Chickens and veggies.

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joyfull

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Chickens and veggies.
« on: January 14, 2012, 11:23 »
As most of you on here seem to frequent the chickenny pages only have you thought that you could join in the growing sections by growing some treats just for your girls. Especially as Defra says it is illegal to feed your birds on food that has come from your kitchen.
If you are short of space why not grow tomatoes and strawberries in hanging baskets? Last year mine loved eating the hundreds and thousands tomatoes I grew for them.
They love freshly grown raspberries (but fence them off otherwise they will help themselves to all your fruit), ripe fallen plums are another treat.
Sunflowers also provide great treats and every year there is a sunflower growing competition.
Growing details can be found here:-

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?board=1.0

And don't forget our competition section - most of you own cameras so stand a good a chance as anybody at winning some of the great prizes
Check it out here:-

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?board=18.0

There is also a great chatting section where jokes, general chitchat and even frugal ideas can be found along with a general swap shop.
Don't be shy - take a look and join in  :D

 
Staffies are softer than you think.

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arugula

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Re: Chickens and veggies.
« Reply #1 on: January 14, 2012, 11:40 »
Go on! We're a friendly lot really! ;) :D
"They say a snow year's a good year" -- Rutherford.

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Chrysalis

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Re: Chickens and veggies.
« Reply #2 on: January 14, 2012, 12:37 »
I gave my hens the stalks and leaves from the purple brussels sprouts (not that there were many!) and guess what colour the poop was!!! :tongue2: :tongue2: :tongue2:
Still, they loved it all.  At least the eggs weren't purple or green, too. :blink:

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OpiumEater

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Re: Chickens and veggies.
« Reply #3 on: January 17, 2012, 14:19 »
Caught my husband about to throw my not very successful brassicas out, until I explained they were for the chickens and only to be pulled when they needed a fresh one hanging in there run :)

He thinks them rather spoilt.
Alice - Australorp
Bernadette - Barnevelder
Dora - Silver Grey Dorking
LilliBet - Cream Leg Bar

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sarah1983jane

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Re: Chickens and veggies.
« Reply #4 on: January 29, 2012, 17:32 »
"Defra says it is illegal to feed your birds on food that has come from your kitchen.
"

erm really?

Why?

nee nar nee nar her come the police for me, I like throwing left over food to the chickens - why send it to landfill when they can eat it!

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Lewjam

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Re: Chickens and veggies.
« Reply #5 on: January 31, 2012, 13:31 »
Its technically illegal but i don’t know of an example of it being enforced.  More about the principle to try to stop feeding meat scraps and such to flocks.  (I think it all stemmed from the dieses caused by forcing animals to cannibalize like the Sheep feed thing)

It just means that this websites policy is not to encourage people to do it (even though i would guess virtually every one does)
I hate signatures but love irony

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alaj

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Re: Chickens and veggies.
« Reply #6 on: February 02, 2012, 13:59 »
Tis a daft one that! How on earth do you enforce?!  My lot get odds and ends chucked in a pan when I'm prepping veg that would otherwise go into the composted therefore I think I'd argue they were getting compost :tongue2: sniggers.
Curious as to what it's based on??!
My chickens probably make more sense than I do so forgive me ;-)

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alaj

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Re: Chickens and veggies.
« Reply #7 on: February 02, 2012, 14:00 »
Meant to say that we do grow varying bits eg pumpkins etc specifically for them, and the wild blackberries are much loved!

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joyfull

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Re: Chickens and veggies.
« Reply #8 on: February 02, 2012, 17:04 »
please remember anybody can read this forum. We do not and cannot condone feeding food that has come from your kitchen.

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Mrs Bee

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Re: Chickens and veggies.
« Reply #9 on: February 26, 2012, 17:35 »
"Defra says it is illegal to feed your birds on food that has come from your kitchen.
"

erm really?

Why?

nee nar nee nar her come the police for me, I like throwing left over food to the chickens - why send it to landfill when they can eat it!


Sorry, don't believe the police are coming for you love :nowink:

Where we are you can't get them to turn out if a breakin is in progress :mad:

There are    so many daft rules these days, usually in knee jerk responses to some idiot practising dodgy farming, such as feeding ground up dead sheep to grass eating cows etc :mad:

SO long as we don't give the chooks meat what the heck. Ours get allsorts of non meat kitchen scraps and greens from the lotty. Will wait for the police to turn up 8) :D! Would rather face their displeasure than my chickens displeasure if they go without their treats. ;)


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andreadon

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Re: Chickens and veggies.
« Reply #10 on: March 16, 2012, 15:39 »
One way round the law is to put all your veggie/kitchen scraps into the Compost bin, and use that compost, when it's ready, to grow veg, which you feed directly to the hens (without it going into your kitchen) :D

Technically, they'll be trying to eat it anyway, while it's still growing  ::)

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Dawnuss

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Re: Chickens and veggies.
« Reply #11 on: March 18, 2012, 18:16 »
Im really confused  :unsure: so does that mean you cant feed veg from the shops? am i being well dumb. I am a newbie so thats my excuse  :tongue2:

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Mrs Bee

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Re: Chickens and veggies.
« Reply #12 on: March 21, 2012, 08:19 »
Im really confused  :unsure: so does that mean you cant feed veg from the shops? am i being well dumb. I am a newbie so thats my excuse  :tongue2:

No Dawnuss, you are not being dumb. It is, in my opinion, a totally daft rule brought about because of dodgy farming practices feeding ground up sheep to cattle and starting mad cow disease. And probably aimed at large scale operations that sell to the public.

I believe that some  farmers now give antibiotics routinely to their hens which to my mind is worse than giving chickens vegetables.

Although this site does not condone the feeding of kitchen scraps, I am with a very good friend on this matter...... who will know if you do give them veggies from your kitchen or garden? You do have to cook potato skins and some of the harder veg tho.

All the chicken keeping books, written by experienced chicken keepers, tell you to supplement the feed with treats and veg, and hang up a cabbage for them. And going on the difference in taste between the eggs you buy and the ones from your own chickens, it is the extra veg that makes the difference.

I mean think about it..... if the chickens are free ranging or living wild they are going to eat slugs and creepies as well as anything green they fancy in your garden.

I am a great believer in instinct and common sense. ;)


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joyfull

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Re: Chickens and veggies.
« Reply #13 on: April 03, 2012, 10:36 »
As a lot of you will have found out chickens like sunflower seeds so why not join in our annual sunflower growing competition which can be found here

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joyfull

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Re: Chickens and veggies.
« Reply #14 on: April 03, 2012, 10:38 »
They also love pumpkin and pumpkin seeds so again try joining in this
Your chickens will love you forever  :D



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