Feeding your flock amidst of feed shortages

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

I have been thinking about the issue of potential feed shortages this winter A Lot, even before seeing this thread. My chickens are free-range with plenty of garden veggies, grass, weeds and bugs during the summer months, but of course that is all dormant over the winter.

Here are some steps i am currently taking to combat potential winter feed shortages:
1) Chicken feed is said to stay nutritious four months after the manufacturing date. So if possible, it's a good idea to buy enough feed to last 4 months out. Rotate feed monthly if feed is available at your local store. If you have too many chickens to store 4 months of feed for, well yes so do i. (Over 200 hens). But im still currently buying and storing as much as i can, in metal 55 gallon barrels and 100# cleaned and rinsed chlorine buckets.
2) Pumpkins, squash and other gourds will keep for months in cool (not freezing) temperatures. Aldis currently has Gigantic pumpkins for $2.49. And of course many other stores currently have plentiful pumpkins too. 3) Mealworms. Although i cant raise nearly enough to feed the flock, every worm helps.
4) Chicken predators are more eager for chicken dinners during the winter months. Possums, raccoons, fox, etc will all provide a meat source if needbe. If you cant shoot guns, consider using traps. Since predators will be coming around trying to eat my chickens, i figure it wil be poetic justice if the chickens end up eating them.
5) If chicken feed is unavailable, chickens are omnivores like us, & can eat just about anything if that is required to keep them alive short-term. Other types of livestock feed, dog/cat food, meat and vegetables from the grocery store will all suffice if that is all that is available.

This thread is a great idea. Ive had my thinking cap on trying to ensure my flock's survival over this winter if feed shortages develop. (News reports are already saying more shortages of many products are likely.) I look forward to ideas from others. During the covid shutdown in 2020 i had approx. 1500 pounds of layer feed stored because i foresaw what was coming, and didnt know if feed stores would remain open during the shutdown. They did remain open, but feed didnt arrive by by truck every week & so often the stores were out. I expect this winter will be even more difficult, even more so with dormant grass and bugs. I encourage everyone to get what they expect to need Now while products are plentiful. Ranchers have Always done this, thats why hay is baled and stored. Whether one has 3 chickens or 300, it will be a major stress to have nothing to feed them. Same goes for other animals and too!

 

[Sally PB]

Microgreens is another option for this thread to consider as well.

some people do stacks of fodder trays to make watering easier and take up less floor space.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...re-its-fodder-season-🍀.1429474/#post-23549565

This is a good thread about growing fodder. I grew some small trays of barley fodder last winter for my 4 chickens. I have 7 now, and will do it again this year.

While it was not a huge amount of food, it was some greens in a green-less time (where I live) and was "nutritainment."

If we can have infotainment on TV, the food that is also entertainment for chickens can have a name, right?

 

[saysfaa]

I've got ten min, so here goes a short version of a plan for feeding the chickens without access to any commercial chicken feed and with maybe a few weeks to a year to see it coming. I would look into using the old rations from the 1952 textbook. Basically, using meat to cover the gaps of plants. The meat I could get is likely to be rabbit because I can raise that in the subdivision I live in. Among other things, they are most likely to available and easiest to set up housing and to feed. I would rather not eat the rabbit directly.

Edit to add: evidently rabbits are harder to keep than I realized.

 

[Ebony Rose]

Canned mackerel (fish) is very cheap here (3 tins for $1 USD is not uncommon) and since I suffered from feed shortages when Covid lockdowns affected everything in March 2020, I have laid in a handsome supply of this canned fish as backup protein for all members of my family (even the feathered and furred members). It's a simple matter to open a can and serve it plain (I do this with newborn chicks & their momma to hasten the recovery of the mother's condition) or stretch it out by tossing it in with your choice of leftovers, pasta, cooked rice and/or a can of mixed veggies.

 

[saysfaa]

There are more studies [on fermented feeds] but I don’t need them; can see for myself. There is less evidence of partially processed grains in the poops and less smell. My dog no longer finds the poops edible or attractive. Less of my money is laying on the ground. To loosely summarize the studies, FF are a valuable probiotic source for chickens, increase the length and absorption of the intestinal villi, can increase the total protein absorption by 12%. Egg weight increased; fewer broiler chicks died of dehydration in transport and more showed improved digestion when fed the wet feeds early on (fermented feeds stimulated GI development). Fewer incidents of cocci, salmonella, etc. and greater overall health.

--- For grown birds, sunflower seeds don’t have to be shelled.

----Lentils are very high in protein, higher than soy, and provide almost all essential amino acids and iron. This much I remember from nutrition 101. They have been a staple since recorded history. Try a small batch and test your chickens on them. Old beans do need to soak longer but they are cheaper.

---oats is a wonderful feed for chickens; only 8% protein but if you soak/ferment them, it shoots up to 12% or so

---For the best tasting birds, my hatchery (Rochester in Alberta) recommends feeding milled grains without poultry supplement for the last 2 weeks before butcher. They suggest: ≤15% Barley ≤25% Oats 65 - 100%Wheat

---We make our own soy-free feed for our layers and meat chickens using alternative safe beans for protein, such as Adzuki beans, Garbanzo Beans, or Split Peas, Lentils All these beans/peas do not need roasting to be safe for chickens, so we just grind them coarsely. We also use Fishmeal (chickens NEED animal protein) to help boost the protein, since these other beans are not as high in protein as Soy (about 24% instead of 46%). I have not tried to avoid Corn totally. Other main ingredients in our feed mixes include wheat and Oats and a small amount of Black oil Sunflower Seeds.

--- Kelp provides all minerals, including salt

---- I also feed them dirt. Yep, plain old dirt from outside. They've had it since day 2. I estimate that they have eaten half to an equal amount of dirt compared to their food by weight. I figure it's good for their gizzard, guts and poop. Picture shows shovel-fulls of dirt piled on the floor [perhaps they scratch it out some – not eat that much]

---- Thanks for the idea of feeding dirt, I tried it – first time I’ve ever not had a single case of pasty butt. [also first time feeding fermented]

-- Have you got a creek or river nearby? That's where I got my grit.... It has some good, clean sand and smaller stones, tiny pieces of quartz, etc. Since they got old enough to find their own out there, they no longer need mine.

---quartz-based sand with angular edges (not rounded, as riverbeds often have) can be collected wherever you find it.

---- I heard to soak eggshells in vinegar to make the calcium more bioavailable. Maybe put shells in pails too
---- studies on fermented beet pulp
http://jcsp.org.pk/index.php/jcsp/article/viewFile/516/215
http://www.livestrong.com/article/550599-beet-pulp-vs-rice-bran-for-weight-gain/

Flax seeds, kelp, fish meal, BOSS, dried alfalfa, grasses and clovers, vegetables and fruit, crushed egg shells,

----What do your chickens like and dislike?
--- The wheat doesn't ferment well, the outer casing is too tough...the birds didn't like it and left it alone until they just HAD to eat it. Crimped or whole oats is another thing they didn't seem to like.
Barley was a big hit, cracked corn a little less desirable but still got eaten.
Anything milled more finely and then fermented was a big hit...can't be selective when the pieces are small, can they?

---Mine seem to like the barley best, then the oats, then corn...they will leave some of that...but if the ground is not picked clean then guess what? They get no more till it is! I figure they must not really be hungry after all.
----Mine didn't like the whole oats at first either. So I left them in the feeder until they cleaned it up they didn't get any more feed. The next night they LOVED the oats and ate them first. LOL I'm such a mean momma.
---Mine must be unusual, they have always loved the whole oats fermented, they also like any grain I have tried fermented (wheat, corn, scratch that had ????) they do not like the layer pellets fermented at all.

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Don’t feed: any green part of a nightshades. (solanine and/or chaconine).
Some kinds of raw or dry beans (sprouted beans are good) (hemaglutin) (phytohaemagglutinin)
onions (thiosulphate)
salty food sugary food moldy foods (especially soft fruits)
citrus avocado banana peels apple seeds

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--- I've noticed for the past few years none of my chickens want to clean up cracked corn. They used to gobble it first thing but something has changed...I'm thinking it is the GMO; I’ve read studies that indicate animals just don't prefer it and some won’t eat it at all. Whatever the change, it makes the cheapest grain be the less preferable to the chickens. Even my meaties, who will eat anything that moves and most things that don't, leave the corn and some of the wheat. I'm sticking with barley as the biggest percentage and some oats, then maybe will add some layer mash to fill it out.

---The advent of Roundup ready corn has greatly changed feeding livestock. GMO corn has a protein content of 6% not the 8 to 10 of the old varieties. Resists roundup but lower protein was considered a good trade. They just add 48% soybean meal to get the right protein level overall for whatever they are feeding.

---So of the following, what would you all ferment for layers & ducks? And why?
Striped sunflower seeds (are these better/worse than BOSS?) Flax seed
Racing pigeon feed (peas & grains) Purina Flock raiser (prolly all soybeans)
Bird seed (millet & safflower) Lentils

---Reply: None of them! I wouldn't feed any of this to my flocks. Because they just aren't necessary....a good all flock ration from the local feed mill would suffice for all birds with a calcium supplement free choice for the layers. If you want to add whole grains to your all flock ration, I'd choose grains that are cost effective like oats, barley, etc.

If this is feed you have around that you just want to get rid of, then I'd put it all together, except the stripey sunflower seeds, and ferment the whole batch and feed it until it's all gone and never buy any of it again. The hulls of the SSS may not break down enough to let any fermentation into the seed itself and they are kind of bulky for hens to ingest....mine never would give them a second glance. BOSS is something they can pick up easily and their gizzard has no problem with breaking down their thinner and more brittle and less leathery hulls.

----Soy beans are legumes and some people ferment them.
http://www.nfprotein.com/nutraferma/soy_protein.html
http://www.consumerhealth.org/articles/display.cfm?ID=20000501001338

----The soybean meal you get at the feed store is from soybeans that have been roasted. Yes, it does have to be cooked first in some way. If you use peas (field or black eye) though, it doesn't.

http://articles.extension.org/pages/67361/legumes-in-poultry-feed

Legume seeds have twice as much protein as grains. Crude protein of legume grains ranges from 27% in peas and faba beans to almost 50% in soybeans. They are also high in iron and B vitamins.

One of the factors limiting the use of grain legumes as feed is the presence of antinutritional factors in legumes that decrease the nutritive value of the grain and, in large amounts, cause health problems for animals. These antinutritional factors include protease inhibitors, lectins, ligosaccharides, phytate, antivitamins, L-canavanine, tannins, and isoflavones.

Chickpeas (Cicer arietinum) are one of the world's most important grain legumes. Like other legumes, chickpeas contain such antinutritional factors as protease and amylase inhibitors, lectins, tannins, and oligosaccharides. These interfere with nutrient absorption from the digestive tract. Most of the antinutritional factors in chickpeas can be deactivated by heat treatment.

Cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata), aka black-eyed peas, are an important in tropical and subtropical regions. They have an amino acid profile that is similar to that of soybeans but have some antinutritional factors. They are suitable for poultry feed, source does not say how much or how to prepare them.

Faba beans (Vicia faba) nutrient content looks like a suitable substitute for soybean meal, but the presence of antinutritional factors has limited their use in poultry diets. Basically, don’t feed unless commercially processed.

Field peas (Pisum sativum) The relatively low levels of antinutritional factors in pea grains eliminates the need for heat treatment of field peas prior to inclusion in poultry diets.
http://articles.extension.org/pages/67359/feeding-field-peas-to-poultry
The protein of field peas is highly digestible and has an excellent amino acid profile. Peas have high levels of lysine. The amino acids of field peas and canola complement each other and are an alternative combination protein source for poultry diets. The available energy content of field peas is similar to that of barley. Peas can be a valuable energy and protein source for poultry. Unlike whole soybeans, spring-seeded peas have low levels of trypsin inhibitors, so they can be fed without being roasted. Field peas can be included as up to 40% of the content of layer diets, but 10% is a more practical level. Broilers and turkeys can be fed diets composed of 20% to 30% field peas without negatively affecting performance. Commercial feed enzymes can be added to increase protein digestibility in diets containing high levels of field peas.

Lupins do not requiring roasting prior to feeding. There are two classifications lupins: Bitter types are high in alkaloids, compounds that have been bred out of the sweet varieties. Use of even sweet lupins in poultry feed is limited by the level of pectins which increase the viscosity of the bird’s digestive tract, which reduces dry-matter digestibility, reducing feed efficiency. Sweet lupins can make up 40% of broiler diets with no adverse effects on growth, feed efficiency, or carcass characteristics.

Lentils (Lens culinaris) are grown primarily for human consumption, Lentils have a relatively high protein content and few digestive inhibitors.

Soybeans

Common vetch (Vicia sativa) is an annual climbing legume now grown all over the world. It is resistant to drought and can also grow in poor soils. The presence of cyanoalanine toxins has limited the use of common vetch seed for poultry.
Limit use of raw common vetch to only 5 to 10% of a poultry diet and heated common vetch to 25%.

Bitter vetch (Vicia ervilia) is an old grain legume with high yields and resistance to droughts and insects. It is a good source of energy, and its amino acid profile is similar to that of soybeans. The seeds have been used in animal diets, but the presence of canavanine has limited the use of bitter vetch in poultry diets. The most important effect is reduced feed intake. It is effective in inducing a molt to recycle a laying flock. Basically, don’t feed it at all.

The grain of woollypod vetch (Vicia villosa ssp.) cannot be used in any poultry feed.
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/sorec/sites/default/files/grow_your_own_poultry_feed.pdf

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Yes. Not LET it. Why do you think the supply of truckers have been short for the past 15 years and so extremely short the past year? Why is product floating in the Atlantic instead of being grown in Georgia, woven in Massachusetts, and sewn in North Carolina or, if we don't know (or care enough) about the unintended consequences of importing on this scale then why is product floating in the Atlantic instead of flowing through the distribution system? ... why is there a container shortage... why haven't they been unloaded in the distribution centers... ... ... choices we make.

Because we won't work for the low wages foreign workers will?

 

[Banana01]

Corn is possibly the worst thing you can feed them, of the modern grains. apart from nothing at all. In most ways, rice is marginally better. Neither, on its own, or in combination with one another, is sufficient.

Are you familiar with protein comnplimentation?

While your scattering your corn, you should also be thinking about what legumes you can grow. and what seed you can offer. Make your three legged chair with equal parts of a seed, a grain, and a bean or pea (i.e. chickpeas, winter peas, field peas, fava beans, lentils, soy bean, alfalfa or clover meal, etc) [which likely needs to be heat treated in some fashion] and you have inadequate, but balanced. If you then add one part animal or fish protein, you've engineered your way to an old time feed recipe.

My chickens love corn, but they get it mixed with high protein purina feed. I agree pure corn without a protein source is not healthy. But for a free renging flock, corn is by far not the worst thing to feed them. It's probably in the top 3 best supplemental feed sources. It's also so easy to grow, I figured out how easy just by spilling a dish of it one day and it was growing green in a few days. The chickens also eat the green sprouts and naturally fermenting grains on the ground providing benfits as well. For the sake of emergency feed, depending where you live, corn plus free ranging is viable. Also by placing a lot of rocks and wood piles around your yard, you are creating places where insects will hide, and your chickens will appreciate that. If I had a choice, I would take corn and free ranging over protein feed alone. I raised chickens on that before discovering purina, and they did fine.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Hydroponics is nutrient intensive, the sort of thing modern society makes posssible, impractical to impossible if things go badly. Skip that step, go straight to aquaponics where waste from fish becomes nutrients for plants which are then eaten by the fish. We then cull from either the fish pool or the plant pool to keep things in balance.

 

[Mountain Roost]

Wonderful Thread! I read all 26 pages.

Winter feeding from the land in my NE climate would be a challenge (but could be done with the right infrastructure and planning). Buying whole grain and sprouting is a nice supply of greens but the ladies need more than that. For reference I have about 100 laying breed chickens, 2 geese, 4 ducks. When the snow pack hits everyone generally stays in their respective coops; otherwise each breeding flock gets to come out in rotation (one day each); ducks and geese everyday.

Ducks forage a lot and the geese only get feed in the winter when there is no grass.

I buy organic grower by the ton from a mill 3 hours from here. The price DID jump, 20% more. That ton will last me about 5 months and I keep the 50# bags in metal 55 gal drums with tight fitting lids; 6 bags to a drum. The price still beats buying at tractor supply (by 50%) even when I add my fuel costs.

Here is the explanation the mill sent in a letter with the invoice:

1) There has been a widespread crop failure in Western Canada; reducing pea crop and destroying flax crop.

2) USDA has started enforcing greater scrutiny and restrictions on imported organic soybeans/meal sharply reducing the amount coming into the country. This has driven the price of North American grown supplies upward.

3) Cost of shipping and trucking (and truck repairs) and supply chain issues.

4) Labor shortages and rising wages have made prices go up.

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Harvesting roosters that are extra from hatching is certainly on the 'before it snows' list!

The price of meat at the store has me feeling pretty good about the 100 organic meat birds in the freezer right now.

 

[Rangergord]

I don't know how to quote both of your posts.

Your grandmas is right. Pasteurized milk won't clabber because the enzymes and lactic acid bacteria are killed off along with the harmful microbes. In raw milk, the enzymes and lactic acid bacteria kill the harmful microbes and mold. Theoretically, you could add some back but I don't this that is realistic for people who don't have a cow.

Yogurt and buttermilk are also cultured/fermented which is what processes the lactose so I think so. I'm not sure today's version is as beneficial as what people fed during the great depression because today's versions are made by adding a few strains of lactic acid bacteria back into the milk. Not all the beneficial things are added back in.

Yogurt varies a lot in how much lactose it contains, so maybe not all of it is. And, of course, use plain yogurt.

I did not see this comment when I made my initial reply. On the farm where I grew up the milk was raw and unpasteurized and so it clabbered. Clabbered milk is different from pasteurized sour milk. As Saysfaa mentions clabber contains the bacteria from the cow and Pasturized milk has killed many of those off. Two other factors in this are temperature and time. Temperature selects which bacteria survive and reproduce. Yoghurt is a thermophylic culture needing around 105 degrees Fahrenheit to reproduce, once it cools to below this the culture dies and lactose stops being broken down. Yogurts vary also in the time they are cultured. A mild yoghurt can be cultured in two or three hours. A sour yoghurt containing less lactose may take 4 to 5 hours to culture.

Modern buttermilk is not milk left over after making butter. It is ordinary pasturized milk that is inoculated with a mesothermic lactic acid bacteria that only reproduces at room temperature. Above and below room temperature it stops culturing. It usually needs 18 to 24 hours to work before buttermilk is thick. Buttermilk, sour cream, cream cheese and cottage or farmers cheese all use a buttermilk culture.
Different cultures produce different textures and flavours in the milk. Clabbered milk has a better texture and flavour than soured pasturized milk. Still the longer clabbered milk is cultured at room temperature, the more off flavours can be detected. Off meaning bad tending toward rotten. For this reason modern cultures have been selected for flavor that is buttery, cheesy or other desirable characteristics. In the old days it was left to chance. Some locales had better bacteria than others. Cheddars natural culture came from a particular area and only in modern times spread around the world.
Maybe clabbered milk is really good for you but the smell of it never enticed me to want to eat it in more modern times!