Cinnamon Queen Free ranging?

[Nga]

I’m not sure if this is the right section to post in. I have a flock of 20 or so of different pure breed chickens that free range from sun up to sundown, they only get abit if chicken scratch at night to lure the ones that are outside the coop to go inside for the night. Chickens all seem healthy and are laying well because we have a lot of bugs and vegetation on our 5 acer plot. My question is will Cinnamon Queen do well free ranging from sunup to sun down with minimal feed? They will be laying age when I bring them to our property

 

[Aunt Angus]

I’m not sure if this is the right section to post in. I have a flock of 20 or so of different pure breed chickens that free range from sun up to sundown, they only get abit if chicken scratch at night to lure the ones that are outside the coop to go inside for the night. Chickens all seem healthy and are laying well because we have a lot of bugs and vegetation on our 5 acer plot. My question is will Cinnamon Queen do well free ranging from sunup to sun down with minimal feed? They will be laying age when I bring them to our property

They should. Might need oyster shell free choice if you don't already have it. They are high production birds! I found mine also needed lots of protein, but yours should be able to get that foraging bugs and things.

 

[springvalley123]

Actually, any modern bird bred (as they all are) to produce a lot of eggs, needs a regular chicken food: starter grower, or layer feed if they're all layers. Minimum protein 16%, ideally 18-20%. NOT scratch--scratch is cheap candy.

 

[nuthatched]

All your chickens should get actual feed so they aren't lacking in amino acids, minerals, vitamins and calcium. Even if they just get fed in the morning bwfire you let them out. Very few climates can provide all of essential nutrients with free ranging. especially for high production breeds, who need more calories and more calcium.

 

[Aunt Angus]

You implied you'd be offering feed in your initial post. Am I reading that right?

 

[Nga]

Thank you for all your response, I give chicken scratch to lure them in their coop at night if they are not already on and give the rest of the bird a little so they like their coop I guess. I do give them crush granite. I live in zone 10a it’s subtropical here and there’s so many grass hoppers and all sorts of bugs. They also go into my mini food forest and eat the vegetation in there. They all seem pretty healthy for now but I do keep a close eye on them to make sure I spot any issues. Non of my chicken are layer breeds I think they are duel breeds . Right now I have black copper marans, silkies, ayam cimani, death layers, amerucanas, Swedish flower hen, Shetland,silverstrudd's blue isbar and some mix breed ducks. I have about 20 chickens and 9 or so ducks..

 

[Nga]

I have roosters and a few male ducks that are cooped, those I give layer feed and abit if chicken scratch. I hatch a lot of the chickens, they get starter feed up until aroudn 8 weeks then I let them free range during the day, at night they have access to all the feed they want

 

[Aunt Angus]

I'd switch to all flock. You don't want to give layer feed to roosters and drakes long term. Too much calcium.

I think @nuthatched has the best suggestion: give them feed in the morning and let them free range after. If you offer feed free choice, they'll only eat what they need/want. If they free range, they won't eat a whole bunch anyway.

And the dual purpose = birds for meat and for laying eggs, so yes, you have layers in your flock already.

 

[Nga]

thank you for the helpful advice! I just figured natural diet from the land is best for them. My original goal was to have chicken on minimal feed. My neighbor have been raising chicken for over 30 years and she gives her chicken a bit if chicken scratch and 90%+ of their diet is from free ranging. We are still in the process of learning what works for our flock, I’m planning on converting a few acers into food forest so they have even more access to food

 

[Ridgerunner]

For thousands of years people on farms have kept a flock the way it sounds like you do. The chickens are expected to feed themselves by foraging in the good weather months. Where you are every month is a good weather month. The quality of the forage has a big part to play in how well they manage to feed themselves. If you try foraging them on a manicured lawn with no diversity of vegetation and critters it won't work well. It sounds like you have pretty good diversity.

Foraging for themselves they will not grow as big as they would if you carefully fed them a rich diet. The eggs they lay won't be as big as they would be if you fed them a high protein diet. That doesn't mean they are not healthy, just that they are not as big or lay eggs that are that big. It's pretty much how they lived before they were domesticated, except you supplement the food some and probably provide a deterrent to predators.

This thing about providing certain amino acids and certain supplements is a fairy modern thing, probably not much more than 100 years old or such. Those supplements do help productivity and are mainly pointed at chickens that don't eat a lot of creepy crawlies and such. If you are providing all they eat then those supplements in the feed are important, but for thousands of years they got what they needed from forage.

My question is will Cinnamon Queen do well free ranging from sunup to sun down with minimal feed? They will be laying age when I bring them to our property

Cinnamon Queen's are a cross between two dual purpose breeds, a Rhode Island Red rooster over a Silver Laced Wyandotte hen if I remember correctly. They are a red sex link but are not the kind of hybrid red sex link bred to be the high volume commercial egg layers. I'd expect them to do as well free ranging as any other dual purpose breed.