Growing your own feed

[NatJ]

@NeoHomesteader is going to hit a hard wall trying to keep a confined flock fed off what comes from such a small patch of ground. Number of chickens too high.

I wholeheartedly agree. I was thinking about what to grow and the timing, rather than the sheer quantity needed. But how many birds is "too many" depends partly on how long which birds are kept.

If someone keeps 6 hens and a rooster through the winter, then hatches 25 chicks each week for two months, they have 200+ chickens at one time in the summer. But if they butcher them in the fall they will need less winter feed than if they plan to keep 100 hens for the next winter. (Not recommending they try to feed 200 meat birds, just saying a small breeder/layer flock is much easier to feed all winter than a large breeder/layer flock.)

 

[centrarchid]

Equipment needed to prepare soil, plant, cultivate and harvest. I be checking into rotation schedules suitable for location. This is where economy of scale will kick in.

 

[NeoHomesteader]

All excellent points.

Unfortunately corn doesn't work like that. You can't just till it in and expect it to fertilize itself. Most of the nutrients it takes from the soil will end up in the kernel, which is why most farms rotate field crops on a multi year rotation. Corn is what they are wanting since it is the most lucrative, but you have to rotate in other plants in off years to get the soil back to a place where the corn will grow full and healthy and get a good harvest off of it.
Corn (one year)
Oats (one year)
Legumes (two to three years)
Pasture mix with hoofed animals ranging(one year) and then back to corn is one standard rotation schedule.

I am not a farmer and while I am aware of over using a field (after all what elementary school kid is not aware of soil nutrients), we learned about the banks of the nile flooding, latin/south american slash and burn farming and the north american field rotation/fallowing.

Also as I already mentioned the Indian three sisters to provide nutrients back to the soil.. We also have plenty of chickens that we are collecting manure from. I know it has to breakdown for a half a year before its "safe" for plants, but "I was not planning on starting farmin this year..

I was thinking that all that green stalk on the corn if tilled into the ground would return some of the nitrogen after the corns been picked.


While not a farmer I was a closet cultivator as a teenager, and understand the nitrogen for vegetative growth and the potash and phosphorus for flowering growth... thats about it

@NeoHomesteader is going to hit a hard wall trying to keep a confined flock fed off what comes from such a small patch of ground. Number of chickens too high.

Predators are a major concern where I am at, which is why "free" ranging is not really an option for my layers. My chicken run is currently 250 sq feet fully enclosed, (the plan was 480 for 48 birds that didnt happen) and in the morning they are let out into the 5600 sq ft 6' fenced pasture. That will get larger over time but for now it was what I could do.

Which is why I was looking at stuff I could store for the winter. I have a few dozen empty 50 pound feed bags I could resew shut

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Tough to grow 100% of what you need for all the reasons stated above....but one thing that might help is growing something that's easily storable.

Winter squash and pumpkins come to mind as something fairly nutritious, sizable, and storable. To a lesser degree, apples would also be an option.

 

[NeoHomesteader]

If I can even make a dent in the amount of feed I need that will be awesome

 

[iwltfum]

I am not a farmer and while I am aware of over using a field (after all what elementary school kid is not aware of soil nutrients), we learned about the banks of the nile flooding, latin/south american slash and burn farming and the north american field rotation/fallowing.

Also as I already mentioned the Indian three sisters to provide nutrients back to the soil.. We also have plenty of chickens that we are collecting manure from. I know it has to breakdown for a half a year before its "safe" for plants, but "I was not planning on starting farmin this year..

I was thinking that all that green stalk on the corn if tilled into the ground would return some of the nitrogen after the corns been picked.

While not a farmer I was a closet cultivator as a teenager, and understand the nitrogen for vegetative growth and the potash and phosphorus for flowering growth... thats about it

I wish more students were getting a proper education like that. I certainly didn't and have had to learn on my own, mostly through trial and error, reading plenty of books about the topic, and seeking out good mentorship.

Companion planting and manuring are all good stuff to be doing, but corn sucks up a ton of nutrients from the soil and, as I mentioned, most of it goes into the kernel, not the leafy growth. Corn is one of those "heavy feeders". Nitrogen is good and tilling the leafy grown back into the soil ( if you can break up the stalk enough) would create beautiful soil over time, but to rely on that for another season of corn, would potentially not result in nearly the yield you might expect, or worse yet, might result in a failed crop entirely.

Pests and disease are also something to consider with a rotation plan. Sometimes it takes longer for those problems to leave the soil than a year or two.

Hey, I'm not saying don't try it. I love the thought and have had it myself. I'm on 16 acres and spend easily 8k on feed grains yearly so it would greatly benefit me if I could produce even just my own corn, but there is a logistical puzzle to be put together and it's quite dynamic. I'm not really a puzzle person so it takes me a while to navigate planning such an endeavor, but I would love to see you follow through with it and learn about how it goes.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

You may actually be better off, pound for pound growing pasture instead of corn.

Corn takes a while to grow, and a lot of the nutrients are in the kernels. And a lot of the plant isn't something the chickens want to eat (stalks). Even the leaves likely aren't their favorite.

If you grow grass and keep the chickens moving around so they don't tear it up down to the roots, you may be able to supplement more than with a standard row crop. If you mix in clover, some legumes, etc. it may help up the nutritional value some.

Check out Joel Salatin if you're not familiar with his approach to pastured livestock.

 

[fairie]

Beans need to be cooked before you feed them to livestock (or to people.) There's something poisonous in them, and cooking destroys it. So that's another detail for you to work into your plan.

This is called blue acid in Germany same reason we ( and the birds) should not eat raw potatoes ( same chemical)

 

[fairie]

I wish more students were getting a proper education like that. I certainly didn't and have had to learn on my own, mostly through trial and error, reading plenty of books about the topic, and seeking out good mentorship.

Companion planting and manuring are all good stuff to be doing, but corn sucks up a ton of nutrients from the soil and, as I mentioned, most of it goes into the kernel, not the leafy growth. Corn is one of those "heavy feeders". Nitrogen is good and tilling the leafy grown back into the soil ( if you can break up the stalk enough) would create beautiful soil over time, but to rely on that for another season of corn, would potentially not result in nearly the yield you might expect, or worse yet, might result in a failed crop entirely.

Pests and disease are also something to consider with a rotation plan. Sometimes it takes longer for those problems to leave the soil than a year or two.

Hey, I'm not saying don't try it. I love the thought and have had it myself. I'm on 16 acres and spend easily 8k on feed grains yearly so it would greatly benefit me if I could produce even just my own corn, but there is a logistical puzzle to be put together and it's quite dynamic. I'm not really a puzzle person so it takes me a while to navigate planning such an endeavor, but I would love to see you follow through with it and learn about how it goes.

We stoped growing corn for all the reasons you mentioned there are things that produce better.

 

[fairie]

I searched this post cause this topic was in my mind today while standing in a field of flowers.

A good forest would be the best solution really combing all aspects of permaculture.
Things I grow (Zone8 germany) that our hens love berries, greens ( all salads, rucala ect.) squash ( not the seeds you can save them to use again next year) and fruits ( apples/pears/plums).

I was thinking to grow small grains like buckwheat. Oats are simple.

food forest concept would involve growing along the boarder of the Chicken&turkey area so the berries hang over. Less work for you 1/2 for them 1/2 fir you.

also think about trees that can double asfood hazel nut, willow, chestnuts. What grows fast and is native to where you live?