Can they do good with just free ranging and snacks

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Uh oh. Our feral/free range bantam/jungle fowl flock have not had any poultry feed in thirty years that I know of. They are broadcast some whole kernel corn every day just to keep them from roaming off. Whole corn is large enough that they will find every morsel in the leaf liter and not leave any to attract vermin. I hear that corn is too fattening, but they are working to scratch things up out of the jungle most of the day and do not seem unhealthy at all. The only time they are handled is when they are culled or accidentally trapped while trying to cull others. They are not thin.
 
I agree, they do need chicken feed. Unless you have a lot of natural area for them to forage in, it would be hard for chickens to find everything they need to eat by free-ranging, especially in the winter, plus they are exposed to predators. And remember, chickens aren't like wild birds. After millennia of domestication, most of them no longer have the instincts or characteristics necessary to survive in the wild.
 
Uh oh. Our feral/free range bantam/jungle fowl flock have not had any poultry feed in thirty years that I know of. They are broadcast some whole kernel corn every day just to keep them from roaming off. Whole corn is large enough that they will find every morsel in the leaf liter and not leave any to attract vermin. I hear that corn is too fattening, but they are working to scratch things up out of the jungle most of the day and do not seem unhealthy at all. The only time they are handled is when they are culled or accidentally trapped while trying to cull others. They are not thin.
I was thinking the same thing. What do people think chickens ate before the invention of chicken feed? Probably slightly more than OP fed, but still, I know my grandfather only fed a handful of grains and sunflower seeds, stale bread, and scraps every day. I also think it depends on breeds (Icelandic’s and Hedemoras are also particularly hardy) and free range management. Idk, people just shouldn’t be so quick to attack people who manage their flocks differently.
 
The guy there said that I should mix the two together and feed them unlimited amount

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He has no business working in the chicken department if he's giving out that kind of idiotic advice.

Unrestricted feed, except for Cornish X being raised for meat on mildly-restricted feed to prevent leg problems, yes. But his advice to mix scratch with the feed is the equivalent to telling you to feed your child on a diet that is half cookies.

Uh oh. Our feral/free range bantam/jungle fowl flock have not had any poultry feed in thirty years that I know of. They are broadcast some whole kernel corn every day just to keep them from roaming off. Whole corn is large enough that they will find every morsel in the leaf liter and not leave any to attract vermin. I hear that corn is too fattening, but they are working to scratch things up out of the jungle most of the day and do not seem unhealthy at all. The only time they are handled is when they are culled or accidentally trapped while trying to cull others. They are not thin.

The situation of game chickens in a tropical environment and dual-purpose/meat breeds in a temperate backyard is completely different. Your method should not be attempted anywhere that doesn't support a population of feral chickens already because that's an indication that the environment does not have the natural nutrients available to support a chicken that's not being fed by humans.

I was thinking the same thing. What do people think chickens ate before the invention of chicken feed? Probably slightly more than OP fed, but still, I know my grandfather only fed a handful of grains and sunflower seeds, stale bread, and scraps every day. I also think it depends on breeds (Icelandic’s and Hedemoras are also particularly hardy) and free range management. Idk, people just shouldn’t be so quick to attack people who manage their flocks differently.

Your grandfather was probably raising his chickens on a diversified farm where they had access to the feed that the other animals spilled and were picking undigested grain from horse and/or cattle manure.

Additionally, chickens from generations ago weren't nearly so productive as our chickens today. In this poultry book from 1921 they were recommending a feed and management system aimed at making chickens profitable by getting 100 eggs per year -- from LEGHORNS!

Today I get more than that from my Brahma, who is considered a relatively poor layer at about 4 eggs a week.
 
🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

He has no business working in the chicken department if he's giving out that kind of idiotic advice.

Unrestricted feed, except for Cornish X being raised for meat on mildly-restricted feed to prevent leg problems, yes. But his advice to mix scratch with the feed is the equivalent to telling you to feed your child on a diet that is half cookies.



The situation of game chickens in a tropical environment and dual-purpose/meat breeds in a temperate backyard is completely different. Your method should not be attempted anywhere that doesn't support a population of feral chickens already because that's an indication that the environment does not have the natural nutrients available to support a chicken that's not being fed by humans.



Your grandfather was probably raising his chickens on a diversified farm where they had access to the feed that the other animals spilled and were picking undigested grain from horse and/or cattle manure.

Additionally, chickens from generations ago weren't nearly so productive as our chickens today. In this poultry book from 1921 they were recommending a feed and management system aimed at making chickens profitable by getting 100 eggs per year -- from LEGHORNS!

Today I get more than that from my Brahma, who is considered a relatively poor layer at about 4 eggs a week.
Exactly. You cannot compare diet requirements of the highly productive, domesticated, bred out birds we have today, to birds from 60+ years ago or wild type birds. There is no comparison.
 
They r young and may look fine now but lack of adequate nutrition will takes its toll on them and they will be vulnerable to all kinds of things. Not the least is laying issues. You presumably want eggs so be sure to get a good layer feed to make them strong. Chickens have a lot to deal with so give them a fighting chance. They also need oyster shell available to them to eat as they need for strong shells. Thin shelled eggs leads to unpleasant issues for them and for us!!
 
Exactly. You cannot compare diet requirements of the highly productive, domesticated, bred out birds we have today, to birds from 60+ years ago or wild type birds. There is no comparison.

It was that idea of improving productivity to get a Leghorn up to 100 eggs per year, not even the production capability of my kept-for-her-beauty-not-her-eggs hen, that really drove home the point of how chickens have changed within living memory.
 
It was that idea of improving productivity to get a Leghorn up to 100 eggs per year, not even the production capability of my kept-for-her-beauty-not-her-eggs hen, that really drove home the point of how chickens have changed within living memory.
Crazy how they've changed, huh?
 

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