[sarah*]

Hello Everyone

Can I ask - what does everyone feed their hens over the winter...?

Thanks

Sarah  

[muntjac]

same as all year round sarah .. in august sow a big bed of perpetual spinach 3 ft wide by 9 ft long and cut and let it come again for fresh greens for your birds and yourself .. also you can go to a seed merchants . contact haithes in grimsby .... and ask for a small amount of game crop seed lucerne is a good one sow as per instructions on your plot and then cut as you want ... great treat .. stubble turnips can be grown  you eat the beets and feed the tps to teh chuicks .. ot eat them as they are good .. yanks love em turnip greens ... and i was made into a convert  also you can go foraging in the fields  for dandelions  and fat hen ,,, not on road sides please folks  

[sarah*]

Thanks - I grew spinach last year...good tip.  Someone told me I should give them different food to keep them warm in the winter - I guess this isn't true??

[muntjac]

nope ,,,, there are loads of " informed " people out there hon  closest chickens get to warm food is a nice fat juicy worm   many years ago folks used to feed them kitchen waste tater peelings etc it was cooked with corn to help feed them as grain was in demand due to the war  but i guess some may still feed them it .i wouldnt reccomend it though .

[MontyTom]

Give em some warm spaghetti and dry porridge oats in addition to regular feed.  Watch em wolf it all down.  Good to release energy slowly and bulk up a little bit for the winter; if it gets cold again that is.

I think the spaghetti bit I nicked from GrannieAnnie's advice posting a few weeks back.  Used it ever since, thanks!

Love Karl's suggestion about mealworms too.  I do put peelings in the blender, but not potato's anymore.  Didn't like the dirty look with these, but carrots and cabbage etc all go down well.

[flatcap]

old guys at lottie told me to boil potato and veg peel for chickens to warm them up in winter .i normally put layers mash in with it and feed them it 2 a week would it be betta if i stopped doing it ?

[muntjac]

do they eat it ?
if so carry on ,, just because i dont recommend it or do it mate doesnt mean you shouldnt , each to thier own me ducks ,,,, as i said they did it during the war and the chucks did ok ,,,, old things is always better in my thinking ,,, look at me im old :oops:

[flatcap]

yeah they eat some of it must admit they preferred the chips i was eating when i give them some .nowt wrong with being old not so young myself .feel bout 90 afta shift at work running round after 100s kids

[princesspoultry]

I feed my hens layer mash and cracked corn.
                        Princess Poultry

[Aunt Sally]

My hens won't eat cracked corn, they just turn their backs and walk away

That's all you need - chickens with attitude   :roll:

[jacobsgoldmine]

Tried the girls with spagetti last night (we had a bit left over after tea) and they went mad for it , they have also had left over cooked brown rice in the past and loved that too.

Generally they get layers pellets, corn and lots of greens (cabbage, spring greens, sprouts, the odd lettuce and any of the apples and pears) I will often get them a treat from the supermarket reduced to clear fruit and veg. section, as they often do big bags of apples etc for 20p with a label on saying horse food only

We have 4 hybrid hens, 2 Amber Stars and 2 Maran Cuivres, who live in our backgarden.