What did people feed chichens before there was a feed store?

Davaroo said:

I like to keep it simple. Feed the things from time to time, do whatever else you can and.... cornbread 'aint too bad.
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That's how it was arranged not too long ago. It was well known that chickens can get along on all sorts of things, as you suggest. They will make do and adapt and for many centuries we let them do just that. Meanwhile we took what we could from them

But it was learned along the way that it was just so much more satisfying to see them get bigger and do more for a little extra care. Toss in some breeding effort and some control and by golly, things worked out even better. This started back in the 1800's in this country, but it had been going on much longer. The Egyptians, Romans, Chinese and the Rajas of India all were poultry fanciers, well before the petroleum barons showed up to rape the modern world. Eventually, science did get in the game and the gates were opened.... but it was actually late to the party.

Sure, we can let any chicken run amok and revert back to it's "natural," adaptive state. At the same time, it's not wrong to give them a little something extra so they can fatten and prosper on our behalf. It's an investment, really, that we make in them.

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If there weren't some benefit, at least to someone's mind, standardized breeding and commercial feed would never have happened, so I won't debate that obviously different people have at certain points have thought it was worthwhile to intensify production farming in the way you describe. All that makes perfect sense. But when it comes to massive overhauls of agrarian systems, I'm simply talking about the tradeoffs--because, like I described, it seems to me there are always tradeoffs, whether readily apparent or not--the most obvious of which is that however enticing, a novel system that relies on specific conditions and significant outside inputs simply cannot last. History tells us that, in case common sense isn't enough...

And as a farmer who utilizes a number of landrace farming principles in my work, and has made a point of trying to educate myself and other people about the practice of landrace farming (yes, a little disclaimer here! ) I really chafe at the implied assumption that landrace husbandry is just about being lazy and "letting any chicken run amok and revert." That is unfortunately a common but skewed perception. Obviously you aren't familiar at all with the nuances of landrace farming. Perhaps you should look it up, because it's actually quite fascinating! The genetic principles and the many breeding techniques of landrace farmers are actually quite sophisticated and savvy and represent cultural wisdom based on a keen sense of observation and a deep understanding of applied ecological principles--not just letting mutt chickens run amok and not feeding them.

We're talking about a different philosophy, not an inferior one--and so we're back to subjective values again here. But I'll just say that things that are timeless are timeless for a reason.

sky the chicken man said:

If there weren't some benefit, at least to someone's mind, standardized breeding and commercial feed would never have happened, so I won't debate that obviously different people have at certain points have thought it was worthwhile to intensify production farming in the way you describe. All that makes perfect sense. But when it comes to massive overhauls of agrarian systems, I'm simply talking about the tradeoffs--because, like I described, it seems to me there are always tradeoffs, whether readily apparent or not--the most obvious of which is that however enticing, a novel system that relies on specific conditions and significant outside inputs simply cannot last. History tells us that, in case common sense isn't enough...

And as a farmer who utilizes a number of landrace farming principles in my work, and has made a point of trying to educate myself and other people about the practice of landrace farming (yes, a little disclaimer here!

) I really chafe at the implied assumption that landrace husbandry is just about being lazy and "letting any chicken run amok and revert." That is unfortunately a common but skewed perception. Obviously you aren't familiar at all with the nuances of landrace farming. Perhaps you should look it up, because it's actually quite fascinating! The genetic principles and the many breeding techniques of landrace farmers are actually quite sophisticated and savvy and represent cultural wisdom based on a keen sense of observation and a deep understanding of applied ecological principles--not just letting mutt chickens run amok and not feeding them.

We're talking about a different philosophy, not an inferior one--and so we're back to subjective values again here.

But I'll just say that things that are timeless are timeless for a reason.

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Agreed. We are an arrogant species, trying to feed billions who cannot or won't do it for themselves. Some trade offs are inevitable.

"Landraces are pre-industrial domesticated plants or animals that are distinct and maintained agriculturally in contrast to modern cultivars/breeds that are distinct and maintained by scientific breeding with modern farming methods. Landrace cereals, legumes and oil seeds have been maintained by farmers over hundreds and mostly thousands of years. This landrace trilogy, if you will, when combined with landrace brassicas, is the basis of all sustainable domesticated food systems worldwide from antiquity. Popular media, since the 1980s, presents landrace cereals, vegetables, etc., under the banner of "heirloom" foods here in the USA. This term is increasingly imprecise because the generally accepted definition of "heirloom" is any domesticated food plant or animal in production over 50 years ago. This definition now includes foods that were developed scientifically between 1950 and 1960 … the delineating decade of emergent scientifically bred and maintained green revolution production crops in America.

The compelling realities of landrace agriculture include genetic diversity where variation is celebrated and encouraged to maintain crop vigor, success in low-resource, high-stress environments … low fertility, drought resistance, disease and pest tolerance being a few of the chief advantages … and the innate ability to adapt to climate and other change. Landrace crop diversity and variation contributes to appealing and dramatic flavor profile and high-quality nutrition. It is best limited to human scale small family or community farming due to variability in ripening and crop fragility that can thwart early and/or uniform harvest and wide distribution.

In other words, landrace systems are the quintessential "local" food systems meant for "local" consumption. Most important, success of landrace food systems is dependent upon the relationship of many individual landrace plants and animals which creates more diverse foods with inherent variability, which is attractive in human scale "local" distribution, but the antithesis of uniform traits required for industrial farming and manufacturing food systems."

Im not hatin' on this, it sounds well.... it sounds like you are him. In other words, you purposefully adopt what was useful and proven in the past and you keep it going. That's fine. The truth is, I thought this way a long time ago.
At the same time I don't have a problem with the more 'modern,' uniform things, if you will use those hated terms for just a minute. I suspect that given enough time, even those will become "landrace," themselves. In fact, I'm certain of it. It might be a bit rocky along the way, but so it goes.
You might say, I've mellowed and have become less stringent. As long as people are doing something besides waiting on the delivery truck, then I'm pleased.

Now as to what people fed their chickens before feed stores, well, I got no problem with cornbread. LOL

dorkings said:

Let’s say you could not drive downtown and buy your chick starter or layer pellets what would you feed your chickens? We always had chickens growing up and I don't remember feeding them anything but rolled oats and of course all the bugs, worm and grass they wanted to find. Any thoughts?
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The birds were fed oats, corn, silage, and kitchen/table scraps and were allowed to free-range...just like you said, and somehow they survived and did fine and produced eggs. It's gotten ridiculous about the feeding of chickens nowadays with 'medicated this' and 'special layer that' and 'chick only froo froo feeds' ad nausea, though those raising birds on a 1/2 acre (or 1 or two acres but with too many chickens, etc) lot won't do as well because there's nothing there for the birds to eat after being fed the oats/corn/scraps like bugs and grasses and legumes and such, which make up a huge portion of feed for them in the spring/summer/fall.

It looks like people are completely forgetting about things like, beets, cabbage, turnips, and radishes. All very easy to grow, and high in protein. These were grown a lot for animal feed pre-industrial revolution.

When you have baby male chicks poured into shredders "alive" it does make you question commercial chicken/egg production.I only hav 8 hens and 1 rooster but they all have their own personalities and are quite intelligent contrary to belief!! Humans are messing with nature and disrespecting life,..it will eventually bite us back. The Corona Virus highlighted this......Some predict an Avian Flu like wave is to come. It will make Covid 19 look like a walk in the park!!!! What good is a million bucks if they cant discover a vaccine?