Can you feed your chickens ENTIRELY of the land?

[Mrs. K]

Some will, a lot won't survive. Egg production will be down, and non existent part of the year. A lot depends on the land, some land is capable of producing a great deal, other land not so much. People talk about bugs, but unless you are raising the bugs in an artificial environment, bug are only a couple of months out of the year food.

Personally, I live on a praise with more acres, but if mine range too far, predators get them. I have numerous wild berry bushes, but predators are there too. I have found a slight reduction in feed durning the months of June and July, by mid August, the population is in decline, to end abruptly in the first hard frost.

I like a food garden for ME, not the birds so much, they get scraps.

Mrs K

 

[Ridgerunner]

Basically you are talking about system that has been used on small farms worldwide for thousands of years. During the good weather months the chickens pretty much feed themselves. Depending on the weather, they chickens may need to be fed totally or at least given supplemental feed during the off months. That’s stuff the farmer grows himself, usually some kind of grain but it can be other things.

I grew up on one of those farms. We also got pigs in early spring so from then until butcher time in October/November the pigs got all the table scraps and a lot of the garden wastes. But from butcher time until we got pigs, the table scraps were thrown where the chickens could get to them.

This method is all about the quality of the forage. You need a lot of room so they can spread out and not overharvest a small area. It included pasture fields and orchards with all kinds of different grasses and weeds, grass and weeds going to seed, various creepy crawlies, decaying vegetable matter for them to scratch in, poop from horses and cows for them to find partially digested treats and often maggots, when we were feeding the livestock hay they would get nutrition form that, just a real smorgasbord of various things to eat. Very few people today have that kind of forage available. And you have to be able to allow them to free range. You can’t be worried about them getting on a neighbor’s property and causing damage or being a nuisance.

Predators are a huge risk. The whole time I was growing up there we only had two predator attacks, a fox and a dog. Both were shot. We had other critters around but as far as I know we never lost a chicken to a hawk, owl, raccoon, skunk, possum, bobcat or anything else. We had them around, occasionally we’d see them, but for some reason they did not attack the chickens. Sometimes we had a dog to help add a protective layer, but a lot of the time we did not. Even with a trained dog and good fences some people get wiped out by predators. Predators are a huge unknown.

Our flock was normally one rooster and 25 to 30 hens. The number would increase during hatching season and decrease as we ate them. I don’t know how many eggs we got in a day, it would vary during the season. During peak laying season maybe around 20. Most laid in a hen house but a lot would hide nests. I found a lot of the hidden nests but occasionally a broody hen would show up with a brood of chicks which shows I did no find them all. We always had pullets in the flock, some of those would lay throughout winter but egg production really dropped.

Our flock was a barnyard mix, probably partially descendants from the first chickens brought in by the pioneers. They had a lot of game in them, relatively small chickens excellent at foraging and making good broody hens. On different occasions Dad brought in some chicks from a feed store and raised them until they were big enough to mix with the main flock. I remember him bringing in Dominique one time and several years later, New Hampshire. Dad always kept one of these as his rooster for a couple of years. I don’t believe they were all that different from hatchery chicks today. They foraged and mixed with the main flock fine. Maybe growing up with the flock they learned from the other chickens. I do think game chickens are a really good choice for a flock like this.

I consider this model to be a good subsistence type flock where you eat the eggs and meat yourself, not good for a commercial flock. The egg production isn’t that bad if you cull the older hens, which we were not real good at doing. But the eggs aren’t going to be all that big. The chickens’ bodies are not going to be that big, something like the difference in range fed beef versus feed lot beef. If you feed them a high-powered diet designed to enhance productivity they will produce a lot better than if they have to forage for their feed. You need a lot of territory for them to free range in or they will strip the forage. And there is always the predator issue.

One variation of this is pastured poultry, often used for meat chickens but also for laying flocks. You have a moveable coop and protect it with electric netting. You have to move it a lot to keep forage fresh and to keep the grass and weeds from growing up into the netting and shorting it out so it is somewhat labor intensive. You normally have to supplement the feed even in summer. But it’s about as close to free range as a commercial operation can get so they may be able to charge more for the eggs or meat.

While that subsistence method is still being used a lot of places around the world, especially in the developing world, for the vast majority of us this is more of a fantasy that a reality. We just don’t have the conditions for the chickens to basically take care of themselves most of the year.

 

[MasAhora]

Another consideration is the time(s) of day you feed. If weather/land/flock numbers are good for free ranging in your space then feed only late in the day. You then know they all go to bed with a full crop of well balanced feed.

Watch for the girls laying in the nest boxes, they shouldn't miss out on balanced feed.

If you have to buy feed in bulk to cut travel then perhaps consider sealing some feed in air tight containers or sealed plastic bags in a dark cool place to prevent degradation.

My Paraguayan neighbours in the local village have chickens everywhere and do not have the money to feed/house them fancily nor any real space. They lose a lot and they also cull layers & roosters young (a season of eggs then into the pot, no resting in fancy fridges), it is economical. Unfortunately my taste buds demand a different type of chicken keeping practice, each to their own!

 

[donrae]

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Before chickens were domesticated they live entirely of the land, right? they did, and still do. Jungle Fowl in SE Asia. I understand they run about 4ish lbs each and the hens lay maybe 2 dozen eggs a year. And that's living in a jungle environment, rich with resources for them to find.


What are you guys thoughts, and opinions on this? Does anyone do something similar??

Where are you located? That's going to have a lot to do with it. The US is a big place with so many different climates.

I think you'll need to supplement protein some. As mentioned above, the typical "farmyard" had a lot more protein sources/insects than your typical backyard, or even small lot with no other animals.

Pretty much the only thing you can do is try it and see how it works for you. I don't think you're going to do any long term damage to your birds, as long as they're grown already. Watch for drops in egg production, loss of feather quality, feather pecking/eating, parasites or diseases. Those are all signs your birds aren't healthy and need some changes. If you dump the commercial feed and have glossy, active, alert hens who lay well and have no issues with mites or worms, I'd say you're good to go. If you have no eggs, broken feathers, ragged looking hens, listless birds, constant issues with mites, behavioral issues like pecking, then, nope, you can't do this.

 

[lazy gardener]

Quote: I know that feral chickens could not survive here in my climate. Soil is frozen or snow covered from November through much of April. But, there are feral flocks of chickens all over the place in Florida. And I'm sure there are feral flocks in other warm weather states. I assume that MR is still planning to provide housing for his chickens. So, in that sense, they would not be feral. But, left to their own, to forage/glean their own feed, they are going to become increasingly wild (IMO). It depends on one's flock goals, and one's ability to assess overall flock health. As DR states, if their condition does not deteriorate, then, perhaps they might do all right. But, I'm guessing that predation will wipe them out, or they will decline in condition rapidly once the land ceases to meet their needs. I also will continue to assert that while the theory of chickens meeting their nutritional needs through free range is admirable, very few land owners have appropriate land to allow that to happen. It's not going to happen in the typical back yard.

 

[tmarsh83]

I'm constantly amazed at how fragile people think animals are.

If there are wild turkeys in your area, chickens COULD live off the land. The requirements are there to support the birds.

Will they be as productive as supplemented birds? Not even close.

The will have to range over a larger area, and that means predation.

Being domesticated is what gets chickens killed, and that would take generations to breed out of them.

Hogs are unique in that they can return to feral roots in little more than a generation. The modern chickens we get from hatcheries are so far removed from any wild fowl that originated them that it's the instincts that are gone, little more.

If you have wild turkeys within 100 miles, wild chickens COULD, in theory, make it.

 

[Kasilofchrisn]

Living in Alaska means this would not work for me.
Yes a lot depends on where you live and on how much and what kind of acreage.
I only have 8 birds but I'm easily able to store a months worth of feed at a time. And the cost in time and money spent on commercial feed far outweigh the time and money needed to grow/raise enough to feed my birds year-round.
I'd think you would find yourself spending more time gardening and raising food for your birds then you spend driving and picking up feed but depending on your exact situation maybe not?

Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk

 

[Folly's place]

You are comparing apples to wild crabapples here! Feral chickens in Florida and Hawaii are small game bird types, in a warm climate all year. They are reverting to the original jungle fowl; fast, small, few eggs per year, and so very not meaty. Modern domestic fowl aren't very like nineteenth century birds either, in size or egg laying capacity. And farmyards don't resemble groomed grass! By the time a hen has reduced the egg production she is genetically programmed to have, she's malnourished. My flock forages on my farm, and eats less commercial feed at times, but it's always out there for them. Also, pushing the birds to range ever further from their safe areas increases predation, and encourages egg nests in odd places, and will likely offend the neighbors. Mary

 

[lazy gardener]

I'm constantly amazed at how fragile people think animals are.

If there are wild turkeys in your area, chickens COULD live off the land. The requirements are there to support the birds.

Will they be as productive as supplemented birds? Not even close.

The will have to range over a larger area, and that means predation.

Being domesticated is what gets chickens killed, and that would take generations to breed out of them.

Hogs are unique in that they can return to feral roots in little more than a generation. The modern chickens we get from hatcheries are so far removed from any wild fowl that originated them that it's the instincts that are gone, little more.

If you have wild turkeys within 100 miles, wild chickens COULD, in theory, make it.

Wild turkeys are very different than chickens, whether the chickens are domestic or wild. Turkeys range over a large area. they are fairly good fliers. The OP was asking if a flock of domestic chickens could survive off free range without any supplemental feed. Totally different scenario than wild turkeys. And, I also respectfully disagree with your statement that hatchery chickens have lost nothing more than their instincts. They are bred to have a larger carcass. Their productivity is much greater. Some, if not many are bred to produce 300 or more eggs/year. That is a change in breeding compared to the wild fowl. The modern hatchery chicken, will have greater nutritional needs compared to the chicken which it was bred from hundreds of years ago. That increased need is going to affect her ability to successfully forage, as well as the instincts that have been bred out over time.

You are comparing apples to wild crabapples here! Feral chickens in Florida and Hawaii are small game bird types, in a warm climate all year. They are reverting to the original jungle fowl; fast, small, few eggs per year, and so very not meaty. Modern domestic fowl aren't very like nineteenth century birds either, in size or egg laying capacity. And farmyards don't resemble groomed grass! By the time a hen has reduced the egg production she is genetically programmed to have, she's malnourished. My flock forages on my farm, and eats less commercial feed at times, but it's always out there for them. Also, pushing the birds to range ever further from their safe areas increases predation, and encourages egg nests in odd places, and will likely offend the neighbors. Mary

Agreed on all counts. There needs to be a middle ground: giving the birds plenty of opportunity to forage in an area that IS ABLE TO meet their nutritional needs, and providing supplemental feed as well. Many BYC keepers assume that if they let their birds out onto their lawn, they are "free ranging" and meeting their nutritional needs. That could not be further from the truth. A groomed lawn does not = free range! But, allowing access to even a groomed lawn can be a good thing. Just don't expect the birds to meet their nutritional needs on that lawn!