodder system where we sprout wheat/barley/oats on trays for them.

Ron Kulas wrote:...we also have a fodder system where we sprout wheat/barley/oats on trays for them.

1. How many days does it take for the grain to get to the height of the bottom row?

2. What is the approximate dimensions of your trays?

3. How often do you water/flood the trays?

Thanks

Jay Angler wrote:

Ron Kulas wrote:...we also have a fodder system where we sprout wheat/barley/oats on trays for them.

1. How many days does it take for the grain to get to the height of the bottom row?

2. What is the approximate dimensions of your trays?

3. How often do you water/flood the trays?

Thanks

I will create a separate threat with the details.

Link?

I started out growing fodder. My system was much smaller, and not as nice, but it did the job, and didn't cost me anything. Then I discovered fermented grains, and it was so much easier, and used a lot less water, and the chickens seem to like it just as much. I thought about doing both, but I decided since they get so much form the garden I would stop growing fodder.
I would like to grow the in ground fodder. I built the frames, (2x4 square or rectangle with chicken wire, or hardwire cloth over the top so they can only eat the top, and the plants keep growing) and tried it, but it didn't work for me. I have  wood chips in the chicken yard, and they kept covering the top with wood chips. I don't have a much wood chips right now. I was also thinking of adding a board around the top to make it harder to kick stuff  on the top.  I my try wheat this fall. Maybe sprout it first, then plant it. Maybe put it closer to the coop so it's easier to water. We will see. I always have to many projects, but the boxes are made, so it easy enough.
On a side note, the boxes have come in handy. We have used them to sift worm castings, and to help grow clover and grass in the front yard where the dogs are. It allows the seeds to germinate, and get established so they can handle the dogs.

Jen Fulkerson wrote:... I would like to grow the in ground fodder. I built the frames, (2x4 square or rectangle with chicken wire, or hardwire cloth over the top so they can only eat the top, and the plants keep growing) and tried it, but it didn't work for me. I have  wood chips in the chicken yard, and they kept covering the top with wood chips.

I have tried a couple of versions of this and found exactly the same issue. Chickens are so successful at relocating mulch, people use that skill for composting!

I think the next version of this that I'd be willing to try, would be to have a series of paddocks so I can get things growing without interference of chickens!

I also grow fodder for our girls but in trays with soil.

This thread prompted me to start a new tray of seeds and put out the one that is ready to serve!

There's a communal tunnel house at the community garden where our chickens are and that's where I germinate their wheat grass.

It's the middle of winter here so takes about 2 weeks for the seeds to germinate.

I will start using up old packets of vegetable seeds to check if they're still viable and feed the sprouts to our girls.



I also rummage through the compost piles and salvage old brassica plants that have been discarded and replant them in the chicken run. The chooks make short work of them but the stems are usually robust enough to withstand their grazing and will eventually resprout.

I've also grown sweet potatoes and moringa, though more for my own consumption than for my flock. Sweet potato vines are incredibly easy to grow, they just get out of hand quickly and need a lot of pruning. As for moringa, I've heard it's a nutritional powerhouse, and it should thrive in your climate. I've seen some people use the leaves as a feed supplement to boost egg production, but I haven't tried it myself.

Regarding Azolla, I'm quite intrigued by it too. I've looked into it a bit, and its high protein content makes it a fantastic feed supplement. It also fixes nitrogen, which is great for the soil. Just as you mentioned, finding the right local variety can be a challenge, and large-scale cultivation requires a good amount of space and water, so that's something to plan out carefully.

If you're looking for other options, I'd personally recommend some easy-to-manage herbs and greens like Chicory and Kale. They're both hardy, and chickens absolutely love them, making them a great daily green supplement. You could also look into Alfalfa or Clover; they are excellent forage crops, rich in protein, and quite simple to grow.

One thing to watch out for with chickens is their love for scratching! So whatever you decide to plant, it's best to protect the young seedlings until they're big and strong enough to withstand some pecking and scratching.

I toss in easy stuff like pumpkins, sunflowers, kale, and sweet potato vines. The hens go nuts for the seeds and greens. Duckweed works in a shallow tub if you keep the water warm and sunny. Azolla grows fine in a kiddie pool once it settles.

Moringa just needs heat and well‑drained soil so give it another shot earlier in the season. You can also seed clover or oats along the run for quick snacks. A few herbs like mint or oregano keep things fresh and smell nice too. Your flock will love the mix.

Our girls love that I grow kale outside the fence. Well, they would prefer the bucket inside, but right outside the fence works, as I can turn the bucket every few days. I will be adding clover

I grow a lot of what we feed our livestock. We keep chickens, ducks and rabbits.
Tree collards, is my biggest food producer, since it’s a perennial and produce all year round, us humans eat it too. I grow corn, peas and beans for them, lots of collard greens, kale, squash, pumpkins, sunflowers and lots of herbs. They get a lot of mint, lemon balm, borage, comfrey, nasturtiums (they love those), sweet potato leaves and kitchen scraps. Spring and fall, I also dig for grubs which they all love. On top of this, they get weeds, grass and kitchen scraps. We don’t grow all of their feed, but a lot of it.
This fall, I want to try and grow duck weeds and other water plants for our ducks. We have a second small pool, we use for meat ducks (once a year), that I want to use to grow in.
Because my chickens get bored, I will also hang or stand whole plants like collards once they go to seeds, or hang up corncobs or cabbages.

Not chickens but quail - I planted small herbal gardens in their aviary, inspired by my friend's idea of a "herbal bar" for horses; a horse is offered a variety of herbs to choose from, as it knows what it needs at a time. My quail love it and I secured the herbs with rocks around them, so it's not so easy for them to destroy.

One trick I've used to get a free protein source for my hens is to lay a piece of old cardboard in their run--the shreddier and older the better. It it's new, or the weather is very dry, get it good and wet first. Let it sit for a few days, then call the hens and lift it quickly. Usually there are hundreds of roly-poly bugs under there, which the chickens love to chase and eat. Rotten wood works too.

Most legumes (beans, peas, lentils) are high-protein but hens can't digest them raw and unsprouted. You can sprout them yourself, or you can scatter them during fall and spring rains to sprout naturally. I find that the chickens always search them out and eat them as soon as they are an inch or two high.

Sunflower seeds add a lot of good fat and protein to their diet. These oilseed sunflowers are easy to grow and produce lots and lots of seeds from multiple manageably-sized flowers. I have not had to stake the plants as I would with Mammoth, or other large-seeded types. It works well to grow them just outside their run. I like to throw a dried seedhead in for them to peck and entertain themselves with, rather than bothering to thresh them out of the heads. https://www.quailseeds.com/store/p141/Oilseed_Sunflower.html

I haven't noticed anyone mentioning perennial Maximillian Sunflowers.  anything perennial is always a plus, and these grow vigorously to make a thick stand in most parts of the country. Some people have found them to be deer-resistant as well. They can be planted along the run for early greens,. winter tubers, and the many small seeds after flowering in Fall. https://www.quailseeds.com/store/p470/Maximillian_Sunflower.html  
Jerusalem Artichokes are also a sunflower (with very small seeds and flowers.) I haven't tried feeding the tubers to chickens; they may need to be cooked. It would be an easy experiment to try, and they multiply like crazy from one or two bought tubers.

Moving to grains, Amaranth is easy to grow in hot weather, very high-yielding (up to a lb a plant in good soil) and chickens love it. It has neither hull nor soapy coating (that coating is what makes quinoa hard to feed to hens.) And people like to eat it as well. Makes a nice polenta or breakfast cereal. Cut some of the heads and throw to the hens when the seeds start being loose enough in the head that you get some in your hand it you run your fingers over the seedhead. Those you want to store for later can be hung upside down over a tarp or sheet to dry. Golden Giant is highest yield, Fercita is a short-season alternative. https://www.quailseeds.com/store/p310/Golden_Giant_Amaranth.html
https://www.quailseeds.com/store/p82/Fercita_Amaranth.html

Millet is harder to grow for people because of the hull but chickens love it. (It's one of the main ingredients of bird seed mixes.) Sorghum is another hot-weather grain that is easy to grow and makes great chicken food. One of the big pluses with all these small grains is that they don't need to be cracked to be the right size for hens to eat. For a cool-weather grain for hens, barley or triticale are easy to grow alternatives to wheat, and subject to fewer diseases.

Finally, Mulberries are a traditional poultry-yard tree that gives summer shade, has edible leaves, and drops it's sweet berries a few at a time all summer rather than all in a glut. You can easily prune or pollard it for more and bigger leaves down where you can reach them, and unlike other fruit trees, it bears on new wood, so pruning doesn't prevent fruiting. I don't know about it's nutritional composition, but unless I lived in the tropics, I wouldn't mess with coddling tropicals like moringa when mulberries are so easy.

Jen Fulkerson wrote:I started out growing fodder. My system was much smaller, and not as nice, but it did the job, and didn't cost me anything. Then I discovered fermented grains, and it was so much easier, and used a lot less water, and the chickens seem to like it just as much. I thought about doing both, but I decided since they get so much form the garden I would stop growing fodder.
I would like to grow the in ground fodder. I built the frames, (2x4 square or rectangle with chicken wire, or hardwire cloth over the top so they can only eat the top, and the plants keep growing) and tried it, but it didn't work for me. I have  wood chips in the chicken yard, and they kept covering the top with wood chips. I don't have a much wood chips right now. I was also thinking of adding a board around the top to make it harder to kick stuff  on the top.  I my try wheat this fall. Maybe sprout it first, then plant it. Maybe put it closer to the coop so it's easier to water. We will see. I always have to many projects, but the boxes are made, so it easy enough.
On a side note, the boxes have come in handy. We have used them to sift worm castings, and to help grow clover and grass in the front yard where the dogs are. It allows the seeds to germinate, and get established so they can handle the dogs.

You could try what I am planning. a 1 - 2 foot high raised bed box filled highish, then planted. Too high to scratch much into! Then wire & frame protected. Chickens can easily jump up or you could make steps if elders, or less flight capable. I am always amazed at how much straw & hay my flock can get into my 8" high food troughs!

It has become a rather common routine for me to walk through my garden and gather up all of the damaged produce that I will not use and set it aside for my chooks. The vast majority of the foodstuffs that I grow for myself just happen to be edible to my chickens as well. My girls get more than their fair share of tomatoes during the growing season.

From bolting greens to curled cucumbers, I have my fair share of produce to share. I found that if I like something that I grow, I try and grow a lot of that thing. The time just after halloween is always fun with the amount of pumpkins that get dropped off intended for the girls along with what we have on hand that haven't been turned into something else. They all get their fair share of squashes every year.

What I do grow intentionally for just the chickens are sprouted lentils in the wintertime. They help supplement my chicken's rather boring winter ration when nothing else is growing outside. I have also been known to sprout peas but I have had the best success with lentils. They are less prone to molding and the lentils are more forgiving overall in my experience.

comfrey.

we have…i dunno, 70 or more plants all told. i make fertilizer with it, use it for a nutritive green mulch, and the birds get some pretty much every day during the growing season. relatively low in cellulose, high in protein and trace minerals.

they also get extra winter squash for ~8 months out of the year.

I have comfrey all along the shady side of the chicken run, outside the fence so they can eat whatever they can reach but not scratch up the crowns.

And I've found that having to find something fresh for the hens is a good incentive to do the things I might otherwise put off in the garden, or leave for one occasional marathon, like weeding. I few weeds a day keeps the chicks happy, the egg yolks nice and bright, and the garden in better shape.

I'm indebted to no-dig maestro Charles Dowding for the insight that as soon as the lower leaves of a plant start to yellow, they send a chemical signal to slugs and snails and earwigs and such that there is decaying vegetation for them to eat. Once there, they keep going, eating good foliage as well.  Breaking off those lower leaves as they start to senesce gets rid of slug problems in two ways: it removes their preferred habitat and it physically removes a lot of slugs and snails as well. Which are extra treats for the chickens. Ain't nature grand?

Elise Villemaire wrote:... I am always amazed at how much straw & hay my flock can get into my 8" high food troughs!

This is why I started hanging my feeders above the perches! Our perches are usually just a little over 2 feet high, and the bottom of the feeders are at least 4 inches higher than the perch. This arrangement also helps to discourage rats.

At an old place, where I had an enclosed yard for the chickens, including a chicken wire roof 7 feet off the ground, I planted grapes and encouraged them to climb all over the top of the outdoor run.

Some stems hung through, and the chickens ate the leaves, and the grapes too.  I enjoyed watching them jump to get them.  They jumped from a high perch if that’s what it took.

I sometimes needed to keep them out of the yard at strategic times to allow grapes to develop, and leaves to grow.  They were not confined in their yard, it was just one part of their habitat.

The grape vines also provided shade in the summer.

Currently I am raising chicks and guineas to start a new flock.  We keep them confined because we have birds of prey and no cover.  I catch grasshoppers and feed the birdies… I have begun to hand feed them, so that they are used to eating from my hands.  I think it will be easier to introduce new foods in the future.