1acre

[thebirdguy]

Do you supplement feed your birds or just the pasture? I am planning on reseeding our pasture this fall and will be free ranging next year 100%. They only get out part of the day right now since I don't have the perimeter fence finished yet.. Any suggestions on the perfect seed mix to plant?

Thanks!

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
They never forget where the feed is at. They eat 10 tons of layer mash per month (close to 700 lbs day). They would not be able to keep egg production up by only free ranging. They would need a much larger area and would probably have to be spread out in smaller flocks, I doubt that 2500 hens would be able to range far enough from a single hen house to meet all of their needs on pasture alone.

If it's production you're after, they must be fed a good ration at all times. If they are pets roaming your property and you don't care about production, then you can cut back on their regular ration to whatever suits you and them.

I like the alfalfa mixes as the alfalfa is high in protein and keeps the egg yolks more orange, but at this stocking rate they would decimate a lone stand of alfalfa. The timothy is nice because it is high yield, yet doesn't grow so darn tall. The reed canary grass has crept in from a neighbor's hay field. It is popular for hay, but is very invasive to wetlands and spreads aggressively by rhizomes that grow into a dense mat that makes it hard to eradicate. It also grows too fast and tall for the chickens to use as forage. Only a small portion of our pasture has this grass, but it is a headache as it can reach close to 9 feet tall by the end of the season.

 

[rittert3]

I would look into proso millet if you want to pasture, this is a quote from mcmurray hatchery's website about it.... "Poultry love to eat PROSO. Sow some in your poultry yard for them to feed on and save on the feed cost. It will grow anywhere, takes only 60 to 70 days to mature, and reaches 3 to 4 feet in height. PROSO is high in protein and will make an excellent forage crop for growing chickens. It can be drilled, allowing 12 pounds to the acre or 1 pound per 3500 Sq. Ft. We have sold tons of PROSO over the years and use it ourselves for our own broilers. Specify size desired. PROSO should be planted after the threat of frost" They have it for 23.35 for 12 lbs and ship it free. They have it in 1/2, 2,6,12,and 20lb packages. It produces millet that looks similar to milo.

 

[Cindy in PA]

Save yourself the high cost & buy some white millet at the feed store. I paid $17/50 lbs for my guineas in July. Had a nice stand growing under my bantam tractor after I got rid of them. The stuff grew like crazy. The stuff out of mixed birdseed will grow also.

 

[brahmakid11]

i have two acres!!!!

 

[Weiden Farm]

thats a lot of chickens

 

[Ole rooster]

Better wear your rubber boots. That would be worse than walking in a cattle auction barn after the sale.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote:
I always enjoy seeing pics of your beautiful pasturing setup. What a lovely place! Pasturing is so nice when you can do it.

 

[Hawkeye95]

if you're using the 1 acre for the free ranging- where is the barn being built? It'll be a pretty large barn. I've seen the turkey barns around here- the ones that they squeeze 10,000 birds into a 40X100 ft barn- but those poor birds are squashed and trampled on. But the barn concept works- and if you didn't put so many birds in it, would be great. They just build a pole barn with a roof and then leave most of the side open. Only the bottom 3 feet (near the ground) is covered. The top part is covered in wire, then they have roll down tarps that cover the "vents"-- but I rarely see them down, even in the dead of winter. It's an open air concept, which I think is great. Then at either end of the barn- they have large barn fans on both sides of the entrance doors (two fans per end). These fans are nearly taller than I am! Just kind of sad so many birds are squished in there. This summer, just one of his barns lost over 7,000 turkeys in ONE day it got sooooo hot here. We hit temps above 114 degrees. It was devastating. This guy has a lot of these barns on a 40 acre section, so his losses this summer were astronomical. He sells his birds to Butterball. So another thing to think about--- take venting VERY seriously.