Developing the grass in your yard for increasing free ranging nutrition

[Beekissed]

@Bee... what size or type of wire do you use for grow frames?

I've never had to build any but many are using hardware cloth...but I think the squares too small on the hardware cloth to allow for broad leaf plantings...I'd do a 1x1 welded wire on those frames if I were building them. That way it would allow for seasonal plantings like kale, spinach, beets, etc. that one might want to intersperse with a winter wheat seeding, but would still be sturdy enough to support the weight of the chickens stepping on it to forage.

If I had to keep chickens in a run, nearly half of the entire run would be in planned foraging beds and bins of composting material so they could have variety and natural foods in their diet, and the other half would be a serious mix of deep litter materials, natural roosting, bug and worm habitat, etc.

 

[Triple Willow]

I've never had to build any but many are using hardware cloth...but I think the squares too small on the hardware cloth to allow for broad leaf plantings...I'd do a 1x1 welded wire on those frames if I were building them.  That way it would allow for seasonal plantings like kale, spinach, beets, etc. that one might want to intersperse with a winter wheat seeding, but would still be sturdy enough to support the weight of the chickens stepping on it to forage. 

If I had to keep chickens in a run, nearly half of the entire run would be in planned foraging beds and bins of composting material so they could have variety and natural foods in their diet, and the other half would be a serious mix of deep litter materials, natural roosting, bug and worm habitat, etc.   

That does sound like the ideal run. I noticed that mine are already digging in the corner of their new run. Something about corners they do like. I've got a bunch of willow around the pond. I think I will make some roosts out in the run out of some of it. I have some stumps to put in there too. The roosters like those to stand on and crow. lol

 

[centrarchid]

I am noticing a difference between two groups of free-range birds representing the last planned cohorts of the season. One group is confined by a 164' perimeter provided by electrified poultry netting while the other is able to go anywhere but inside the netting. The former group is a little larger because of age but the latter is decidedly plumper. Group in netting has free-choice access to feed while latter gets a ration that is consumed before noon each day. I do not know if it is due to nutrition or exercise since latter group also does do a lot more "playing".

 

[Beekissed]

One of the reasons this thread was started because people on another thread was intrigued as to why my birds were so very fat when their primary diet was free ranged forage. I had posted a bird that I had processed that was just layered in fat, even though the whole flock were living on 1 1/2 cup of feed for 14 LF birds for the whole month and a half prior to the process and only on 2-3 c. of feed prior to that period. They only received their feed in the evening after a full day on foraged feeds.

Here are a few of those pics.....














I think very few people out there realize how much protein is in bugs, small vertebrates and also in the right kind of grasses, as well as the sugar content of those grasses. The hen above is not an isolated event in this flock on this great forage...I've processed several now with more fat layers than I would like to see on any of my birds. I've had free ranged flocks for a long time and never have I lived where the forage opportunities were this abundant with a mix of woodland and meadow. I also have to attribute some of this fat to the fermented feeding wherein I'm feeding half of what I used to feed, but gaining more nutrition it would seem.

http://www.food-insects.com/Insects as Human Food.htm
Quote: In general, insect protein tends to be low in the amino acids, methionine/cysteine; but it is high in lysine and threonine, one or both of which may be deficient in the wheat, rice, cassava and maize-based diets that are prevalent in the developing world.

Besides the protein content of these grasses is the high calcium and phosphorus content of the legumes that chickens really need. The minerals and vitamins obtained is another factor frequently overlooked, both in the bugs and legumes consumed.

 

[Aphrael]

One of the reasons this thread was started because people on another thread was intrigued as to why my birds were so very fat when their primary diet was free ranged forage. I had posted a bird that I had processed that was just layered in fat, even though the whole flock were living on 1 1/2 cup of feed for 14 LF birds for the whole month and a half prior to the process and only on 2-3 c. of feed prior to that period. They only received their feed in the evening after a full day on foraged feeds.

Here are a few of those pics.....














I think very few people out there realize how much protein is in bugs, small vertebrates and also in the right kind of grasses, as well as the sugar content of those grasses. The hen above is not an isolated event in this flock on this great forage...I've processed several now with more fat layers than I would like to see on any of my birds. I've had free ranged flocks for a long time and never have I lived where the forage opportunities were this abundant with a mix of woodland and meadow. I also have to attribute some of this fat to the fermented feeding wherein I'm feeding half of what I used to feed, but gaining more nutrition it would seem.

http://www.food-insects.com/Insects as Human Food.htm

Besides the protein content of these grasses is the high calcium and phosphorus content of the legumes that chickens really need. The minerals and vitamins obtained is another factor frequently overlooked, both in the bugs and legumes consumed.

That is a lovely plump bird. It gives me more proof (if I needed more) that my plans to develop a rich and varied plot of forage for mine while making them less and less dependent on purchased feeds is exactly the right thing to do. For me and for them.

 

[SunnySkies]

I came across this article the other day. Scroll down (although the whole thing is very good reading) and read the bit about greens and such to grow, especially for winters,

http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/6-5/preparing_the_flock_for_winter/

 

[Aphrael]

I came across this article the other day. Scroll down (although the whole thing is very good reading) and read the bit about greens and such to grow, especially for winters,

http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/6-5/preparing_the_flock_for_winter/

That is a great article! Thanks for sharing. That book by him is one I've been wanting but haven't gotten yet. Hmmm, maybe on my Christmas list.

 

[SunnySkies]

That is a great article!  Thanks for sharing.  That book by him is one I've been wanting but haven't gotten yet.  Hmmm, maybe on my Christmas list.  

Yeah, there aren't many books I want, as most of them IMHO are full of fluff and opinions, not fact, but his...his I wouldn't mind reading.

 

[Beekissed]

I'm not a fan.

 

[pegm]

I really envy you guys with enough room to free range. My yard is not even big enough for the dog to really run in, and the coop/run is good for 4 hens, but not big enough for grow frames if I want to walk around and clean up. Approx 14X8 but not a true rectangle as I had to go around an OLD apple tree (too bad they don't care much for apples). Plus, it is shaded in the am (rats), and this time of year gets fair sun in the pm. I try to give then a variety of veggies and greens and scatter a small amount of scratch to keep them pecking around. Occasionally I put up portable dog runs and let them out on the grass. But I love reading these threads and dreaming of a bigger place.