feeding chickens without the commercial feed?

[Molliep2]

Is it possible to feed chickens without the commercial feed?

 

[HappyClucker7]

I'm sure it's possible, but it would require a lot of extra work, and it would probably be more expensive. The commercial feed has everything in it that chickens need, so I would just stick with that. (Well, not everything, everything, but you get my point.)

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

It's certainly possible, but it does require some combination of cost, labor, and land beyond what feeding commercial feed does.

The first thing to think about is your motivation, as it's likely to cost more labor or money to do it your own way. So, you better have a reason for attempting it!

What you may want to consider as a first step is to try to supplement a significant portion of your flock's diet through other means. Free range on rangeland, grow crops to feed your flock, buy grains and mix your own feed, or bring in off-site food waste and compost.

I supplement my flock's diet with significant amounts of food waste in a compost setup. That being said, I still have commercial feed available to my flock all day. They still eat commercial feed...they just eat a lot less (about half) when the system is working well.

Good luck in your explorations!