Cutting grass and feeding to my chickens

[tour1018]

My girls don't have access to fresh grass, would it be a good idea to cut some to be feed to them in the pen enclosure?

 

[johnschiks]

I Do, and they LOVE fresh grass.

 

[tour1018]

Do you have to cut it short so it doesn't get stuck in their throat, if so how long? I wouldn't want them to choke

 

[lindsay297]

My guys got introduced to that by my 6 year old twins. They went out and ripped the tops off all the long grass and dumped it into a pile in the run. The girls loved it and now they run out of the coop when you start the lawnmower. Havent had any problems yet.

 

[Chemguy]

Mine love grass, which is great because i'm constantly weeding out of my flower beds. I just toss the entire clump, dirt and all, into the run. What happens next is a lot like the piranha swarms you see in nature shows. Nothing but roots remain within minutes. I've watched my chickens swallow long blades whole, and they have had no problems.

 

[Kaitie09]

We give them our grass too. They love it, and spread it out nicely in their run. Just be positive you don't treat your lawn with any chemicals.

 

[colson]

Yea i dont believe they will have any problems with it. My chickens just love to go and eat the grass after we get done mowing.

 

[chickeninfested]

Yeah, if you did feed grass to your chickens, I'm sure they could eat it. I've read tons of books about chickens and it never said they couldn't eat grass

 

[cgmccary]

Quote:
Give to grass clippings to them in small quantities because if they eat too much at once, their crops can become impacted & cause all kinds of problems. I used to take grass clippngs and just pour them over in the run. I stopped giving them a lot when this happened to one of my hens. Now, I will give the penned ones a smal amount (i.e. a handfull scattered for all to enjoy).

I forget exactly how I got my hen through the ordeal because it has been several years ago but I think I isolated her, didn't feed her for several days (only water) and I put vegetable or minreal oil down into her crop via plastic tubing and then would massage her crop -- this took days to undo.

Most of my chickens free range. I've noticed when in pasture, they don't over do it like they will with clippings.

 

[tokies]

Do you have to cut it short so it doesn't get stuck in their throat, if so how long? I wouldn't want them to choke

i cut it up small.. if i can get it to the point of paste i will .. by adding a bit of water and using a drill with a cutter end. i use it on my chicks as 2% of their feed. i want them to get usta that grassy taste and think of it as food. i let the bits get bigger and bigger as they get older. the ducks get 4% ... quail %2 goose 5%. (starter feed)