Feed
Wheat is my main food of choice for poultry. It has the highest protien of the common grains and the resulting eggs taste is second to none. My usual recipe for chickens is 3 parts wheat 1 part Oats ot Barley although hens perform real well with field peas as well but these are very expensive. I grow generally a 10 - 20 acre plot each year although I plan to grow much more when I can add more bins. I process the feed through a Farm King Roller Mill that crushes the grain making it much easier for the birds to digest. Turnips are also grown in large amounts to keep the bird occupied during the long boring days of winter. I leave the tops on as the birds like the greens.
Water
Providing water to a large flock of poultry can be a back breaking chore so I have devised a better method of keeping my birds fresh clean water. I installed troughing off the tin roof of my barn the trough feeds 2- 45 Gallon barrels with an attached float valve which is gravity fed. In the winter I move the barrel inside with a wooden box around it to prevent the hens from using it as a roost. During winter I just add snow to the water in the barrel as snow is in great abundance here.
