Developing the grass in your yard for increasing free ranging nutrition

[LeslieDJoyce]

Was looking at this and saw a post on fruit/nut based elements in the free ranges, my question is this, what are the kind of fruits or nuts is acceptable for them to eat, i have several fruit and nut trees in my yard that i will free range them.
-DJP

Mine like all the fruit in the heir orchard, but love the brooks prunes the most.

I intend to plant a bigger variety of fruit and nut trees in the chicken orchard this winter. Particularly mulberry, pawpaw, fig, chestnut, hazelnut and almond. I want things that provide good cover and drop fruit at different times.

I think it is as much about attracting bugs as it is about the treats ... bugs being good nutrition.

I've read that chickens are a great companion crop to chestnuts because the chickens help with controlling some pest insects for the chestnut trees. I'm talking about eating chestnuts ...

Here is a quote about poultry & orchards:
Orchards, Forests and Tree Crops

Poultry fenced in the orchard consume a lot of protein as they help control damaging insects. They also help control diseases by cleaning up dropped fruit. Geese are particularly diligent at gleaning dropped apples and pears.

Historically, farmers allowed flocks of turkeys to range in wooded areas to fatten on windfalls of acorns, beechnuts, and persimmons. I feed my flocks wild hickory nuts and black walnuts after smashing the nuts on a rock with a hammer.

Mulberry trees in the pastures provide shade and dropped fruit in abundance. Chestnut trees provide shade for chickens, and the chickens garner protein by eating chestnut weevils at various stages of development, breaking the life cycle of the weevils and protecting the trees.

Read more: http://www.motherearthnews.com/home.../poultry-feed-zmaz10fmzraw.aspx#ixzz2m9bWQXCZ

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One of my favorite TedTalks was about a foie gras farmer in Spain who planted his property over the years with all kinds of great stuff to attract and fatten the birds. I'd love to do the same for my chickens, ducks and turkeys ... http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_barber_s_surprising_foie_gras_parable.html

Our business is a nursery (shade, fruit and flowering trees), so I have access to lots of fruit trees "for free." I'm working with another local nursery that does a bigger variety of fruit trees and shrubs, etc., to come up with a bunch of cool stuff to plant this year.

 

[Beekissed]

Mumbling.....this is getting really bizarre....Why yes, I could try that too......

. I really do want them to have healthy things to eat, so will try your suggestions....thank you so very much!

Maybe they aren't hungry enough? If you go to feeding just once a day and whatever they can clean up in that meal, you might find they are much more receptive to a variety of raw fruits and veggies~especially in the winter when fresh things are scarce. I don't know that I've ever had a chicken in the last 37 yrs that didn't run to eat whatever we throw out and fight the dog for it if they can.

A chicken gets hungry enough they'll chaw off their own leg for a taste of something fresh!

 

[pegm]

That is entirely possible.....

 

[SunnySkies]

Big is fun, but I spend 2 days a week mowing, lol....

 

[Beekissed]

You need some hair sheep! That's how I took care of a large yard and orchard to mow...turned it into meat.

 

[centrarchid]

You need some hair sheep! That's how I took care of a large yard and orchard to mow...turned it into meat.

I am setting up to do similar with about a dozen head plus four goats. Goal is to support mowing equipment without need for hay by keeping herd size down. Some paddocks will be grazed only in alternative years to enable tall standing crops that will serve as cover for chickens. Perimeter fencing is holdup as such will be backup to paddock fencing. Herd getting off property would likely result in losses to dogs, some of which are LGD by breeding.

 

[Aphrael]

I am setting up to do similar with about a dozen head plus four goats. Goal is to support mowing equipment without need for hay by keeping herd size down. Some paddocks will be grazed only in alternative years to enable tall standing crops that will serve as cover for chickens. Perimeter fencing is holdup as such will be backup to paddock fencing. Herd getting off property would likely result in losses to dogs, some of which are LGD by breeding.

That's what is holding up my goat adventure as well. Have plenty of space and browse for a few goats but I have to get the place fenced first. That will be the next building project after the coop/barn is finished.

 

[SunnySkies]

You need some hair sheep!  That's how I took care of a large yard and orchard to mow...turned it into meat. 

I'd have to re-fence, to the tune of about $10k. I got the horse fence up, and that is all I'm doing! lol

 

[Aphrael]

You need some hair sheep! That's how I took care of a large yard and orchard to mow...turned it into meat.

You use hair sheep for meat? What breed? How do they butcher out? Do you find they provide a respectable amount of meat? Last question (for now), can they thrive on the same kind of brushy scrub that goats can or do they tend to need more grazing type area?

 

[Beekissed]

You use hair sheep for meat? What breed? How do they butcher out? Do you find they provide a respectable amount of meat? Last question (for now), can they thrive on the same kind of brushy scrub that goats can or do they tend to need more grazing type area?

Yep, that's what they are for! I had Katahdins and Kat/St. Croix crosses but really prefer the Kats. They have a sweeter meat than the woolly breeds..no lanolin or strong flavor. They put on as much meat as any other breed, more so than many. The great thing about hair sheep breeds is that they do very well on brushy scrub and actually prefer it in their diet, along with the graze...I always kept some woodier hay and all my cornstalks to feed in the winter, along with their regular hay, so they could get what they needed when they were confined to the winter quarters.

They are easier to contain then goats also due to their flocking instincts. Naturally hardy, fatten well on grass and browse, easy birthing, good mothering, shed their wool so shearing is not needed, parasite resistant. Because they don't have to have their tails docked, they have a great market in the Muslim communities, much like the goats and so are now commanding more attention at the livestock markets than ever before. Their shedding of wool, heat tolerance and parasite resistance are other reasons many are switching from wool breeds to the hair breeds, particularly in the south.

Around here a grass fed meat lamb brings high dollar if you have the right market. I saw a group of six Kat ram lambs go at market for $1200 the day I was there...they were beautiful. They were not castrated, tails were natural and their size was perfect for butchering.

Don't make the mistake of feeding hair sheep on grain based feeds as they are not suited for it and it really affects their natural hardiness and parasite resistance. They fatten just fine on grass and hay based diets, just a longer grow out than woolly lambs fed grain based feeds.