The Poultry Keeper

shire horse girl · Joined: 18 Mar 2008 Posts: 514 Location: lincoln

Gave the girls some lettuce/ cabbage/leeks which they have ignored am i supposed to hang it up or is it ok on the floor? They have almost finished eating the beech hedge and so have been used to having "green" food . They are not interested in grapes either, however they love corn !!! They have free access to layers mix and having read that corn puts on weight they get limited amounts in the afternoon. I guess i want them to be happy girls with good appetites !!!! Thanks for all the help/knowledge gleaned already from you all.

CP · Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 4:05 pm Post subject:

If it's fresh I hang it in a wire hanging basket. If it's cooked it goes in a bowl.

Having said that, mine won't eat raw leeks & only small amounts cooked. I don't usually give mine very much lettuce either as it has been said that it reduces laying - whether true or not I can't be sure.
They love cabbage though, both raw & cooked. Wink

Try them with other veg as they all have different tastes. Wink

Itsybitsy · Joined: 11 Feb 2006 Posts: 1443 Location: Leicestershire

Lettuce is soporific! Has nobody read The Tale of Peter Rabbit?

It induces sleep and an extract from the milky sap has a slightly narcotic effect similar to opium, much diluted in the garden variety but still present. Moderate doses given to lower animals acts as a narcotic (from A Modern Herbal)

I don't know where chickens come in the "animal scale" or bird scale before anyone corrects me Laughing

but they know best.

Mine love carrots - raw & cut into big chunks. I think they learnt to eat them from standing under the pony as he was muching on his and dropping fragments from his mouth Laughing

Itsybitsy

www.woodenart.org.uk · Joined: 14 Jan 2008 Posts: 51 Location: shropshire

if anybody wants me....I'm planting lettuce, bugger the potatoes.

Itsybitsy · Joined: 11 Feb 2006 Posts: 1443 Location: Leicestershire

Itsybitsy

crazypianolady · Joined: 26 Mar 2008 Posts: 761 Location: Nottinghamshire

Mine leave raw carrots, but go mad for chickweed and dandelion leaves (gathered off the over grown allotment next to mine). At the other end of the expense scale, mango. (They only get them as an extra special treat when the mangoes are on offer!)

Laughing