Feeding your flock amidst of feed shortages

[NatJ]

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!

Do you have mulberries?
People and chickens can eat the berries, I think many animals can eat the leaves, and silkworms certainly can eat the leaves (and can then be eaten by chickens or even by people).

 

[Regina Larsen]

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!

All those are great forage. I have amaranth, even the wild version yields heavy. I have lambs quarter too. They have a lot of oxalates so goats cant have it but in moderation the birds can

 

[Regina Larsen]

Do you have mulberries?
People and chickens can eat the berries, I think many animals can eat the leaves, and silkworms certainly can eat the leaves (and can then be eaten by chickens or even by people).

Mulbs are a treasured treat here. I have 5. Two are old and massive im bringing 3 smaller ones along

 

[Regina Larsen]

Do you have mulberries?
People and chickens can eat the berries, I think many animals can eat the leaves, and silkworms certainly can eat the leaves (and can then be eaten by chickens or even by people).

Yep yep. I have purples and snow white ones. Everyone flips for them including the dog

 

[Sally PB]

I have lambs quarter too

I love this stuff! It's the first "crop" I get out of my garden. Amaranth (aka, red rooted pigweed) and purslane are also "good" weeds to have, as they are edible.

Purslane grows very low and hugs the ground, which is another benefit: it shades the soil, keeping it cool and moist, and deters other weeds.

You might want to avoid these if you are prone to kidney stones; they can be high in oxalates, as @Regina Larsen said.

 

[Regina Larsen]

I love this stuff! It's the first "crop" I get out of my garden. Amaranth (aka, red rooted pigweed) and purslane are also "good" weeds to have, as they are edible.

Purslane grows very low and hugs the ground, which is another benefit: it shades the soil, keeping it cool and moist, and deters other weeds.

You might want to avoid these if you are prone to kidney stones; they can be high in oxalates, as @Regina Larsen said.

I have soaked wild amaranth seed and it forms the 'pudding' like gel coating like chia seed does. My girls ate it. Im debating using lambsquarter seed for sprouts.

 

[SunflowerKing]

Do you have mulberries?
People and chickens can eat the berries, I think many animals can eat the leaves, and silkworms certainly can eat the leaves (and can then be eaten by chickens or even by people).

I plan on mulberries as well... ive got a several page list of plants I want in my chicken food forest. Its hard to name the all at one time.

 

[Rangergord]

Clobber is more digestible by chickens than milk. I've been looking for more information on this and haven't found much yet. I haven't looked really seriously.

sigh. Clabber. Not clobber.

IF chickens have problems digesting milk for the same reasons as humans, then the clabbering breaks down the lactose sugars and making the proteins more available. I grew up milking a cow and feeding soured milk to chickens by the gallon. It was a crude method but it worked. Much better idea is to use a bit of yoghurt or buttermilk to do the job. Then you can eat it too! Yoghurt, buttermilk, cream cheese and farmers cheese are all pretty easy to make and they leave behind clear whey which has no lactose and lots of protein. There are lots of great websites that will show you how to do this at home. When I have time I make all the above with store bought milk and it can still save you money over buying the products separately. Hard cheese takes a lot of milk to make a pound and will cost more than buying the cheese.

 

[Sally PB]

Im debating using lambsquarter seed for sprouts.

OMG, I never thought about doing that!

Brilliant!

 

[Regina Larsen]

OMG, I never thought about doing that!

Brilliant!

Lets do it!