perchie.girl
RIP 1953-2021
@RanchRichey another great treat for chickens is Alfalfa. You can go to the feed store and they will let you rake up alfalfa leaves for a minimal charge per trash bag.
I had about forty mixed flock of chickens and Guinea Fowl divided into three pens. I would give each pen a flake of Alfalfa once a month.... it was like an enrichment food. Oh the scratching and disassembly of those flakes were fun to watch. My goats werent too happy because I gave them "Their" alfalfa....lol. for what its worth a flake of alfalfa can be between ten and twenty pounds....
some argue the stems are too woody and can cause impaction... but if you are only supplementally feeding it they dont try to break down the stems. Alfalfa leavings are also excellent compost for the garden.... Full of nitrogen and minerals.....including calcium which benefits the chickens as well.
The only other feed I used to feed besides Alfalfa was Black oil Sunflower seeds and Catfish chow. The catfish chow was mainly to help replace the bugs and crawly critters they werent able to get out and get during free ranging. I fed it mixed in their regular pelleted feed at the rate of One scoop catfish to five of the layer... Mixed up in the bin... catfish chow and layer are pelleted in the same shape and size with only a small color difference so they cant pick it out.
Other good treats are Tuna and Sardines and left over meat or fish from the table. The thanksgiving Turkey carcass will be picked cleaner than you can imagine.
deb
deb
I had about forty mixed flock of chickens and Guinea Fowl divided into three pens. I would give each pen a flake of Alfalfa once a month.... it was like an enrichment food. Oh the scratching and disassembly of those flakes were fun to watch. My goats werent too happy because I gave them "Their" alfalfa....lol. for what its worth a flake of alfalfa can be between ten and twenty pounds....
some argue the stems are too woody and can cause impaction... but if you are only supplementally feeding it they dont try to break down the stems. Alfalfa leavings are also excellent compost for the garden.... Full of nitrogen and minerals.....including calcium which benefits the chickens as well.
The only other feed I used to feed besides Alfalfa was Black oil Sunflower seeds and Catfish chow. The catfish chow was mainly to help replace the bugs and crawly critters they werent able to get out and get during free ranging. I fed it mixed in their regular pelleted feed at the rate of One scoop catfish to five of the layer... Mixed up in the bin... catfish chow and layer are pelleted in the same shape and size with only a small color difference so they cant pick it out.
Other good treats are Tuna and Sardines and left over meat or fish from the table. The thanksgiving Turkey carcass will be picked cleaner than you can imagine.
deb
deb