FREE food for my chickens!

[RendonRoo]

Check with your local restaurant. They throw away tons of food. The trick would be getting to save them for you. You may offer to provide a container for them to save them. Neighbors and egg customers are also a good source of scraps. Customers like the idea of trying to help raise the eggs they are eating. Good Luck

 

[mandelyn]

Grass clippings are only ok when they're from a manual mower, the turning blade/gas free type.

Anything that went under a blade comes away with chemicals, oils, exhaust debri... yucky stuff for animals. Goats, horses... they can't have it. I'd imagine it's the same for chickens.

Anything cut with a string trimmer should be alright.

BUT, chickens graze off of rooted plants, because it allows them to grab off what they want, to avoid large pieces. Clippings tossed in would need to be cut shorter (to 1 inch lengths tops) or avoided.

But definately keep at the veggie store for melons and such... green peppers mine seem to like the hearts of, they also munched down on broccoli heads.

Maybe add in a stop at a bakery to try and score some whole grain day-old breads. Avoid boring bleached flower bread... wheat or whole grain crumbled up into small bits is a good treat.

 

[Joyryder]

I go to the local Health food store, they happily give me their "compost material" any produce showing blemishes or past peak. They hate throwing it away. They act like I'm doing them a favor. Organic veggies and fruits for my flock!

 

[RioLindoAz]

When I had more chickens (and they were laying), I used to trade free eggs for any fresh, GREEN table scraps (couldn't be rotten). For a while, thats how my chickens ate.


Thse days, people would do anything to get free food, and trading it for their garbage would be awsome.

 

[briteday]

Some of the Whole Foods stores will also part with castoffs from their produce department. It seems to depend on the dept. manager though. Whole Foods has their own program for composting waste and then sells the compost in their stores. So some managers won't let you have the scraps. But be sure to mention that you are looking for scraps "for your chickens" so that they know you have no intent of scavenging groceries for human consuption. I'm just lucky that our produce manager has chickens himself and is willing to contribute to our cause. Oh, and whenever I bake with those delicious eggs I always bring some for the whole department to share. I would bring them eggs but that would be competing with their own product line.

 

[mmtillman]

I wish our local grocery would let us have the overpriced stuff that they cant sell and eventually they wind up throwing it out....I asked and they refused..not sure why...something about their inventory count?

 

[spartacus_63]

Quote:
I'm not sure what type of mower you are using, but my riding mower blade/deck is no more chemical laden than my rotary mower. The gas and oil stay in the motor and the exhaust goes out the pipe, as designed, otherwise my lawn would be covered with dead grass (or clover/dandelions) Even the hay that is fed to cattle is cut with a riding mower of sorts. Please be careful about advice that should be labled as opinion.

 

[ChookHappy]

I've been going around to local grocery stores trying to get odds and ends and they all say they have a compost system going. I will not quit trying though. Using farmer's markets as a mean to collect chicken food is ingenious. I think that might be what I'm missing, a bit of community understanding. I'm feeding worms as well and I must admit, I'm not always eating veggies so I feed them coffee chaff as an alternative. I am getting the chaff from a local coffee roaster as well as bags full of burlap bags. Hey if anyone has any ideas as to what I might be able to do with dozens of burlap bags let me know please lol.

 

[hermiesbirdies]

one of my local grocers has had so many requests they started selling there vegatable scrap.

I pass the farmers market going to and from school. I think that is a great idea.

I have thought about asking neighbors but they might get up in arms about my chickens if I ask them for their scrap

 

[gsim]

Seems that in wintertime, the landscapers would not be mowing so would not have clippings anyway. I feed mine grass clippings along with various garden waste. No pesticides. I have never fed them store-bought feed only, even as chicks. I am wondering about what to do this winter for greens. Hate to buy them when so much stuff gets tossed. Seems that 2nd harvest has dibs on all excess produce hereabouts, so now I do not know where to get it for free.