HYPOTHETICAL DISCUSSION: What to feed your chickens when we can't buy chicken feed anymore

Missa Chickabee

Songster
7 Years
May 27, 2012
600
18
113
Northern Minnesota
OK. This question has been rolling around in my head for awhile and maybe it has been discussed already but....
here goes.....


Really, if we were to have such disasters in our country that we could no longer get chicken feed from the stores, where would that leave most of us?

(Notwithstanding that we would need food for ourselves, too!)

What could we grow in a summer garden that could help feed our chickens through the winter? What did the pioneers do?? (Don't tell me just eat your chickens and be done with it. We can go a lot further for ourselves on eggs, that perfect food)

Perhaps this thread belongs on the self-sustainable living pages, but I'm sooo focused on chickens right now (oh boy....probably way too much, or so says DH, only without the 'probably')

I paid $18 for a a 50 # bag of grower crumbles yesterday. Yikes. And I suspect prices will only increase.

Any takers on this thread?
 
Great question.

I feed them food out of our garden, but only fresh food.

I have pondered this question, along with how much they could forage themselves. I think you cannot go far without saying corn,and then dry it to be used later. I would say hay too. I don't think i could grow all the grain needed for a flock unless it was my full time job or very small scale. Also if need be free ranging with human protection.

I have also wondered about a large flock to be systematically culled through the winter and then replenish with hatching your own in the spring. I keep a relatively large flock of dozens (4 dozen) birds. I find that free ranging truly reduces my feed bill, but then I lost 11 to a fox attack this spring, so there is a balance to be struck of savings versus safety.

I also believe eggs are a perfect food, my favorite in fact! My husband thinks I am a little hysterical when I ponder such things, but then I am a planner and if catastrophe would truly strike, I would like to think I won't be the proverbial chicken with my head cut off without a plan.

Anxious to hear what others think.
 
Don't forget, if disaster truly were to strike, would you have the seeds available to plant? That kind of thing would be seriously hoarded. I think many of us could and can do small things to leave us less vulnerable to reliance on our shipping system, but it takes more work than we are used to, different work. Very scary to think through, again, thanks for posing this question.

My husband thinks I am rather chicken obsessed, but it is fun, and he likes the birds too!
 
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The following are just a few things that come to mind. Winter vegetables or cold-hardy veggies in a cold-frame would help both people and chickens - collards, kale, lots of hardy greens, carrots..... For foods to be stored and fed over winter, look to grains - oats, wheat, millet, barley....and some of the less common ones (like amaranth) which can be higher in protein. Corn, sunflower seed..... Many of these are fairly easy to grow and dry for use later. Other veggies and fruits which store well - apples, winter squashes..... Any of these help reduce the winter feed bill and give the birds some variety. It would obviously require some growing space as well as some storage space but when times are tough, you find ways.
 
I'd plant a lot of grains and alfalfa. In fact, we're heading out to pick up some alfalfa seeds this afternoon...it's awesome because it's so very nutritious and it's also a perennial...you can cut it at least 3 times a season and they can eat it green or you can dry it and feed it over the winter. Clover is also very nutritious and is also a perennial. I planted some this spring for use in my herbal medicines and have ended up giving a lot of it to the girls. I put in oats as well, and turns out the chickens love them! I'll put in more than just 3 small patches next year. I cut just the seed heads and toss them in the pen. Then when the straw is dry, I cut it and use it for bedding. Then I till in the roots.

I'm thinking I'll try a little winter wheat this year as well. For these non-perennial things, I'll just save some seed back for planting next year. We also grow some vegetables which we share with the chickens, so I'd plant more of them. Dried beans are excellent protein, but of course they have to be cooked first. I'm planning some sunflowers for next year so I'll plant various runner type beans around them and let them climb the stalks. They don't take much space and will keep practically forever once they've been dried properly. Again, you can hold a few back for planting the next spring.

Of course their own shells can be crushed and fed back to them, so that would provide the calcium they need...the beans are good for protein, and if milk and a culture is available, you can make cheese or yogurt to give them...also their own eggs, cooked.

I'd certainly let the dandelions have their way in the lawn...our girls love them and they're very nutritious as well. Might not be perfect, but between the stuff you can actually plant and fresh greens...I think they'd do rather well :)

Very interesting thread...thanks for posting!
 
Really if the jungle fowl could survive on whatever is in the environment, there is no reason why we couldn't grow our own feed - even if it wasn't 100% balanced.

Frankly, buying it is less work then growing it :oops: I do know people that make their own feed though. They grow their own grains and mix their own feed with it. There is a lot more to a bag of layer feed then most of us realize.
 
Awesome thread!

I've been wondering this very thing myself. We have some land, and I was wondering if attempting to grow some of our own scratch grains, etc., should be on the agenda for next spring. I'm always on the lookout for better ways to do things, and I would vastly prefer it if I could cut GMOs out of my food chain even if I can't go entirely organic here on this farm. I have NO CLUE how much I'd have to grow to feed my flock, or how to prepare it for them, but I figure if I can learn how to build a chicken coop (and then do it), and can learn how to keep chickens happy with commercial products (and then do it), I can also learn to grow them some feed (and then do it). And maybe the chickens and I can even share what I grow.
 
Absolutely, Joyce! We just have an urban lot so we're pretty limited as to what and how much we can grow. If you've got space and don't have acidic soil, alfalfa would be ideal! You plant it, give it a bit of water and then cut it just after it blooms...don't let it go to seed. Then, give it a bit of water and it'll grow back. Repeat as necessary, LOL. You can feed it either green or dried...just make sure it doesn't mold. It's an excellent feed for most livestock, is really good for the soil, and doesn't need tending.

Since we have such a little space, we're just going to use the lawn mower with the bag and then spread it out to dry.

There are LOTS of veggies you can share with your chickens...zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, kale, chard, carrots (although our girls won't eat carrots), beets...you get the root, they get the leaves. We put in a few fruit trees (plums and apples) a couple years back and I give the bird-pecked ones to the chickens...they love 'em!
 
I asked my dad this just this weekend, because when he was a kid, you just didn't buy chickens food. He said they dried corn and ground it up. Whenever there wasn't snow on the ground, you let them forage, and you didn't feed them at all in the summer--they fed themselves. I imagine they can find stuff any time there's not snow on the ground to supplement the corn. I'll bet his chickens weren't anywhere near as FAT as my spoiled girls!!!!
 
I'd plant a lot of grains and alfalfa. In fact, we're heading out to pick up some alfalfa seeds this afternoon...it's awesome because it's so very nutritious and it's also a perennial...you can cut it at least 3 times a season and they can eat it green or you can dry it and feed it over the winter. Clover is also very nutritious and is also a perennial. I planted some this spring for use in my herbal medicines and have ended up giving a lot of it to the girls. I put in oats as well, and turns out the chickens love them! I'll put in more than just 3 small patches next year. I cut just the seed heads and toss them in the pen. Then when the straw is dry, I cut it and use it for bedding. Then I till in the roots.

I'm thinking I'll try a little winter wheat this year as well. For these non-perennial things, I'll just save some seed back for planting next year. We also grow some vegetables which we share with the chickens, so I'd plant more of them. Dried beans are excellent protein, but of course they have to be cooked first. I'm planning some sunflowers for next year so I'll plant various runner type beans around them and let them climb the stalks. They don't take much space and will keep practically forever once they've been dried properly. Again, you can hold a few back for planting the next spring.

Of course their own shells can be crushed and fed back to them, so that would provide the calcium they need...the beans are good for protein, and if milk and a culture is available, you can make cheese or yogurt to give them...also their own eggs, cooked.

I'd certainly let the dandelions have their way in the lawn...our girls love them and they're very nutritious as well. Might not be perfect, but between the stuff you can actually plant and fresh greens...I think they'd do rather well :)

Very interesting thread...thanks for posting!

Hey, saw your bit on alfalfa--just wanted to let you know that you cut it before it reaches the blossom stage, every time it gets close, no matter how many cuttings you get a season. My dad has hundreds of acres of alfalfa and in a good year will get six cuttings. Cut it before it reaches full bloom and it will be more nutritious.
 

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