In addition to our grains for human consumption, I plan to incorporate some grains into the non-forested part of our new chicken forest pasture.  I'll let the chickens scratch up one of the flat areas well, then turn the birds into another paddock while I broadcast buckwheat, millet, and perhaps corn seeds into the distressed ground.  After three months, I'll be able to rotate the chickens which we plan to keep for the winter into the grain paddock so that they can supplement their winter foraging with grains.

I've already outlined the method for growing buckwheat and everyone knows how to grow corn.  But how do you grow millet?  Unfortunately, several different species (each in their own genus, so only vaguely related) are called by the name "millet" and each has its own growing requirements.  Pearl millet has the largest seeds and the advantage of threshing free from its hulls naturally, but pearl millet also requires warm temperatures and may not set seed in cold climates.  Proso millet can be grown in cooler areas since it requires only 60 to 90 days to mature, and Titus emailed me that her chickens adore the seeds so I suspect the hull doesn't bother them.  Have you grown millet in your garden?  If so, what kind, and how did it do?