Do Chickens Eat Grass? What They Forage On
Yes, chickens eat grass. They’ll also eat weeds, seeds, herbs, dropped fruit and every insect they can catch. Letting your chickens out to free-range is one of the most rewarding things you can do for their health and happiness, so it’s worth knowing what foraging in a typical backyard actually adds to a laying hen’s diet, and what it doesn’t.
Key takeaways
- Grass is fibre and water. It helps the gizzard and adds variety, but it doesn’t replace a complete layer feed and shell grit
- Chickens forage on grass, weeds, seeds, fruit, herbs, insects and small animals, picking up protein, vitamins, minerals, fibre and grit along the way
- In a typical backyard, free-ranging won’t do much for the feed bill. On acreage with rotated pasture it can
- Good forage plants include dandelion, clover, parsley, nasturtium, marigold, sunflowers and most edible weeds
- Some common plants are toxic to chickens, for example oleander, jade plant, avocado and rhubarb leaves, and spinach-type greens should only be eaten in small amounts
- Pesticides, herbicides and fungicides can also be toxic and shouldn’t be used where chickens forage
- Boost the backyard by planting forage crops, encouraging insects and rotating forage areas if you can
Do chickens eat grass?
Chickens love grass! They eat the tender young tips and grass seeds, and they scratch underneath for the insects hiding there. Grass is mostly fibre and water. Its main benefit for chickens is promoting gizzard health and digestion, although it does contain small amounts of protein and trace nutrients.
Grass for chickens should be kept short – a mowed lawn is ideal. Consuming too much long grass can cause crop impaction. Fortunately, chickens will rarely eat mature grass unless very hungry, preferring the tender young tips. The same goes for grass clippings: a small handful of fresh clippings is fine, but a pile of them mats and ferments quickly, so it’s better to let the chooks graze the lawn themselves.
A word on the numbers you’ll see quoted for lawn grasses: common varieties like buffalo, couch, kikuyu, fescue and zoysia run anywhere from about 7% to 20% protein, with kikuyu the highest of the lot, but those figures are measured on dried grass. Fresh grass is about 80% water, so a hen picking at your lawn is getting a fraction of that by weight. That’s exactly why grass is a supplement, not a feed.
Chickens will ruin lawns by scratching, so rotating your free-range areas and choosing hardier grasses such as buffalo and zoysia may help.
Not all free-ranging is created equal
Free-ranging is exceptionally good for chickens. It allows them to express natural behaviours such as dust-bathing, scratching and foraging. It’s fantastic for their wellbeing and reduces issues such as boredom, bullying and feather-pecking. But the fact is, in a typical backyard it won’t do much for your feed bill.
Free-ranging can contribute meaningfully to a chicken’s diet… when there is an abundance of insect life, along with varied seeds, fruits and green plants, including protein-rich forages. If chickens are rotated regularly across large areas, such as on acreages or in pasture systems, forage has time to regrow and insect populations remain stable; this type of free-ranging can provide much of the protein, energy and nutrients that chickens need.
But you know what happens to a chicken run over time – insects disappear and plants are pecked into oblivion. A standard backyard is the same!
For backyard chickens, free-ranging does provide some micronutrients, but it is a supplement, not a substitute for a balanced diet. A complete feed is what meets the nutritional requirements of regular egg production and long-term health.
What does a typical suburban yard offer free-range chickens?
So what are chickens actually eating when they free-range in a typical backyard?
Most backyards are a patchwork of grass, weeds, mulch and garden beds, perhaps with a few trees thrown in for good measure. In Australia, garden plants tend to be a mix of natives and introduced ornamentals, with the addition of herbs, fruit trees and perhaps some vegetables.
Chickens love this variety and when free-ranging they’ll nibble on:
- Grasses
- Weeds
- Herbs and soft greens, including new growth from some trees and shrubs
- Fruits and seeds, including dropped produce from trees
- Insects and invertebrates like worms, beetles, caterpillars, ants and grasshoppers
- Small animals like frogs, lizards and even small rodents and snakes. Cane toads are the exception: their toxin can make a chicken very sick, so in toad country it’s worth clearing them out of the run where you can
- Small stones and shells, e.g. from snails, to aid digestion
Chickens love scratching to find insects and worms, so they will take full advantage of any mulch or fallen leaves, making a mess of gardens in the process!
What are the nutritional benefits of backyard free-ranging?
While a balanced commercial feed is still essential, free-ranging adds important variety to the diet as well as some micronutrients.
Here’s what your chickens might be gaining from foraging in the backyard:
- Protein from insects, worms and grubs (especially important for egg production)
- Vitamins A, C and K from leafy green weeds and herbs
- Calcium and trace minerals from dandelion, clover and garden plants
- Digestive support from small amounts of grass and fibre
- Small stones to help the gizzard grind food. Free access to shell grit is still essential for the calcium that goes into eggshells
The more diverse your yard, the better the benefits. And there are all of the mental and physical benefits of a more active and interesting lifestyle too.
Which garden plants are good for chickens, and which to avoid
Some garden plants are better for chickens than others: there are plants with nutritional benefits, others that are harmful. Most plants, however, while not dangerous, have little dietary value either.
Understanding which plants to avoid and which to plant can help you make sure that your chickens are safe and are getting the most benefit from free-ranging in your backyard.
Common garden plants
It’s amazing what chickens will try to eat! Some plants are genuinely beneficial, while many provide a little fibre and not much else.
These are common in Aussie gardens and aren’t known to be toxic to chickens:
- Parsley – High in vitamin K, supports blood clotting and immunity
- Lomandra – Hardy native grass; non-toxic and often ignored by chickens
- Lavender – Pest-deterrent and not toxic; not a favourite, but chickens may nibble
- Marigolds and Calendula – Support yolk colour and have mild health benefits
- Sunflowers – Seeds are high in fat and protein; leaves and petals are fine too
- Pigface (Carpobrotus) – Native succulent; chickens may peck at the juicy leaves
- Mint, basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme – Fine in small amounts
- Camellias – Not commonly eaten, but not toxic
- Nasturtium – Palatable and popular with chickens
- Roses – Foliage is fine and the rosehips are high in vitamin C
Most other culinary herbs, vegetable plants and fruit trees are fine for chickens to pick at. The exceptions matter though: avoid the nightshade family (tomato and potato leaves, green tomatoes), rhubarb leaves, avocado, onions and garlic, and the leaves and pits of stone fruit like apricot, peach, plum and cherry.
Other ornamentals that chickens tolerate well include zinnias, cosmos, petunias and alyssum. Geraniums and pelargoniums are a different story: their leaves contain aromatic oils that can upset a chicken’s digestion, so it’s better to treat them as a plant to limit rather than one to plant for the chooks. Most hens find them unpalatable and walk straight past.
In addition to garden plants, many weeds are also palatable and beneficial to chickens, including:
- Dandelion – Nutritious weed, high in calcium and vitamin A; chickens love it
- Clover – Good source of protein; supports laying hens
- Plantain (Plantago) – Mineral-rich weed; chickens happily eat the leaves
- Other beneficial weeds include chickweed, nettle, purslane, fat hen and cleavers
Use caution / feed sparingly
These plants aren’t toxic but should only be eaten in small amounts and may cause digestive upset if overconsumed:
- Spinach, silverbeet, beet greens – Nutritious but high in oxalates; limit intake
- Warrigal greens (native spinach) – Rich in nutrients but also high in oxalates
- Succulents (e.g. Sedum) – Most are tolerated but can cause mild diarrhoea if over-eaten; jade plant is toxic and is in the list below
- Geraniums and pelargoniums – Aromatic oils can upset digestion; most hens avoid them
- Salvias – Some species, particularly edible herbs, tend to be beneficial, but others are not well-tolerated
- Ficus species (e.g. rubber plant, fiddle leaf fig) – The sap can irritate or cause digestive upsets; the fruit of an edible fig is fine
Dangerous plants for chickens
While chickens will generally only eat a little of this and a little of that while free-ranging, there are some common garden plants that are harmful to chickens and may cause illness or death if consumed.
Some dangerous plants to avoid for chickens include:
- Oleander
- Azalea
- Nightshade family (e.g. green tomatoes, potato plants)
- Rhubarb leaves
- Jade plant
- Foxglove
- Angel’s trumpet
- Larkspur/Delphinium
- Lily of the valley
- Hydrangea
- Wisteria
- Morning glory
- Avocado
- Privet
- Macadamia
- Castor oil plant
- Camphor laurel
- Hemlock
- Bracken fern
- Honeysuckle (some species; identification matters)
Making sure your garden is safe for chickens
Chickens will often leave alone plants that taste bitter or unpleasant, and some toxic plants, such as tomatoes, don’t usually cause issues in small amounts. But that instinct isn’t something to rely on. A hungry hen, a young bird, or a bored one shut in a small area will try things she shouldn’t.
If you are free-ranging chickens in a garden with toxic plants, it is essential that they have free access to chicken feed and other forage so they are not forced to consume anything harmful. That said, it’s best to avoid any dangerous plants altogether if you can.
In addition, plants treated with fertilisers, pesticides or herbicides may also be toxic to chickens depending on the product used. Lawn treated with weed-and-feed is the common one: keep the chooks off it until the label says it is safe for pets. Avoid using chemicals in areas where your chickens free-range and use natural alternatives, such as manure and compost, instead.
Tips for a chicken-friendly backyard
A few simple changes make your yard a much safer place for the chooks to free-range in. You should:
- Avoid harmful plants
- Give chickens free access to a complete layer feed and shell grit at all times
- Fence off veggie gardens if you want anything left to harvest
- Protect vulnerable plants
- Make sure there are small stones or coarse grit about, to help grind all that foraged food
- Avoid chemical fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides
Will the garden get wrecked? Expect some damage. If the chooks are causing too much of it, limit free-ranging to a few hours each day – late afternoon works well, once they’ve eaten most of their feed – or rotate free-ranging areas with fencing or a chicken tractor.
Smaller breeds such as bantams and silkies are also much less likely to kill plants or ruin gardens than more robust chicken breeds.
How to boost the nutritional value of your backyard
Consider the following ideas to boost the nutrition your chickens will get from free-ranging in your backyard:
- Provide a range of different plants and habitats, e.g. lawn, gardens, mulch, low trees and bushes etc.
- Grow extra just for the chooks
- Plant additional greens like kale, collards, silverbeet etc.
- Sow a poultry forage mix in a garden bed or replace part of the lawn!
- Plant fruit trees that will drop fruit such as mulberries, guavas or passionfruit. Pick up heavy windfall though, because fruit rotting on the ground feeds rats just as well as it feeds chooks
- Plant protein-rich forage plants
- Add clover to the lawn
- Consider planting a hedge of pigeon pea, tagasaste (tree lucerne), lucerne or wattle (ensure it is an edible variety)
- Plant fodder trees like moringa and papaya
- Add sweet potato and pumpkin vines to the garden as a ground cover
- Encourage insects
- Add mulch to garden beds
- Add mulch piles or piles of dead leaves for chickens to scratch through
- Add sections of logs or large tree branches that will grow worms and other insects
- Add a bale of straw or cane mulch and turn it over every few days to provide a feast of worms and bugs
Common questions about what chickens eat
Do chickens eat grass?
Yes. Chickens eat the tender young tips and the seed heads, and they scratch through the lawn for insects underneath. Grass is mostly fibre and water, so its main benefit is helping the gizzard grind food. It adds variety, not nutrition, and it doesn't replace a complete layer feed.
Can chickens eat grass clippings?
Fresh, short clippings in a small handful are fine. A pile of mown clippings is not: it mats and ferments quickly, and long strands can block the crop. Never feed clippings from a lawn treated with weed-and-feed or other chemicals. Letting the chooks graze a short lawn themselves is the safer option.
Do chickens eat grass seed?
Yes, and they enjoy it. Seed heads on grasses and weeds are one of the things chickens actively hunt for when free-ranging. Keep the lawn mowed so they're picking at short growth and seed rather than long, stringy blades.
Can chickens eat guava?
Yes. Ripe guava, including fruit that has dropped from the tree, is a treat the chooks will happily clean up in moderation. Pick up any heavy windfall they leave behind, because fruit rotting on the ground feeds rats just as readily as it feeds chickens.
What weeds can chickens eat?
Dandelion, clover, plantain, chickweed, nettle, purslane, fat hen and cleavers are all palatable and useful forage. Dandelion is high in calcium and vitamin A, and clover adds protein. Leave spinach-type greens like fat hen to small amounts, as they're high in oxalates.
Can chickens eat leaves?
Most soft green leaves are fine in small amounts, and hens will pick at new growth on herbs, vegetables and shrubs. The exceptions matter: rhubarb leaves, tomato and potato leaves, avocado, oleander and the leaves of stone fruit like apricot, peach, plum and cherry should all be kept away from the flock.
How many hours a day should chickens free-range?
There's no set number. Many backyard keepers settle on a couple of hours in the late afternoon, once the hens have eaten most of their feed for the day and are less inclined to strip the garden. If you have the space, rotating areas or using a chicken tractor lets them stay out longer without wrecking any one spot.
Will free-ranging reduce my feed bill?
In a typical backyard, not by much. A suburban yard is picked over quickly, so free-ranging adds variety and a few micronutrients rather than replacing feed. It's a different story on acreage with rotated pasture and plenty of insect life, where forage can cover a real share of the diet.
Conclusions
Chickens that get to free-range are more active, better occupied and less prone to boredom problems like feather-pecking. And with a little planning, your backyard can support that without giving up your garden beds entirely.
For the pros, cons and predator risks of letting the flock out, see our guide to free-range chicken keeping. And to learn more about growing plants for chickens:
- How to grow Moringa, a miracle plant for chickens
- High-protein forage greens for chickens
- Our top 10 dual-purpose plants for the chicken run
- An extensive list of forage greens for chickens
Happy chicken keeping!
Rachael at Dine-A-Chook Australia
