Can Chickens Eat Grass Clippings?
Chickens graze living grass safely all day, but piles of mower clippings — long, wet strands — are a crop-impaction hazard.
The why
When a hen grazes, she nips grass into tiny pieces. When she gorges from a pile of long clippings, those strands can wad up and block the crop — impacted or sour crop is one of the most common preventable backyard ailments. Fermenting piles also grow mold fast.
How to feed it
Best: let them graze the lawn itself. If sharing clippings, scatter a thin, fresh, dry layer of SHORT clippings immediately after mowing an unsprayed lawn — never dump piles.
Worth knowing
No long strands, no wet mats, no day-old piles, and never clippings from treated lawns. When in doubt, compost the clippings and let the birds have the compost pile's bugs later.
The 90/10 rule: whatever the treat, a laying flock's diet should stay about 90% balanced feed. Treats — even the healthy ones — are the garnish, not the meal. Wondering what your flock really costs to feed? Try our free egg cost calculator.
📄 Free printable: The Chicken Never List
The 15 foods that can hurt your flock, on one page — print it, tape it inside the feed-bin lid.
Keep your whole flock on track
Homestead Paradise tracks your birds, eggs, feed costs, and health records in one place — and Harold, your homestead advisor, reads your records and tells you what he'd do next. Snap a photo of a mystery plant or bug with Harold's Eyes before it ends up in the run.
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