How to Grow Wheat Grass for Chickens

Chickens love to have fresh greens.  This can be quite a challenge when there is 2 feet of snow covering the lawn!  In the winter, we grow wheat grass in our kitchen to give our chickens.  It’s so easy to do (you don’t even need soil!) and the girls are quite happy with the results! Scroll down to learn how to grow wheat grass for your chickens!

Supplies you will need:

*wheat grass berries (can be found at health food stores or online)
*two plastic trays that will stack together
*something to keep the trays slightly separated
*duct tape & a drill

I found two old trays in the back of my Tupperware cabinet.  I am pretty sure I got these at a discount party store.  If you don’t have anything on hand, try the Dollar Store or Walmart for inexpensive, plastic trays.

In one of the trays, you will need to drill some drainage holes.  Put some duct tape where you are going to drill to keep the plastic from cracking.

Pour the wheat grass berries into the tray that doesn’t have holes.  Spread them so they make a layer about 1/2 inch deep.

Cover the berries in water and let them soak overnight (about 8 hours).

Pour the berries directly into the tray with holes and let it drain into the sink.  Put the seed tray inside the solid tray.  You will want to put something between the two trays to keep them slightly separated to allow better drainage.  I use two tops for pharmacy medication bottles.

A couple of times a day rinse the berries, letting them drain into the lower tray.  You want to keep the berries moist, but you don’t want them sitting in water or they could grow mold.  In a day or so, you should see them begin to sprout.  If you can put them in a sunny window, they will grow faster, but they will grow just fine on your kitchen counter.

In about a week, the grass should be about 2 inches long and you can give it to your chickens. You can also cut the grass and juice it for yourself.  Cats enjoy nibbling on it to help with hairballs.  There are so many uses for this healthy treat!   I start the next tray right away so that at least once a week, the girls have some green grass.  If you have the space to have multiple trays going at once, you could have trays in multiple stages of growth to supplement your chicken’s daily diet.

The roots of the grass weave together to form a thick “mat” so you can just pull it out of the tray and feed to the chickens, grass, roots & all!