Foraging and Free-Range Diet

A free-range chicken will self-select bugs, worms, slugs, grubs, small frogs, tender grass tips, clover, dandelion greens, chickweed, plantain, fallen fruit, and seeds. A well-foraged bird can cover 20-30% of daily calories from the yard in a good pasture, but they still need complete feed available at all times, forage is not a full diet in a suburban lot. Best forage plants to grow on purpose: white clover, alfalfa (small patches), comfrey, dandelion, plantain, kale, mustard greens, sunflowers (they eat the seeds and the leaves), amaranth. Rotate range areas every few weeks to avoid parasite buildup and bare earth. Fence off the veggie garden until it is established, chickens will scratch up seedlings and dust-bathe in a nice tomato bed given the chance. In fall let them into the spent garden to clean up bugs, weeds, and dropped fruit before winter.