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

[Missa Chickabee]

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?

 

[mickey328]

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!

 

[LilyD]

If we were to experience a complete societal collapse or major calamity I suspect feeding chickens won't seem quite so important.

I think if we had complete societal collape then I think it would be even more important to feed them so they continue to live and lay eggs for us to provide more chickens and more meat and eggs. But then my thoughts are that if society collapses I want to be able to live completely off the land rather than have to barter or buy things. So I am working on getting to the point where I buy less and make more.

 

[LilyD]

You know, I'm not a spring chicken. (66) I moved in with my daughter and her family last year and we moved to a couple of acres in the sticks. NW Louisiana. I watch what is going on in the world and the conditions. My family doesn't.. So I decided quietly to prepare a little for us my myself. I decided to grow a garden and maybe store up seed. So I did. Next, I've decided to get some chickens ("But, why, Mama, it's so much cheaper in the grocery store!!") Yeah, so my first bunch of chickies will be here in the middle of January. Next on the agenda is a food forest. I plan to plant fig trees ( I have 6) and blackberries (1). I want to be able to buy blueberries, some kind of pecan trees, and I have a good sized Black Walnut already growing. I'd like to be prepared enough that I'll have some kind of barter if needed. What's next? Rabbits? A hog? My daughter would die.

I'm 40 and I am trying to do the same thing. My goal is to can all my vegetables for the year as well as fruits from our apple, pear, peach, cherry and berry bushes. We also raise our own chicken and turkey here and talked my sister who has more land in to raising beef, pork, goat, and lamb at her house. Hopefully if anything were to happen we would be able to do all right for ourselves or trade for anything we don't have. It's good to be prepared no matter what.

 

[jtbrown]

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.

 

[GrandmaChickie]

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!!!!

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

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.

 

[Blessedchickens]

Also google "homemade chicken feed" and watch what pops up.

 

[skunknchatter]

A friend and I are planting all Heirloom seeds next year so we can harvest and store seeds for our garden the following year. We've decided to find good seed and learn how to do this for reasons like this topic. I can't feed my chickens corn/feed from my garden if I can't get seeds to grow a garden.

My chickens are also pretty good scavengers. I live in a "farm" (well used to be more 10 years ago than it is today) area so I've got a lot of open space to let my chickens free range. In the fall and early spring I leave the run open all day for them. Now if things got bad enough that you couldn't buy chicken feed you may have to keep a pretty close eye on your chickens too.

I've already informed hubby that if something terrible was to happen the chickens are moving into the house so we can keep an eye on them and they don't end up missing

 

[Den in Penn]

I've already informed hubby that if something terrible was to happen the chickens are moving into the house so we can keep an eye on them and they don't end up missing

If something were to happen, all livestock would suddenly be come very very precious.