Do chickens have to have feed?

[Keepitathome]

If we're free ranging on a large area with dense, healthy vegetation do we need to supplement with anything?? We're in Southern Oklahoma and often don't even get long enough of a freeze to kill off the flies and flees so wouldn't free range be enough?? Our goal is self sufficiency and I'm wondering how people achieve that if they're having to buy feed or other supplements?

 

[imogene08]

Even though they free range they don't get the things they need to support a healthy diet if you have laying hen you get laying feed for there eggs if you have a mixed flock get mixed flock and add some egg shells or oyster shells.so yes they do need feed to

 

[centrarchid]

Answer must be qualified with respect to season, plant types present, number of birds and cover availability.

With my American Games the answer is a decided yes except during the harshest of winters. Egg production will vary more than if supplemental feed is applied. Drought like last year also clobbered the forage base my birds could use.

Not all forage bases are optimal. My brother maintained an American Game flock where much of the available landscape was dominated by white pines growing on coal strip pit spoils. The flock ranged several hundred feet through spoils but almost all foraging activity occurred in patches that looked like pasture or deciduous woodlot. The white pines where still preferred roosting habitat, especially during winter. My flock forages heavily through a mixed assemblage of cool season grasses and forbs dominated by fescue but will go into woods when weather gets really hot. The woods does not provide as many good eats. My birds pay particular attention of herbaceous legumes and seeds. Insects and other animals are consumed preferentially although vegetative plant materials still represent the bulk of what is consumed. Some plants are avoided and can be a problematic if they overly compete with more desirable species. My birds flat out ignore some fescue patches.

If bird numbers are too high, then birds will likely do some combination of shutting down production or dispersing too far while foraging.

They need to have cover, my birds do not like to forage out in open away from cover and will leave the center of a field untouched.

Insufficient cover and dispersing too much can cause predator management issues during daytime. Even my games benefit from cover and chicken friendly dogs. The dogs have a limited area they can protect chickens in especially during heat of day. If birds range to far they may as well be without any protection.

I am slowly ramping up the available forage base and cover so that my free-ranging games at very least can meet their needs during growing season for chicks. They can fly well enough to avoid some predators but by American Dominiques have demonstrated an inability to avoid Mr. Fox under similar conditions.

Don't forget the importance of your predator management in this. If your forage base is appropriate, then you may be able to get considerable benefit by supplying just a little grain to tighten the flock's ranging habits around where you have good predator control and cover is adequate.

 

[ak rain]

I have seen the comment in reading "I feed late in the day as they forage all morning". My chickes are only 3 weeks old. So I am curious about this too.
Ak rain

 

[Ridgerunner]

Great answer from Centrarchid.

It does depend on the forage base and climate, but what you are talking about is pretty much how chickens have been managed for thousands of years on small subsistence farms worldwide. These are not the fancy breeds with feathers hiding their eyes and these birds could fly. They were not the big bulky pure breed show or heritage chickens so many people like but were working birds, often with a lot of game in them.

My parents and most of our neighbors raised chickens this way in East Tennessee. The chickens fed themselves through most of the year, just getting some corn we raised to supplement their forage in the bad weather periods. They got their water from the farm pond, just like the horses and cow. Broodies hatched and raised replacement chicks. The chickens provided eggs and meat. Maybe they didn’t lay as many big eggs or provide as big a carcass as some people think they need, but those chickens fed a lot of people. Most people had farm animals so the chickens had cow and/or horse manure to scratch around in and get some good nutrition. They could get some extra grain from the hay in the hay barn or as the hat was fed.

Most had farm dogs that kept predators away.

 

[Keepitathome]

Great answer from Centrarchid.

It does depend on the forage base and climate, but what you are talking about is pretty much how chickens have been managed for thousands of years on small subsistence farms worldwide. These are not the fancy breeds with feathers hiding their eyes and these birds could fly. They were not the big bulky pure breed show or heritage chickens so many people like but were working birds, often with a lot of game in them.

My parents and most of our neighbors raised chickens this way in East Tennessee. The chickens fed themselves through most of the year, just getting some corn we raised to supplement their forage in the bad weather periods. They got their water from the farm pond, just like the horses and cow. Broodies hatched and raised replacement chicks. The chickens provided eggs and meat. Maybe they didn’t lay as many big eggs or provide as big a carcass as some people think they need, but those chickens fed a lot of people. Most people had farm animals so the chickens had cow and/or horse manure to scratch around in and get some good nutrition. They could get some extra grain from the hay in the hay barn or as the hat was fed.

Most had farm dogs that kept predators away.

This makes a lot of sense to me. I was thinking that 100yrs ago, what did they do?? Our winters are very mild, we might get .5 of snow if we're lucky (my kids live for that one day a year lol) and an occasional ice storm. We're going to have 2-3 cows and 2-3 horses and a flock of chickens, It would seem to me (though I have no experience) that the chickens should be able to manage okay if there is a good amount of acreage. We're still in the research phase but, we are planning to separate the acreage into small paddocks and rotate the livestock through on a daily basis, I'm thinking the chickens could be a day behind the cows so they scratch the manure in and can pick out any parasites in the cow patties. They'll be shade trees through out so the animals can seek shade through out the day. Heat is more of an issue here than cold with summer temps frequently at 110* They'd be cooped at night and I think we'll probably have a couple of dogs to watch over it all. I figure we'll have some hay in the winter for the cows and horses and couldn't the chickens be in the barn with them if the weather is bad? There again benefiting from the insects that accompany the bigger animals and the hay bits left behind.

 

[centrarchid]

This makes a lot of sense to me. I was thinking that 100yrs ago, what did they do?? Our winters are very mild, we might get .5 of snow if we're lucky (my kids live for that one day a year lol) and an occasional ice storm. We're going to have 2-3 cows and 2-3 horses and a flock of chickens, It would seem to me (though I have no experience) that the chickens should be able to manage okay if there is a good amount of acreage. We're still in the research phase but, we are planning to separate the acreage into small paddocks and rotate the livestock through on a daily basis, I'm thinking the chickens could be a day behind the cows so they scratch the manure in and can pick out any parasites in the cow patties. They'll be shade trees through out so the animals can seek shade through out the day. Heat is more of an issue here than cold with summer temps frequently at 110* They'd be cooped at night and I think we'll probably have a couple of dogs to watch over it all. I figure we'll have some hay in the winter for the cows and horses and couldn't the chickens be in the barn with them if the weather is bad? There again benefiting from the insects that accompany the bigger animals and the hay bits left behind.

What you are describing is similar to most of our walks. Birds benefitted greatly from presence of larger livestock. If barn has a manger area that is where I would encourage roosting, egg laying and brooding. To enhance chick survival, I like so hens and chicks can get to dry of barn without getting underfoot of horses and cattle. Also, too many hens can actually cause a reduction in number of chicks surviving to fryer-size and the magic number you will need to figure out through trial and error. I also like dogs to sleep in barn with birds. Be careful with troughs as water sources for chicks.