Feed Management Methods [Poll]

[Shadrach]

I picked those numbers to sort the people who let their birds free in an urban or suburban "back yard" and those whose birds can range in a space that (in most environments) is likely to provide a significant amount of potential nutrition most of the year. 1,000 sq ft per bird is equal to ground worthy of 1/2 AU per acre which many soils can achieve with only minimal human effort.

Bear in mind what is and what isn't significant amount of potential nutriants in the context of the discussion.
One would have to set anything over 10% of their total intake of foodstuffs as significant in this case.
One would also need more detail of what forage is available than straight square footage. For example, a half acre backyard with a working compost heap would give a higher nutritional rating than a few flower beds.

One other factor that often gets overlooked is how chickens feed and forage.
It's not easy.

 

[aart]

< less than. >More than.

Still....will generate tons of inaccurate data.

 

[Shadrach]

Still....will generate tons of inaccurate data.

I agree but such is the nature of this type of poll.
A simpler version would have been my preference but it should still be interesting.

 

[MadGardener]

My flock is kept behind 100' of electric netting and moved often enough to have fresh greens most of the year (limited green things Dec-Jan in my climate). Flock size fluctuates, currently have 34 SF per bird for 8 adults and 10 juveniles about 9 weeks old. They rotate over an acre of weedy lawn with mostly grasses, clover, broadleaf plantain and other common lawn weeds. I call it pasture to make myself feel better.

A commercial feed is offered dawn to dusk. They get additional greens when I pull weeds and comfrey or yarrow every couple days. Scrambled egg or kitchen scraps on occasion.

 

[3KillerBs]

Quality of forage will vary massively, but there's a limit to what data can be collected.

Here in the Sandhills I'm in an "impoverished, fire-dependent" ecology. The quality of soil is better in my current home than my previous home, but crop farming is not done in this part of the county for very good reason.

While I have much more species diversity in this lawn than I had before, to an eye that grew up in Western PA near Pittsburgh, where the soil is rich and productive, it looks barren and monotonous.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Thanks all for the input on where they forage - that will help devise answers for the next poll.

Right now, I'm just trying to collect data on how often our various flocks forage, and whether they forage in an arbitrary "large" area, or a "small" area. The next poll will try and tease some answers about the diversity and abundance of the forage.

 

[3KillerBs]

Thanks all for the input on where they forage - that will help devise answers for the next poll.

Right now, I'm just trying to collect data on how often our various flocks forage, and whether they forage in an arbitrary "large" area, or a "small" area. The next poll will try and tease some answers about the diversity and abundance of the forage.

 

[bruceha2000]

My girls (*) put themselves in their secure stall coop (10'x12') in the barn at night and I close them up. During the day the barn door is open and they have free access to about 3/4 acre which is more than 1,000 sq ft for 22 birds. They don't use all that space and they hang out in the barn in the winter when there is snow on the ground. They do NOT like snow unless it is on my boots.

* except Daisy the egg eater, she is in another mostly secure (a small weasel could get in) stall coop. She gets company when one of the other hens goes broody (no rooster) and they spend a few days in the buster which sits on a stand in that coop.

 

[Geena]

Thanks all for the input on where they forage - that will help devise answers for the next poll.

This is where my breeder birds range, we don't cut their field until late summer. There's apple, peach and mulberry trees, and blue flax all of which they really enjoy. Honestly I don't know what all they eat in there, after I let them out in the morning I often don't see them again until it's time to go to bed. This time of year they eat very little, if any, of their pellets.

 

[Iluveggers]

Right now we have a temporary huge fenced run at the farm. With AI we can’t afford to let them roam on the acreage and have our egg sales gone for 6 months. With no AI, the plan would be much different. So this is a 2022 plan, not a forever plan.