Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: Ma Lowe on July 05, 2010, 12:41
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Can chickens eat lettuce.
Some say yes some say no.
I give them cabbage but also have lettuce in abundance so if they can eat it then they are in for a yummy lunch lol.
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Yep- my chooks escaped and have decimated my salad beds. They love lettuce and I am growing extra for them.
Jane
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I give them the occasional lettuce leaf but no more. I've heard on here that too much will give them the runs (can't spell the proper word). Mine love cabbage and I've just found out, courgettes. That's good because it's only me that eats them in our house.
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Are my hens the only ones that wont eat cabbage, Ive tried raw and cooked, neither takes their fancy which is a shame 'cos Ive always got some left after dinner!
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I give them the occasional lettuce leaf but no more. I've heard on here that too much will give them the runs (can't spell the proper word). Mine love cabbage and I've just found out, courgettes. That's good because it's only me that eats them in our house.
Mine get the runs if i give them too much!!
Only get a treat like that once a week maybe.
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I have heard that lettuce puts hens off lay. Mine love lettuce and they get all the outside leaves and it does seem to be true. But i do wonder that if just as the lettuces really start to glut the hens are due for a rest from laying anyway, so i dont know for sure :unsure:
If you have courgettes that get a bit big or marrows to spare, just slit them length wise and they will peck all the middle out leaving just the skin :) Mine also love carrot tops :)
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My girls don't have any problems with lettuce so they get it alot at the moment. They also like carrot and radish tops.
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just shows how individual they are. Mine eat lettuce most days, lay regularly, no problem poos and hate cabbage.
Jane
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Had a bought lettuce that we hadn't used because we now have our own home grown, so thought \i would give the bought one to the girls. Staked it with a metal rod and stuck it in the middle of the grass(we do this with broccoli too and it looks like little trees in the grass lol) Waited to see them all rushing to it, which they did, but then they turned their beaks up and walked away lol. I have found something they don't like lol.
I bet if it was in the ground in my veg garden they would bleeding eat it then fussy s*** ::)
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I can't get mine to eat lettuce at all! I am on my second flock and are a different breed.
Re feeding courgettes - mine eat the flowers from the courgettes as well as the courgettes :)
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Mine wouldn't eat lettuce to start with, but they do now, along with most every other bit of greenery they can get their beaks on. Haven't noticed any problems re poo, but they don't get lettuce every day. At the moment they are v keen on spring greens. That soon draws a crowd.
I think it does depend on the likes and dislikes of the individual chicken to be honest.