Feeding your flock amidst of feed shortages

[BigBlueHen53]

Just select the text you want to quote and a little menu will pop up giving you the option to select "quote." You can do that as many times as you want or need. Then, when you are ready to quote, you get to choose which quotes you want to use, and delete the rest or save some for later. It's easy, I even figured it out all by my lonesome!

And now I am falling asleep, good nighhhh....

 

[Solanacae]

My plan is as follows:

I want to create a winter feed blend from crops harvested in the growing season.

sunflower seeds and sunflower sprouts.
cut amaranth heads
Corn
Sorghum
Black soldier fly larvae.(only feed this precious resource in the winter! Save throughout the year.)
Firethorn berries dried

this is my main feed idea. The goal is easy and quick harvest of each. Mix them all together at feeding time. Any thoughts? Any additions?

also, milk in the feeding bowl from extras from cow or goats.

What is the benefit of fire thorn berries? I assume you’re talking about pyracantha?

 

[SunflowerKing]

Why?

Why not? If its a readily available resource on the farm and you have extras it makes sense to give it to chickens...

 

[SunflowerKing]

What is the benefit of fire thorn berries? I assume you’re talking about pyracantha?

Yes Pyracantha. The benefit of firethorn berrries is the shear amount of food produced.

If the birds eat it... the chickens will too! A hands off perennial that can be trimmed to provide cover for the chickens in a chicken food forest. I plan on spamming these and other permaculture berry plants on my homestead.

You can use something like a hand rake to quickly harvest the berries into a bucket. This bush has thorns!

 

[Molpet]

What did people feed their chickens back in the great depression?

My grandparents didn't feed the chickens. They had draft horses, cows and pigs that were fed in the winter and the chickens got whatever they could gleen from the spilt food and poop.

 

[Solanacae]

Yes Pyracantha. The benefit of firethorn berrries is the shear amount of food produced.

View attachment 2884513
If the birds eat it... the chickens will too! A hands off perennial that can be trimmed to provide cover for the chickens in a chicken food forest. I plan on spamming these and other permaculture berry plants on my homestead. View attachment 2884514



You can use something like a hand rake to quickly harvest the berries into a bucket. This bush has thorns!
View attachment 2884517

I’m familiar with the plant - it can be beastly to remove if it’s in a spot where you don’t want it! On a side note, my dad likes to make jelly with pyracantha berries, which is quite tasty.

 

[SunflowerKing]

I’m familiar with the plant - it can be beastly to remove if it’s in a spot where you don’t want it! On a side note, my dad likes to make jelly with pyracantha berries, which is quite tasty.

Excellent! I plan on fermenting it and making wines from it... I also think it would be excellent fodder for earthworms and BSL. It may be plain tasting but the yield speaks for itself!

 

[Regina Larsen]

Yes Pyracantha. The benefit of firethorn berrries is the shear amount of food produced.

View attachment 2884513
If the birds eat it... the chickens will too! A hands off perennial that can be trimmed to provide cover for the chickens in a chicken food forest. I plan on spamming these and other permaculture berry plants on my homestead. View attachment 2884514



You can use something like a hand rake to quickly harvest the berries into a bucket. This bush has thorns!
View attachment 2884517

They look like seaberries a bit. Pretty.
Im bringing in autumn olive. Its dual benefit as we can eat them too. The wild forms here make so many berries all you see is maroon right about now.

 

[Regina Larsen]

Excellent! I plan on fermenting it and making wines from it... I also think it would be excellent fodder for earthworms and BSL. It may be plain tasting but the yield speaks for itself!

yr a kindred soul

 

[SunflowerKing]

They look like seaberries a bit. Pretty.
Im bringing in autumn olive. Its dual benefit as we can eat them too. The wild forms here make so many berries all you see is maroon right about now.

I also plan to bring in autumn olive. staghorn sumac, beautyberry, american cranberry bush... ill experiment with all of them and see what the chickens love/tolerate.

Any plants that attract a lot of bugs are also something to think about planting for your chicken food forest. Yarrow, lupins, cosmos, marigolds? Sunflower, amaranth... red ripper cowpeas? Cotoneaster is another option because it has late late berries and when flowering is covered in bees and other pollinators!