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

[centrarchid]

I am trying to have a little friendly banter here with fellow BYCs and you are getting all fired up of stupid little comments. Chill

I am betting you do have mice and lots of them. Set a trap in coop at night.

 

[mlongworth]

I have started growing a few grains all open pollinated so i can save seed. I have corn, oats, teff, boss, millet. Will add barley this year because i am getting goats. So i will have milk for the girls too. Also have comfrey, clover, alfalfa, and vetch in the run. My compost bins are in the run. My girls get most of the scraps too, their fav is the turkey carcass. Going to start worms this year, we like to fish a lot. Plus they free range my backyard when im with them. Lots of garden scraps and mulberries their fav, and they love the herb garden. Also apple and cherry trees in their run. I grow pumpkin and squash to store for them. Want to add some more that store well, mangel beets and a few others if you have something that works good id like to know. Oh i am also making a border garden around the inside of their run fence, covered in wire, that i will plant with all kinds of fruit and veggies that they can eat but not kill the plant.

 

[Allysha1990]

Yes, so I can trap my chickens feet to prove a point to someone who seems to love nothing more than to troll BYCs.
I have lots of wildlife on my property however. There is a deer that frequents my compost pile (not that it is doing much composting in -10'c) and there are coyotes and wolves all around. Even if a mouse somehow found its way in, say if it snuck in while the door was open during chores, more food for the hens.
If someone wants to raise mice, so what.

 

[centrarchid]

Yes, so I can trap my chickens feet to prove a point to someone who seems to love nothing more than to troll BYCs.
I have lots of wildlife on my property however. There is a deer that frequents my compost pile (not that it is doing much composting in -10'c) and there are coyotes and wolves all around. Even if a mouse somehow found its way in, say if it snuck in while the door was open during chores, more food for the hens.
If someone wants to raise mice, so what.

I am not trolling. Note I have participated substantively in this thread. I have mouse predators in abundance although no wolves. Despite that mice are abundant. My birds will invest considerable effort in catching and eating them although the nutritional benefits are minimal owing to the infrequent consumption of such critters. The birds also do not directly cause any impact on mice on mice abundance by consuming them but if I am frugal with feed application, then chickens can deny mice access to uneaten feed. I still strongly suggest you setup up some sort of trap for mice. Not all traps pose a risk to chickens. You will find most if not all captures take place while birds are sleeping.

I raise forage animals as well, for fish mostly, and such would be shut down immediately under hypothetical conditions of this thread. I would either consume forage animals directly (even mice) or eat what is currently fed to the forage animals. Efficiency and frugality would be overriding concerns so every effort would be made to shorten food chain yet convert it into a web in case part fails not all will fail.

 

[Steena]

BYC Forum is a great site.
Each day I learn everything from the most simple suggestions to the most complex expositions and scientific explanations.
All of it is great.
All of it gives 'fodder' for discussion and isn't this why we write on BYC and read what other generous member's write.
Thank you, to all of you who promote our connections to both ourselves and our animals.
Steena

 

[Jedi Clampett]

BYC Forum is a great site.
Each day I learn everything from the most simple suggestions to the most complex expositions and scientific explanations.
All of it is great.
All of it gives 'fodder' for discussion and isn't this why we write on BYC and read what other generous member's write.
Thank you, to all of you who promote our connections to both ourselves and our animals.
Steena

Good post. We're all here for the same reason - to learn from each other and fellowship with others who share our interests. I have learned tons on this site and I'm pretty sure even the "experts" on this site have learned things as well. Remember folks, we're all on the same team!!

 

[LindaB220]

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.

 

[pegm]

Sounds like you are thinking ahead....and she may just be thanking you in a couple of years.

My fondest dream for most of my life was to have a place of our own where we could raise our own meat, veggies, etc. This summer I was looking for a place to do that after we had put our old place on the market, (mind you it was taking most places over a year to sell), and someone came along 3 weeks later and offered us full price, 60 day escrow. Well, nothing was out there, so we ended up moving into my parents house that we had rented out, fixing it up and here we are, small house, small lot, in a rural town. BUT, no rent, no mortgage which is very desirable. I do have hens, but not much in the way of garden space. We have in the past raised our own beef, pork and chicken. Long time ago tho. Even had a milk goat. Ahhhhh....good memories.

So you go girl and do what you can while you can, if nothing else, it gives you something to do

.

 

[Aphrael]

Sounds like you are thinking ahead....and she may just be thanking you in a couple of years.

My fondest dream for most of my life was to have a place of our own where we could raise our own meat, veggies, etc. This summer I was looking for a place to do that after we had put our old place on the market, (mind you it was taking most places over a year to sell), and someone came along 3 weeks later and offered us full price, 60 day escrow. Well, nothing was out there, so we ended up moving into my parents house that we had rented out, fixing it up and here we are, small house, small lot, in a rural town. BUT, no rent, no mortgage which is very desirable. I do have hens, but not much in the way of garden space. We have in the past raised our own beef, pork and chicken. Long time ago tho. Even had a milk goat. Ahhhhh....good memories.

So you go girl and do what you can while you can, if nothing else, it gives you something to do

.

This is a really good point. So many people ask "Why would you want to do all this crazy prep stuff?" My question is, why wouldn't you? If any kind of disaster ever were to happen, you'd be much better off than most people out there. And if nothing ever does go wrong? Well, so what. As you said our preparations have given us something to do, and I think for most of us it is often things we enjoy doing anyway. We've most likely made our lives healthier and happier. There are so many benefits to being as prepared as you can for whatever may come, and if nothing horrific ever comes to pass, we've still been doing things we enjoy and improving our lives in the process. It's a win-win.

 

[Aphrael]

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.

Had to add, good on you for thinking ahead and planning for your family's well-being even if they don't understand it.