More Thoughts on GYO Feeds.

[bluemoon]

I've been having a few more thoughts about growing things for my chickens, for instance, could I feed my them on sprouted seeds? Also what about all those pumpkin seeds come autumn? And sunflower seeds? What about quinoa? I've visions of hanging the sprays of quinoa up in the run like a giant chicken equivalent of a budgie's millet... though it is related to the weed 'Fat Hen', so that probably answers my question.... I've never heard of anyone giving their chickens anything like this, especially the bean-sprouts, but is there a reason why we shouldn't give things like this in small quantities?

[elizajay]

If you want to grow quinoa, pm me as I have some seeds. But if you do be aware that the seeds have a poisonous coating, so hanging them up in sprays probably isn't on as you have to remove the coating 1st.

[Hilary B]

It should be possible to feed chooks on home-grown stuff (plus the calcium sources of course), but getting the right balance of protein etc requires a fair bit of science.......
Fresh greenery has a good protein-carb balance (much better than grain). Many seeds are rich in protein, but often also oils, or some have toxic substances as well.......
Have a good read of the analysis on a bag of pellets, find out the protein content of the sort of thing you can grow. The arithmetic is a bit more complicated because of variations in water content.

[lynda66]

i've spread a bag of bird seed and millet down the back, of the garden, so hopefully they might grow and give the chooks something different to scoff .... they normally grow everywhere you don't want em to

[Sue]

I noticed today when the hens were roaming around that they were eating lots of seed from the wild grasses, seemed to be a special treat as they spent ages picking off the choicest seeds. It's a good excuse to leave the grass growing wild on a section of the allotment just for them.

Sweetcorn is another good crop to grow as a treat for them, I don't like it very much but I always have a block growing for them, one of their favs and don't forget things like strawberries and blackberries too. Tons of Spinach to put in for them as well.
Sue

PS What about Amaranth, would that be good for hens?