Chicken Food – crops to grow for chickens

Chickens are such easy and fun animals to keep. They are social creatures that enjoy open spaces, plenty to eat and a good source of fresh water.

Depending on where you live will govern how many chickens and or roosters you are able to keep. Once under way, get yourself into a regular feeding pattern with your chooks, with a blend of fresh and pre-made food to provide them with a tasty varied diet. Tui Gourmet Chicken Mix is a balanced blend of seeds and grains that your chickens will love. Chickens also enjoy feeding on pasture, vegetables and fruit so ensure you offer a mixture of these to your daily feed.

Grow your own Chicken Food

Chicken Greens:

Kings Seeds have a special blend of seeds specifically to be grown as chicken food, simply labelled Chicken Greens. It’s a blend of common plants and in some cases weeds that chickens naturally seek out when roaming and feeding. It features Plantain, Minutina, Cocksfoot, Sorrel, Dandelion, Subterranean Clover, Red Clover, Beet Blend and Chicory Blend. Sold only in seed packets, this crop is ideal grown in pots, baskets and containers or in a bed just for the chickens.

Harvest as soon as leaves are big enough (between 5 and 10cm) by cutting or pinching out leaves, be careful not to pull the plants out when you harvest the leaves, as they will come again and produce more leaves if the roots are left in the ground. Avoid letting the crops flower, so you don’t end up with chicken weeds in unwanted areas of the garden.

Silverbeet:

All colours and varieties are suitable, and some say the more beets chickens eat the brighter the yolks are in their eggs.

Most chickens seem to love silver beet and will gladly eat it on a regular or daily basis. Chickens seem to prefer the leaves to the long stalks, they will leave the stalks until they are really hungry.

Seed can be sown all year round – in winter too! Plants are always available at gardens centres. To keep silver beet fresh, harvest by twisting off the leaves at the base of the plant to encourage new leaves. If plants are left to go to seed, they will reward you with free plants (seedlings) a few months later. These are easy to transplant and normally there are plenty of plants to give away to friends too.

Other veggies

Bok Choy or Pak Choy, Miners lettuce and Water cress are quick and easy crops, chooks enjoy too.

Weeds

Chickweed and Fat Hen are two common weeds that chickens enjoy as well. Be careful with weeds as not all are suitable fodder for chickens. If in doubt, compost rather than feed anything unknown to your feathered members of the family.

Water

Chickens need a good supply of fresh water at all times, they will drink between half a litre and a litre of water each day, depending on the temperature and amount of food available.

Tui Top Tips for Chickens

Avoid too much fresh cut grass, a few lawn clippings are ok, but don’t over do it.
Too much grass can bind up in the chickens gut and not digest properly.
Potato peelings – chickens will eat cook or mashed potato, but not raw potato peelings.

By Rachel Vogan