Chicken Food!!!!!!!!!

[JoJo 95]

So thanks to mrs muckett (sp.) i have decided to start a thread about growing chicken food. If anyone knows a way to grow chicken food, please post.

 

[justbugged]

Grow any kind of veggies, and of course lots of corn. The girls really like crack.

 

[chickenscott]

I agree - some of the extra veggies, damaged, or trimmings off your vegetables are a good source of supplement food. My hens love zucchini ends (always have too much), squash shells, tomatoes timings, watermelon rinds etc. Nothing in my garden goes to waste. It goes without saying to not load them up with extras but I toss in something small several times a week. It is a treat and is a good way to use everything and waste nothing.

 

[JoJo 95]

My chickens love mealworm. All you need to keep them is a small plastic storage bin( about 5 gallons), some bran, and an apple slice. Put a layer of bran about 2 inches deep and add your mealworms. Use an apple or potato slice for a water source

 

[Rennie]

I have just planted a batch of corn specifically for my chickens .. I noticed at the bottom of the bag when i had finished it some of the remaining corn had sprouted so i sowed it into an empty raised bed for the girls ...

It seems to be growing well at the minute .. even if it fails im sure they will love the green shoots that are there already,

I also grow veg in my garden for my own consumption, but any that are not good enough for the family the hens get, Including all the caterpillars that are hiding in them...
Basically they get (almost) everything that would normally be thrown into the compost bin ..

 

[Boo-Boo's Mama]

Mine love whatever I have in the garden...this morning it was black-eyed peas. They all gather around as I shell and pitch them over the run.

 

[darkmatter]

Quote:
Check out my BYC page, I have two large mature Illinois Everbearing Mulberry trees in my run which start dropping fruit in June and continues for 10 to 12 weeks. I have since planted Apple and Persimmon trees in the run to extend the harvest past frost (Persimmons will hold fruit here till November). I every year plant tomatoes in chicken proof cages in the run that grows up to an overhead trellis and drops tomatoes till frost (be sure to use an indeterminate variety). The chicken run shares a fence with my fenced in Garden and I have a run/garden pop door I open in the fall when I'm done with the garden, the chickens clean, till, and fertilize the garden all fall, winter, till spring when I will close them out before I start seed planting. I dump the lawnmower clippings bag into the run every time I mow (I don't use herbicides or pesticides) and the chickens love it. The chickens also get any kitchen scraps, I typically put a scoop of scratch in a plastic bucket in the kitchen and any cooking grease, leftovers get added to the "chicken scrap bucket" to be tossed to the chickens every morning when I let them out. The scratch soaks up the grease and cooking liquids----been doing that for years now.

 

[JoJo 95]

Crickets are easy to raise.
1.Get you a rubbermaid container or something like it and make vents in the lid with ALUMINUM (plastic or cloth will be chewed through) window screen.
2.Add a layer of sand and hay.
3.Add some egg cartons and toilet paper rolls so the crickets can hide.
4.Add your crickets
5.Make sure your crickets are kept at 85 degrees or higher. Lower temperatures slow breeding.
6.Feed them dog or cat food, or mix or buy your own.


If you would rather raise your crickets outside, get a trash can instead and use a heat lamp for warmth.

 

[geebs]

wheat grass... yummy.. sprouted wheat.... makes a nice "lawn"