Chickens and Leaves

During the fall and winter, leaves can be a nuisance. We used to pile them up to be disposed of but in recent years we have tried to find ways to work with them instead of against them.

If they are dry, we can use them as bedding in pens and henhouses. We have also used them in our homemade wax fire starters for our woodstove. My favorite option is putting nature to work and letting the chickens take care of them.

With this, we simply give the chickens our excess leaves that we rake and pile up. Every day I sprinkle a couple good handfuls of cracked corn or grain over the pile and the chickens are happy to spend a few hours foraging and scratching through it for treats. In the process, they break down the leaves into little pieces which I can then either add to our compost pile or use as mulch in the gardens in the spring.

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Team Greta

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