Feeding the "Old fashioned way"

[curtisbirds]

I use deep litter in my chickens coop, they free range all day, but during the winter I cooped them up and it was a life saver compared to a poop board. My coop floor is wood but I made my coop out of an old ten by ten metal shed. I use straw about six inches deep. Once a week I rake out the front of the coop because that's where they do most of their business and bring the rest forward and back fill with fresh straw in front of the nesting boxes. Once I get the straw out I rake it to a corner of my pen were my compost pile is. They work the compost pile every afternoon because it's in the shade. I started doing this way last November when I got my four rescues, and they are the only ones that work it at this point, the rest are still chicks. My compost pile as it stands is ten feet by twenty feet and three feet high. They love it.

Besides the compost benefits of deep litter, I also noticed this winter when it was extremely cold (frozen pipes cold) that it was well above freezing in the coop. Their water did not freeze and you could see steam come out of the coop door when I opened it and I didn't have any heat supply to the coop.

pfields I love your coop in the picture

 

[pfields]

I use deep litter in my chickens coop, they free range all day, but during the winter I cooped them up and it was a life saver compared to a poop board. My coop floor is wood but I made my coop out of an old ten by ten metal shed. I use straw about six inches deep. Once a week I rake out the front of the coop because that's where they do most of their business and bring the rest forward and back fill with fresh straw in front of the nesting boxes. Once I get the straw out I rake it to a corner of my pen were my compost pile is. They work the compost pile every afternoon because it's in the shade. I started doing this way last November when I got my four rescues, and they are the only ones that work it at this point, the rest are still chicks. My compost pile as it stands is ten feet by twenty feet and three feet high. They love it.

Besides the compost benefits of deep litter, I also noticed this winter when it was extremely cold (frozen pipes cold) that it was well above freezing in the coop. Their water did not freeze and you could see steam come out of the coop door when I opened it and I didn't have any heat supply to the coop.

pfields I love your coop in the picture

Thank you!

 

[Peggysue1971]

I have a question. I have some wheat that I am recycling and wondered if I could feed it to my old chickens along with the lay pellets and their cracked corn. I have cut way back on their cracked corn now that i have read a lot of the previous comments. Since I had to coop them up for my husband's lawn he reseeded to grow back, I have been catching as many grasshoppers as I can and feeding them that and weeds from outside the yard. Thank you

 

[shortgrass]

I have a question. I have some wheat that I am recycling and wondered if I could feed it to my old chickens along with the lay pellets and their cracked corn. I have cut way back on their cracked corn now that I have read a lot of the previous comments. Since I had to coop them up for my husband's lawn he reseeded to grow back, I have been catching as many grasshoppers as I can and feeding them that and weeds from outside the yard.  Thank you

IMO, I would opt for planting them instead, if they're viable seed.... They lose nutrients as they sit, but you can make fodder, or sow in shallow beds for the chickens to have fresh greens and amend your soil at the same time

 

[crazyfeathers]

Very good read here. I can't get over the comment about chickens finding food in the winter. I understand some have very mild winters but here in Wisconsin when you have 3-4 feet of snow or more and temperatures at 30 below with a wind chill to boot there is no way my chickens would think of leaving the coop. These temperatures last for 2-3 months my flock would starve if they had to fend for themselves. Lol. I shovel a path for the flock in the winter and throw down straw to encourage them to go out but they say NO WAY!
Most of my flock free ranges 3 seasons out of the year and right now my feed costs have been reduced by 70%. I also plant extra in my garden for them every year, and the rabbits. All of my critters get the weeds from the garden and flower beds. Leftovers go to the chickens, yes even chicken goes to the chickens. I give cracked corn along with a layer feed, sunflower seeds, meal worms, worms, grass hoppers these chickens eat like kings.

 

[mixedUPturk]

Very good read! I free range my turkeys during the day each day, but not my chickens. I find that the turkeys eat alot less of the grower feed, but i keep it avalible because thats what i read. Until point of lay or, when they are fully grown, i believe it is Crucial that any baby gets the extra nutrition and even the "ease" of a constant complete feed. I appreciate the different veiws listed here and the facts. Chicken keeping is a "to each his own" type of thing, so, that being said, you know if your chickens are healthy or starving when you look at them. With any pet or livestock the best way i have found to learn about said critter, is to watch its reactions to its environment.

 

[MysteriaSdrassa]

Very good read here. I can't get over the comment about chickens finding food in the winter. I understand some have very mild winters but here in Wisconsin when you have 3-4 feet of snow or more and temperatures at 30 below with a wind chill to boot there is no way my chickens would think of leaving the coop. These temperatures last for 2-3 months my flock would starve if they had to fend for themselves. Lol. I shovel a path for the flock in the winter and throw down straw to encourage them to go out but they say NO WAY!
Most of my flock free ranges 3 seasons out of the year and right now my feed costs have been reduced by 70%. I also plant extra in my garden for them every year, and the rabbits. All of my critters get the weeds from the garden and flower beds. Leftovers go to the chickens, yes even chicken goes to the chickens. I give cracked corn along with a layer feed, sunflower seeds, meal worms, worms, grass hoppers these chickens eat like kings.

Exactly,, mid-wisconsin winters are brutal. I still make my girls range at least for a little bit each day. Mostly because feeding and watering inside my coop is just not practical and near imposible. One thing I like to do for them to keep them in greens all winter is I save and dry glass clippings for them every time I mow lawn during the summer. A small handful every day or so helps entice them out to the feeders. We also have a meal worm farm so they get a few live ones of those through the winter. And as a very special treat,, since we have limited space and must be done in our house,,, we sprout fodder for them,, we just use our scratch mixture for this since we mix our own and only use whole grains in it

 

[shortgrass]

For anyone interested in forage mixes to grow for the chooks, here's a great site to get them... Easily the best prices for small flock owners! This one here is mixed specifically for chickens

http://www.groworganic.com/omega-3-chicken-forage-blend-irrigated.html

They have different blends, or you can mix your own!

 

[duluthralphie]

Interesting read.. Good thread..

I have one question, when the "chicken nutritionist" that happen to all work for a feed company or a college/university that gets grants from a feed company, do you really expect them to say feeding the "old fashion" way is better or even equivalent to their pricey custom made feeds?


Some one said in 1900 a chicken only laid 83 eggs. I am sure some is do to breeding and some may be feeding. A lot has to do with electricity, in 1900 there was not electricity and people did not use artificial light to keep the birds laying. Before quoting a number as gospel all the facts need to be taken into account. I am not saying I know them all, I am saying this is a glaring difference to me..

I have 20 birds, if I get 83 eggs a year from them, I will have to eat 32 eggs a week. I can live with that.


BTW Where do I get white corn cobs? they are all red around here...

 

[shortgrass]

Interesting read..  Good thread..

I have one question, when the "chicken nutritionist" that happen to all work for a feed company or a college/university that gets grants from a feed company, do you really expect them to say feeding the "old fashion" way is better or even equivalent to their pricey custom made feeds?


Some one said  in 1900 a chicken only laid 83 eggs.   I am sure some is do to breeding and some may be feeding. A lot has to do with electricity, in 1900 there was not electricity and people did not use artificial light to keep the birds laying.  Before quoting a number as gospel all the facts need to be taken into account.  I am not saying I know them all, I am saying this is a glaring difference to me..

I have 20 birds, if I get 83 eggs a year from them, I will have to eat 32 eggs a week.  I can live with that.


BTW Where do I get white corn cobs? they are all red around here...

Sweet corn ...fluffy white cobs lol

Good point on the electricity...a lot of commercial layers are under artificial light.... Breeding, lets just say when bred for meat or eggs, that's what we get... I personally believe that we've bred a lot of traits OUT of chickens that are essential...disease resistance being a big one... I'm not pushing my chickens to give me 365 eggs a year lol, whatever they feel like is fine

And NO, lol I don't know a single person in the feed industry that would actually recommend mixing your own feed versus buying theirs, but they will admit free ranging is superior over bulk grain any day ... (And I live in grain central USA lol), we Farm, so we can grow our own