Feeding chickens mostly kitchen scraps?

[Bullitt]

I have three young pullets. I decided to raise the chickens to have a few fresh eggs and for the experience. I've decided that I would like to mostly feed them kitchen scraps and I would like to know what to supplement the scraps with so that they get enough protein.

I understand that feeding scraps might cause less than optimal egg production and I'm okay with that I just want the occasional egg and I want the hens to be healthy. I'm not big on organics or anything, but I really dislike the use of soy in commercial chicken feed so I'd like to avoid it. I do let the chickens free range, but my suburban yard is tiny and doesn't offer enough to feed them I think.

Is there be particular grain that would be good to supplement the scraps with? Something easily accessible and not expensive?

Any major issues you foresee with my kitchen scrap plan? And by scraps I mean mostly fruit and vegetables, some leftover bread/rice/potato and occasionally meat if the dog doesn't eat all of it. For the most part the scraps will not be any processed food.

The bugs, worms, seeds, grass, and weeds in your yard provide more nutrition than you may realize and helps with protein intake. Plus you are providing table scraps.

You asked about adding grain to their diet. You can buy whole kernel corn in bulk, like 50-pound bags. If these are regular-size chickens, they can eat that corn fine. Or you can buy sunflower seeds or some sort of bird seed for them to eat. Or you can just buy chicken feed in bulk so it is less expensive.

 

[littleboots]

I raised 30 black Australorps for meat on 2 bags of country side organic feed. I rationed that to them for the 1st 8 weeks of their life, then I didn't feed them a thing, not even kitchen scraps. Day one they were on grass in a cage and by two weeks old they were in a chicken tractor and by 6 weeks they were totally free range on about an acre. They actually weighed out more than my previous run on grain!

Also, I'm beginning to wonder why we feel so compelled to feed so much grain to these birds. My family eats mostly wholefood paleo plus dairy. It's hard for me to believe that our food scraps are less nutrition than the spent grain I'm feeding out of a bag.

Watch this video on how Karl Hammer feeds his chickens nothing but compost!

Justin Rhodes
HollerGanic Farm
Fletcher, NC

 

[NerdDoc]

Quote:
Justin, that video is amazing! How brilliant to simply raise chickens from a compost pile. It may not look the prettiest, but I really appreciated how full of bugs it was and how it produced enough warmth in the winter to prevent it from becoming frozen or covered with snow. Excellent idea! Granted, I'd be doing that on a much smaller scale if I chose to do it

 

[super meaties]

Can i feed my meaties scraps? not many, but some?

 

[lazy gardener]

Can i feed my meaties scraps? not many, but some?

It depends on what kind of meaties they are: If they are the CXR, you would do better to provide them with a formulated feed, but limit it. CXR are bred for super fast growth, and need the benefit of a good feed to provide the nutrition necessary to keep up with that fast paced cell division. Bee kissed has an excellent video on BYC somewhere showing her CXR and how well they do on free range. CXR do not have to be the fat, sloppy, filthy, hogs that they have a reputation for: laying in their own filth in front of the feeder. It's all a matter of management. If they are a DP meatie, you would have more lee-way.

 

[super meaties]

I have thirty three-day-old CX.