Feeding your flock amidst of feed shortages

[Hensintexas]

Yup. We have too. Stock-up what you can, be as frugal as possible.
Most of our coop minus the wire fencing is all re-purposed materials.
I'm really not expecting our economy to recover either. They are trying to collapse it on purpose, (it's apparent).Survival mode is a readiness mode. And everyone better well be ready!

Have to say though I do appreciate the convenience of the horses feed

...and the chickies feed also. Very easy and convenient to throw down some ration for them. We don't by always have enough leftovers to feed them. But it's not some fancy feed, just a feed the local mill makes for the chookies! Twice a day I soak it in hot water to make a mash which they gobble up. They don't need anything expensive or fancy. Chickens are easy to please

You have some pretty babies, Ponypoor.

 

[FlarryEyeGrey]

I started feeding my chickens a homemade mash earlier this year and they love it. Not the cheapest by any means but it can be made a whole lot cheaper by making it heavier on oats, corn, wheat, alfalfa, etc. and cutting out the things I throw in to spoil the birds.

Hubby thinks I'm crazy, but I also started raising Turkestan cockroaches in a big bin in our garage. They run wild outdoors here (not a big indoor pest like the Germans), so all I had to do was catch a few big breeders and we were off to the races. The birds have a hard time foraging for them because they're only really active at night, but they lose their minds when I throw them into the mash.

 

[Ponypoor]

I started feeding my chickens a homemade mash earlier this year and they love it. Not the cheapest by any means but it can be made a whole lot cheaper by making it heavier on oats, corn, wheat, alfalfa, etc. and cutting out the things I throw in to spoil the birds.

Hubby thinks I'm crazy, but I also started raising Turkestan cockroaches in a big bin in our garage. They run wild outdoors here (not a big indoor pest like the Germans), so all I had to do was catch a few big breeders and we were off to the races. The birds have a hard time foraging for them because they're only really active at night, but they lose their minds when I throw them into the mash.

Mine go crazy over snakes and mice!!!!! Seen my 4 month old silkie pullet beat the crap out of a small snake and slurp it down like spaghetti!!!! Ewwwww! Also grasshoppers, crickets, spiders, worms...

I saw my week old chick pull a worm from the dirt beat the crap out it and also chuck it back like spaghetti hahahaha.

Bet they would eat the paint off my truck !!!

My blacksmith and I both agree that it's a good thing chickens are not 6 feet tall, they would be a serious threat to humans if so hahahaha!

 

[Solanacae]

Mine go crazy over snakes and mice!!!!! Seen my 4 month old silkie pullet beat the crap out of a small snake and slurp it down like spaghetti!!!! Ewwwww! Also grasshoppers, crickets, spiders, worms...

I saw my week old chick pull a worm from the dirt beat the crap out it and also chuck it back like spaghetti hahahaha.

Bet they would eat the paint off my truck !!!

My blacksmith and I both agree that it's a good thing chickens are not 6 feet tall, they would be a serious threat to humans if so hahahaha!

Tiny dinosaurs is pretty accurate, isn’t it? I’ve got a mama hen with a couple of chicks right now and they go to town on the worms they find under all the leaves!

 

[Hensintexas]

Beetles! Definitely beetles! Let one chicken find a beetle, and the chase is on! We have these iridescent green scarab beetles with heavily armored legs (!!), and the chickens think they’re candy. Of course, they have to announce their find with all manner of cheeping, clucking, and running around like little maniacs. . . .

 

[FlarryEyeGrey]

Honestly, if you can introduce insects and other small prey into your chickens' diet (either by free-ranging or providing them), it really seems to be the best thing for them! I'm very skeptical of an all-vegetarian diet for these birds.

Granted, in lean times they'll make do with just about anything edible, which is what makes them such incredible homestead animals. But I'm much more confident about the nutrition coming out of them when they're not solely subsisting on grains and other plant matter.

 

[Solanacae]

My chickens have been finding tons of worms lately - usually they’re deeper in the soil, but the combination of fallen leaves and rain have brought them up to the surface. What’s the protein:fat ratio on them? Some are big gnarly earthworms and others are more slender and no band, though I am unsure of the exact type.

 

[backyardfeedco]

You might be interested in our feed. We ship orders straight from our mill so feed is never sitting in a warehouse and always fresh.

 

[backyardfeedco]

Honestly, if you can introduce insects and other small prey into your chickens' diet (either by free-ranging or providing them), it really seems to be the best thing for them! I'm very skeptical of an all-vegetarian diet for these birds.

Granted, in lean times they'll make do with just about anything edible, which is what makes them such incredible homestead animals. But I'm much more confident about the nutrition coming out of them when they're not solely subsisting on grains and other plant matter.

I agree 100%. We include fish meal and crab meal in our feed for this exact reason. Since crabs are just the insects of the ocean, they actually have an almost identical composition to land crustaceans, like crickets or grasshoppers.

Chickens were not meant to eat a strictly vegetarian diet and their feed should reflect that.

 

[glib]

My chickens have been finding tons of worms lately - usually they’re deeper in the soil, but the combination of fallen leaves and rain have brought them up to the surface. What’s the protein:fat ratio on them? Some are big gnarly earthworms and others are more slender and no band, though I am unsure of the exact type.

Regrettably earthworms are very lean. All proteins, lots of micro-nutrients, but no fat. For fat, fly larvae are near unbeatable (other larvae too, but fly are those they are best at finding).