Farming and Homesteading Heritage Poultry

[colburg]

I am looking carefully at what my birds are eating and . . .

can anyone direct me to sources of land management and growing feeds for chickens ( and sheep). We have rough land, meaning full of rocks, and young trees. It is a long process to convert the land from wooded to grass lands. Would like info on speeding up the process ( without using heavy equipment = only have a chainsaw) and better forage to encourage or plant.

Thanks for the help.

Arielle, I've done quite a bit of research in this area and I'll share what I've come up with.

I started with this. http://www.sare.org/Learning-Center/Books/Managing-Cover-Crops-Profitably-3rd-Edition I had multiple objectives so what I picked may be different from you. I wanted something that can pull Nitrogen from the air and fix it into the soil so I focused on legumes. The legumes also have a pretty high protein content so that's a bonus for chicken food. Since I didn't know much about which plants are toxic to chickens I found this http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/comlist.html Don't take what it says at face value though. It says that alfalfa is poisonous to chickens, but if you research BYC, lots of people heed them hay and let their chickens forage alfalfa fields. So, why does it say alfalfa is poisonous to chickens, because if it's stored or harvested wrong, it can become poisonous through molding or overfeeding. Since chickens a pretty good at self regulating, I keep food in their feeders about 75% to 80% of the time and they forage all day to get the rest of what they need. Once spring comes in a month or so I'll cut the feed a little more to force them to range more since there will be more to eat.

I have trials of alfalfa, yellow clover, and white clover in the ground right now. I also would like to try medics and vetch.

The ryegrass, bromegrass, orchard grass combo I planted last spring turned out not to be a good choice that wasn't discovered until harvest. But, it may be just what you want.

To get the protien and mineral content I used the chart here http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/livestk/01615.html It has lots of great info in it.

Like gjensen said, it will work best as a wooded grassland. I can tell you that my chickens range much much further in the orchard than the do in the pasture.

 

[colburg]

Quote: The attra appears to have tons of great info in there. I may even shell out a couple of bucks so I can read some of the buy only's. I've only spent 10 minutes on the site and there's an amazing wealth of information. Thanks for the link.

Here's another place to get seed from. It's not organic, but they will customize any mix you want. http://www.curtisseed.com/index.cfm?show=10&mid=20

 

[Arielle]

If given the choice, chickens will spend more time foraging under the cover of trees than they will out in the open. They prefer scratching through leaf litter, while looking for edibles.

Grass itself is not a big portion of what they eat when they have a choice. Of course they eat some but,they prefer sprouting wild plants, weed seeds, insects, etc.

What I am saying is converting soley to grass land is not necessarily improving the birds forage. Ideally, you would have wooded sections with trees and shrubs, mixed with more open grassy areas. They will frequent the clearings more in the mornings and evenings, and spend most of the day under cover. Especially in the summer.

Quote: THANK YOU BOTH OF YOU!!!!!


I have been looking for sometime-- just needed a f ew leads to look in the right direction apparently!!! THAnk you!!

I did think of pigs but swore never again. I cried when it was time to send Sir Francis Bacon, Wee Pig and their three brothers and sisters. ANd that was back in the early '80's. THey are smart intelligent creatures. Not sure I can do it again. Wonder of small pot bellied pigs would work . . . ?

 

[Arielle]

Quote: I rather like keeping some wood land as I have noticed most livestock have more difficulty with full sun than with cold and shady. We have kept stands of trees while other small areas have been clear cut. I guess we were on the right track just by luck and observation of our animals.

Getting the grass mixes has been problematic. Our local feed store is useless on that account. THe old feed store was old school and now I wish I had paid more attention to what it carried. Long story, but that store closed.

I do think to maximize bush type plants could be helpful. Making a combination of "bushy" areas and grasslands.

ANd I see my birds in the egdes of the woods scratching away. I'm wondering how to promote insects and the bugs, and I'm thinking over grazing is a no-no.

I do have a group of speckled sussex that are penned into the woods and when they have escaped they make a beeline for my main flock instead of staying in their territory.

So many factors.

THank you.

 

[capayvalleychick]

I did think of pigs but swore never again. I cried when it was time to send Sir Francis Bacon, Wee Pig and their three brothers and sisters. ANd that was back in the early '80's. THey are smart intelligent creatures. Not sure I can do it again. Wonder of small pot bellied pigs would work . . . ?

They are intelligent and charming. I have the most difficult time not getting attached. I deal with it by having breeders as pets and feeders that I know from day 1 that will be food,so I don't get attached to them. Look into American Guinea Hogs. They are only slightly larger than pot belly pigs. They are a unique American heritage homestead hog that almost went extinct, so need stewards. They are docile and easy to manage. IMO they look more like real pigs, since they don't get misshapen as they age. Their flavor is excellent, as a plus.

 

[colburg]

ANd I see my birds in the egdes of the woods scratching away. I'm wondering how to promote insects and the bugs, and I'm thinking over grazing is a no-no.

I do have a group of speckled sussex that are penned into the woods and when they have escaped they make a beeline for my main flock instead of staying in their territory.

So many factors.

THank you.

This is why I planted the yellow and white sweet clover. I need something to combat the Brown Marmoted Stink Bug and I'm hoping that the bees this attracts will help. I have no idea if it will work though. My second thought is to get a flighty breed of chicken that will fly up into the trees to hunt bugs, but that may be a pipe dream. Any suggestions?

I spent many hours with my extension agent last year and his recommendation(highly recommended over and over) was hairy vetch to bring in the beneficial bugs. I haven't planted any yet so I don't have any real results to share, just the agents rec.

 

[Arielle]

@ colburg-- I see you quote Jefferson!! years go I went to Monticello, as a matter of fact I went twice in one week, far more interesting than the museums in DC. He loved the land!

I s Managing COver crops sole available via SARE, Otherwise I would like to try to get it via interlibrary loan.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: As chickens are ground dwellers I don't see that they would do the job. I have japanses beetles and mykids have learned to be clever about collecting enough quickly to make a meal for few chickens. THe birds know to come to my kids for these yummy treats. But these beetles live mostly on my black berry leaves, so are about 3-5 feet off the ground, and the beetles stay on the tops of the leaves so the chickens cannot see them,


Sorr y i'm no help here. In general I do think you are on the right track-- to bring in competition that will push out or minimize the stink bugs. Maybe that hwas the point of the hairy vetch?

YOu are in New Mexico, and I do wonder if what grow there will grow here in the cooler wetter region of southern New England. THe spring and fall rains are cold and annoying. THe soils are slow to warm up, especially as our section of land is on the north side of a hill that ends at a fair size river. THe air is always moving here, never still. In the morning, the warming air moves up hill, and in the cooling afternoon flows down hill.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: Never heard of these pigs-- the idea of the pot bellied was a pig fairly small. = manageable Standard breeds like hampshire are too big. I do remember my pigs getting out of their pen when ever the battery to the electric fence died. Fortunanaly the neighbor was ok with a few holes in the lawn to go with the holes from her dogs. LOL Will check these out. THanks.

 

[Arielle]

Why was this not good for your use??
""
The ryegrass, bromegrass, orchard grass combo I planted last spring turned out not to be a good choice that wasn't discovered until harvest. But, it may be just what you want.""