Free feeding vs holding back forcing them to forage.

[Rustywreck]

Quote:
Where are you referring to in Texas? I live in now what feels like a desert its even starting to look like a desert. Only thing I know is my chickens don't like to forage in direct sun light when its in triple digits they run for the shade.Mine hide for most of the day under a deck or any shaded area. I have to provide them with supplemental food are as Mac pointed out my egg production will go South. Another important ingredient you will have to provide is fresh cool water. Chickens will die real fast in the heat without water.

I am referring to the 50 acres of Texas desert the original poster mentions.

 

[Nicole01]

I do both. I have an awesome homemade feeder that holds 50# of feed that they have access 24/7. I free range for 1-3 hours 2-3 times a day. I supervise their free range currently, so it takes up a lot of time. We have too many running loose dogs around here not to. I also give treats every morning of oats, cracked corn and sunflower seeds.

 

[Eris]

I apologize, I forgot to check it I had any replies

We are located near El Paso. I know we have tons of bugs/ants to eat, some small random spots of grass, lots of weeds.


I do plan on feeding them but I would like encourage them to free range. It is hot in the sun here I agree. We have a coop they would have access to and also we plan on building them a few shade spots (we have no trees but we have tall brushes about 2-3 feet tall over the majority of the land).

 

[Chickenaddict]

My birds free range all day every day. I also provide feed 24/7 If they want feed they eat feed but this time of year the feed costs go wayyyy down because they would rather eat bugs, grass, weeds, and the veggies and fruit we grow here for them. In the winter feeding 36 birds becomes a huge expense.... I probably go thru a 50# bag of feed every 3-4 weeks, in the winter I got thru about 50# a week.

 

[JodyJo]

I have 300 + acres of high desert in Colorado...they free range without being "forced to", its what they do...but they also have access to free feed 34/7. I am just getting eggs, and I think without the correct feed, the eggs would drop off and the health of the hens would also suffer. If you cannot afford the feed bill, or I should say, don't want to pay that much, reduce the size of the flock. I doubt that many chickens can find enough forage to survive and be healthy.

Its over grazing, but with chickens!

 

[Auscal]

Quote:
mac, I hope you find your way back to this thread. I am curious about how a minimal change in protein level has effected production for you. I am assuming incresed protein has meant increased production? You are in a great postion, with such large numbers, to see results quickly that small time "back-yarders" simply don't have the opportuinity to observe.

 

[tuckertori]

I am new to chicken raising...just got my girls in March. I have 3 layers that freerange all day...sun up till sun down. I also leave the coop open so they can get into the feed when ever they want to. I do notice them going in to eat once or twice a day. I have about 1/3 of an acre with lots of plant material and open ground for them to forage, so they have a lot of options. I try not to feed them too many treats so their diet stays balanced based on what they find. I figure if they "need" something else, they will go to they layer feed.

Hope I am doing it right! So far, seems to be good. I am getting eggs now. I had a couple of days with VERY soft shells so added oyster shells to their coop options and today got the biggest and thickest shell yet.

 

[centrarchid]

My birds free range 24/7 without bounds of any sort and receive a restricted ration (layer pellets) that is cleaned up by noon. Balance of intake from foraging. My flock is a mixture of games, dominiques and dominique crosses. Some lay very well under such a regimen, others lay very poorly but would lay much better if more layer pellets made available. My interest is in selection for better egg production performance with the restricted regimen so I am no were near profitable but should approach that as flock is increasingly dominated by those that can more effeciantly convert forage into eggs / growth. The problem I see is birds vary greatly in respect to how far they will go for food and apparently how effective they are in consuming adequate amounts of quality eats. Presently the free range my birds have is at peak quality but as it declines, birds will have range farther or consume less. The OP appears to have poor quality forage base so making up difference from layer formulation may not be possible, especially if breed(s) not good foragers.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
We manage the protein closely to get the desired egg size that we want. Too much protein produces oversize hens that lay enormous eggs and increases mortalities. Too little protein hurts production. The largest market is for Large eggs, so we are paid a premium price for shipments that average out at Large. We buy point-of-lay pullets in the fall that are 18 weeks old and start them out at 18.5% protein as they come into lay. We then gradually lower the protein to 17% as they approach a Large egg size and reach peak production around 28 weeks old.

We monitor the daily egg mass and average egg weight closely. Each day we pack up twelve or thirteen, 15-dozen stacks of eggs and weigh each stack before they are placed in the cooler. Each day I calculate the average stack weight for that day and mark it down on my production records. Since we are weighing so many eggs, the resolution is such that I can see differences of less than a quarter gram in average egg size. If the egg weights are going up rapidly I might lower the protein on the next batch of feed. If the egg weights are decreasing, it tells me that the hens aren't getting enough nutrition and that production will soon start to drop off.

As we go into the winter and the hens are eating more due to cooler temperatures in the barn we may drop the protein to 16.5% or 16% to keep egg weights in check, but growing every so slightly. In the spring, as the snow goes away, I start letting them out to forage a few hours a day and gradually lengthen the amount of time they spend outside until the doors are open all day. At that point I usually have to start raising the protein to minimize drops in egg production. (It always drops slightly when they start going outside to forage). With warmer daytime temperatures that decrease their feed intake, plus the addition of pasture in their diet, they generally need higher levels of protein in their ration to get a sufficient amount into them.

How's that for an explanation?

 

[Eris]

That is a great explanation.