Growing Your Chicken's Own Feed?

[MsBagawkbagawk]

I never thought of actually growing peanuts. Once we did feed my d'Anver roo peanuts and he liked them. Then someone got the brainy idea to put a little beer in a shell, (which he did drink, and I'm afraid, enjoy) then he really liked peanuts! He started acting weird after a bit...

I'll have to try that, and it's a plus that I can start them inside. The drought is killing everything out here.

 

[ChickChickChicky]

I know that my chickens love peanuts, cause whenever I'd go to McDonald's for a $1 chocolate sundae (sadly, the sundaes are no longer a buck) I'd get extra packets of chopped peanuts and feed them to my chickens. They REALLY loved them!

Yes, I'm so mad at myself that I never got my peanuts actually planted in the ground, I may try planting them even with the heat (at least they're in peat pots so maybe have a chance of surviving). Mine haven't flowered yet, so maybe if I get them in the ground I may actually get peanuts.

 

[Sylvestor12]

With the drought you have to water the peanuts when the soil gets close to fully dry.

 

[galanie]

How odd. I planted peanuts this year to supplement the feed as well. They are growing well but I did have to sprout them indoors first since the squirrels quickly found the ones I planted the first two times. I sprouted them like you would any sprout and then planted the sprouts. I was counting on the sprouting changing the taste and I guess it did.

Anyhow we've had rain and they are thriving but I will hardly have enough to feed all winter. I look at this as a seed crop for next year since they're just from some I begged from a neighbor lol.

 

[Sylvestor12]

Well, what I'd do is gorw the peanuts and don't feed any to your chickens until you get enough seeds because one peanut plant multiplies expoentially. XD

 

[galanie]

Yep. That's what I'm going to do.

 

[Sylvestor12]

Oh I'm sorry I thought you were saying something else, my bad.

 

[chook15]

Hi,
I considered growing some grains for my chooks, and came across this book "Homegrown Whole Grains: Grow, Harvest, and Cook Your Own Wheat, Barley, Oats, Rice, and More" by
Sara Pitzer (you can find it on ebay). It tells you how to grow, plant, harvest and store grains for your own use. I don't really have the space ATM to make it worthwhile, but am planning on growing a little bit just so the girls have something to scratch about for.

Also a thought about getting hold of non-GM corn. Buy some organic GM free corn where you get your veges from, then dry it and plant it next spring. A single corn cob had my parents, my brother, his two kids, his GF and myself, plus gave the girls a couple of days of peck, feasting on corn for about two weeks...and I saved another cob for the next season for my 1sq meter patch. I do the same with sunflowers.

My girls get all the kitchen scraps from my parents and myself, they free range in my backyard and compost heap, and get about 1 1/2 cups of layer mix. I treat them with off dairy products that get lost in the back of the fridge, mixed with pollard (about 2 cups worth). They have a bucket of shellgrit, plus I crush all my eggshells in a blender and stick that out on the garden. They probably get a bit of minced kangaroo once a month when the cats haven't finished their evening meal (which is very high protein and low fat...and much better for our aussie environment than beef or lamb), and any fridge scraps that are getting a bit iffy. All up I reckon I spend about $5 a month feeding 5 chickens (brown isa's and highline's).

When I move out of town, I'd like to try my hand at growing lucerne, wheat, rye, oats, barley, and amaranth. I'll probably keep buying the pollard, since I can't be bothered with the steaming and grinding that would be required to make it myself. If nothing else it'll improve the pasture for the other grazing animals I hope to have.

BTW, wheatgrass is just wheat. You can either soak the wheat and sprout it, or plant it and let the girls eat it as it shoots...then if it makes it to full height without having been decimated by the chooks you'll still have grain to harvest for next year. You would have similar results doing the same with barley,oats and rye. I'd try the different grains and see which works best for the girls in your area.

Feeding a horse wheat and oats gives a short frenetic burst of energy, whereas barley and rye is a more sustained source of energy. Sheep can become ill if they eat too much spring growth of rye. lol, I wish I'd learnt more about feeding chooks when i grew up on a farm.

Kate

 

[Bobby Basham]

Hey Folks,

I'm really liking these ideas about supplemental feed. No chickens here yet, but plan on getting them next Spring after I get my run established. I'm putting planter boxes around the perimeter, bolted THROUGH the chain link run, With the planter boxes on the front and sides, and maybe an extra box running the whole length of the back side, I'm sure I can plant plenty of goodies for them, and some for myself.

The picture is not drawn to scale, maybe looking at 12' x 30', surely enough for 5 hens and possibly a dozen later on. The coup issue is still in the air right now...Pre-fab versus home-built. All I can tell you is that my gals will be truly spoiled.

This belongs in the coup section where I've already posted, but I'm really interested in what you folks are planting and would appreciate your input for all my planter boxes. I grew up on a farm back in the 50's-60's and would love to get back to that simple life in the concrete jungle (HOA) where I live.

I'm doing my homework first, before I bring any cute, fuzzy-butts into my home. I've got about a year left for retirement, and would love to get back into gardening again. All of your suggestions will greatly reduce the feed bill, since I'll be on a limited income. Thank God, I'll still have a second income playing piano/organ at a local Church. That's an extra $700/month. God Bless you chicken/poultry lovers. --BB

Bobby Basham
Tucson, Arizona

 

[Sylvestor12]

That looks great but maybe where you put the hardware cloth on the ground you should just get dirt and plant grasses for them there. Good luck with your first batch! Oh, and I reccomend getting Barred Rocks, Buff Orpingtons, or Silkies. They seem like good-natured breeds and for adorable chicks you might want to get silkies and breed them with normal-feathered birds, the outcome is an adorable hen/roo that is REALLY SOFT but still looks like normal feathers.