Our flock of 30 chickens roam free except during the night and during windy or snowy days. Normally, along with their diet of corn and layer mix, they get to forage for greens, bugs and worms. However, during winter it is hard for them to get enough greens to balance their corn and layer mix diet. About three years ago we began providing them with bean sprouts as a dietary supplement. The nutritional value of bean sprouts when combined with corn is a real protein builder with many vitamins and an assortment of minerals, including calcium, iron and potassium. Not only that, the chickens love them and I don't know if this is the reason, but we have been getting eggs all winter. Not as many as during the summer months, but all that we need.

Chickens love these easy to sprout mung beans. Is it the taste of the beans, or do they think they are worms? Either way, Dianna Simms says they gobble the sprouts up and seem to appreciate the fresh foods during winter. Starting the sprouts: Sprouts are soaked in water about twice the depth of the beans. You can use any container that will allow some air flow such as these empty coffee containers with holes cut in them. Sprouting has already begun at the end of the first day. After 24 hours, drain and fill the same as the first time. Sprouts after day 3 are nearly large enough to feed to the chickens. Close up of sprouts ready for the birds to enjoy.

If you have never tried to grow bean sprouts but want to try, here's how we do it. First, you must order mung beans, usually from an organic catalog at about a dollar a pound. They come in 50-pound bags and one bag will last us all winter. I use old plastic coffee cans, with holes punched in the top of the lid and on the sides. Not big holes, just a few slits with a paring knife—make the cut high up away from where you will be adding water. This gives the sprouts some air flow. Some people use quart canning jars with a piece of screen cut in a circle and tightened with the lid. Any container will work as long as there is air flow.

To start, I put two cups of dried mung beans in one of the above mentioned containers and cover them with water. The water needs be twice the depth of the beans since the beans will swell and end up about twice their size. I cover and soak for 24 hours. I found that getting used to the routine of handling the beans was the hardest part of the job, so I now work with them when I do the morning dishes. I also deliberately keep the containers in sight and not hide them in a cupboard or under the sink. They have been known to have been forgotten when I stored them out of sight.

After 24 hours, I drain them in a colander. I repeat this schedule each day until the beans have sprouted big enough for the chickens to eat. This takes about four to six days. It is important during each daily draining to let them drain for a while, about ten minutes, before putting the beans back into the container. You can see in the pictures how each day they grow bigger and bigger. If you like to eat bean sprouts yourself, and we love them in our stir fry, then extend the process until they are all sprouted.

If you want to have a continual supply of sprouts, you need to have a steady flow of batches. I usually start a container, then wait a few days and start another new one. It's easy to tell them apart because the older beans will have more growth. And if you forget to rinse them for one day, don't worry—but if you go two or more days, they might dry out too much and won't continue to sprout. I had a batch turn sour, but that was before I cut holes for ventilation, the chickens ate them anyway.

We have found these sprouts to be a good supplement during the cold winter months, along with old lettuce or spinach, cut up in small pieces. I knew a lady who had a deal with one of the grocery stores and got them to save the old packages of salad mix that they would be tossing out. She said her chickens loved it. Of course, chickens also like cooked macaroni and spaghetti, that is if you want to really spoil them. Cornbread and any old bread works too.

Nothing takes the place of bugs, worms and fresh grass but during cold and snowy weather, our chickens really like these treats. I hope that this is something you would like to try.