Did you know that chickens like to eat all sorts of things? Not only do they enjoy foraging for bugs, grubs, and garden goodies, but they also love berries, greens, and even sprouted grains.
With the arrival of warmer weather our gardens are in full swing and we have been able to put together some great treats for our birds. As usual they get their daily rations of feed, but right now our mulberry tree is in full production mode so they are enjoying fresh berries as they fall from the tree. Plus with the change over from Winter to Spring/Summer vegetables they are enjoying collards, mustards, and kale.
Last year we began toying with the idea of feeding sprouted grains to our chickens. It’s important to us that they have access to greens even when none are growing naturally during the colder months. Their feed contains organic grains such as barley, oats, and wheat, but sprouting those grains opens up all the good nutrients they would not have access to in the dry feed. It has been amazing learning how to sprout grains properly for our chickens and seeing how much they enjoy it. We like to toss it around their forage area and watch them go.
In our chicken garden we are growing clovers, dandelions, marigolds, and all sorts of things they like to eat and are good for them. We are dependent on them as a clean source of eggs and meat, so it’s important that they’re healthy and eat well. We know they appreciate it and we’re sure all of you do too!
Thank you to everyone who picked up their local fresh organic chickens, chicken feet, and eggs yesterday! Winter Harvest Day was a success and now it’s over! See you next time.