The Ideal Grass Height For Chickens
/What type of grass do chickens like?
Instead of listing out types of grass that chickens like, let’s think about WHY they like those varieties in the first place.
You see, chicken don’t have teeth. That’s why they need grit. In order for them to get food in their mouth, they have to be able to peck it with their beak.
Broadleaf and tender plants are easier to eat with a beak than thin fibrous plants. Think about trying to take a bite out of a shoelace versus biting a piece of pizza.
How do you grow the best grass for chickens?
You may want to rush out and buy pasture seed, but it’s NOT about buying seeds.
It’s about managing your pasture to encourage the forage you want, and discounrage the plants you don’t want. Chickens like broad, tender, physically accessible plants.
If you are raising chickens and you want to encourage these types of grasses, you have to manage the pasture height as a whole system. Managing periods of impact and rest.
The goal is keep the taller-growing grasses from out-competing the short broadleaf plants that your chickens prefer.
You may manage your pastures differently depending on your location, your livestock, and your farm goals.
When do I mow before chickens to give them the best pasture?
You will know exactly when to mow before your chickens when you start to understand the principles of impact and rest.
Impact: Grazing, mowing, trampling
Rest: Pause, Observe, Recover, Linger Graze, Document
When you mow or let animals graze, you're giving the grass a wake-up call. It's like hitting the reset button.
Once you've done that, grab a cold drink and watch the magic happen. Through the wonder of photosynthesis a burning ball of gas 93 million miles away (the sun) will provide free food for your animals!
Timing Impact and Rest To Grow Livestock Food
Impact: Mowing or grazing
First the grass says “OW! WHY?! WHAT DID I EVER DO TO YOU?!”
This is caused by mowing the grass with a machine or grazing livestock biting off or tramping the pasture.
Rest: Leave the grass alone.
Then the plant gets to work:
After the grass is cut, it pulls energy from its root system to feed the growth of new leaves.
Its job right now is to grow leaves which will act as solar panels to capture sunlight. While the plant is regrowing it is going through rapid cell-division, and producing more proteins to facilitate photosynthesis.
2-4 weeks after mowing we have broad tender leaves that are full of protein, the ideal grass for poultry.
As plants age, they develop more fibrous structures to support their seed heads blowing in the wind. Older grass typically contains less nutritional content suitable for chickens to eat.
Additionally, this increased fibrousness makes mature tall grass more difficult for chickens to navigate.
TL:DR
Chickens like diverse native forages that are low to the ground, tender, broad-leafed, higher in protein, and taste as good as grandma’s lasagna.
Farm Business Goals:
Decrease our feed bill and add value to our livestock by better managing our pastures to increase available forage.
Build organic matter in the soil through maximizing a plants ability to sequester carbon through photosynthesis.
Disclaimer:
There are a ton of variables that go into this. I am over-simplifying on purpose as an educational tool for people who are just beginning to farm or homestead.