Has anyone succesfully had chickens without feeding chicken food

[JerseyGiantfolk]

Chickens are too valuable

 

[Buttercup1979]

Yes, AWESOME thread. I have just finished reading it all! I live on a river and could fish for carp or whatever else and have loads! Can I freeze these and just thaw them for the hens? Or would I have to cook it after thawing? I'm mostly worried about feeding them in the winter since I am in an area that gets lots of DEEP lake effect snow. I could have tons of scraps for them, but not as much "protein" scraps since we don't eat as much meat. This is why the fish idea is great for me.
Also, when people are mentioning keeping table scraps in a compost bucket in the house, how long can you fill it before it gets moldy? OR can the chickens eat moldy food? I wouldn't want to make my chickens sick!
Thanks for any and all the help. I'm very excited to someday (hopefully this spring or summer) have two or three chickens.
(Just waitin' on the hubby to agree

)

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

I don't feed my chickens moldy food, but the fish would be a good for them! Raw is fine. Just think, all those bugs and worms and mice they eat are not cooked first!

 

[JerseyGiantfolk]

I think moldy food can give your poultry cancer

 

[OkChickens]

A 50# bag of Nutrina 18 Percent Pellets is $16.99. I buy 16% Pellets from a local mill for $11.15 for 50# there is a discount of $0.30 a bag when you buy 40 bags. Feeding chickens can be expensive when they are not laying. I try to free range as much as I can. If i were to have a financial issue i would do my best to keep a few chickens (6 or 7) rather than the 80-100 I have now. If that were to happen they would free range and get scraps daily. Layer pellets is very expensive some places and some people just can't afford. Feeding them corn along with scraps and free range the would lay a few eggs but not like they would with layer feed. I have quite a few birds and I enjoy raising them but they are a hobby. I do sell chicks and eggs to cover my feed costs.

Nate

 

[JerseyGiantfolk]

I can't free range any more. When we did a burn pile I roasted a pumpkin. Scraped off the ashy side. Let it cool and fed it to the chickens. None can free range now, there's a bobcat in town and comes anytime of day.

 

[chloezoebob101]

give them table scraps and let them free range. chickens should be used to scratching for their own stuff. maybe buy fruit and cut it up and throw it out there so they get the whole fruit. but with only a few chickens then you should be good with scraps.

 

[mistyfeather]

i know how hard it can be when money is tight , by no means do you need to get rid of your chickens. i sell extra eggs for $2 dz. when i get enough to get a bag of feed i do. if not i dont.
they free range during the day in the back yard on grasses , bugs and weeds (even in winter they can find bugs and dig up worms) scraps and things i leave for them in the garden and they scrounge in the compost. i feed them left overs after we eat in the evening before they go to roost. if you can afford corn just give them some before they roost that wat they will feed themselves during the day. i have never had a drop in egg production because of not feeding them purchased chicken feed. it is $13.50 a bag here.
when money is tight that is the best time to have a small flock , i go by the 2 hens per person in the house hold and then double that number for extra eggs to sell. our hens have kept us fed in tough times and there are hundreds of great egg dishes you can make. plus you can cook surplus eggs and feed back to your hens for extra protein.

 

[Resolution]

I try to encourage people to learn how to raise livestock with no budget. People have gotten to use to having money an the means to just go buy what they need off the shelf. Not sure if it will be in my lifetime or not but at some point the economy will tank. Chicken feed will go away just like everything else an the people that already know how to raise chickens on nothing will be much better off. When people say something about not having the money for chicken feed people start talking about it being time to get rid of the chickens. I think that means its time to raise more chickens.

When I first started I kept hens in an apple tree. I fed them scraps an corn just before dark so they would hunt there own food all day. Now my chickens are in pens eating chicken feed because I can. If finances tank I will go back to free range an corn or even cage an corn an I will not feel bad about it. My family having food on the table comes first. Only then do I worry about how happy that food was.

This is the right mindset. No poor farmer in India, China, Mexico or anywhere else in the world has the money to spend on chicken feed. These processed soft feeds are incredibly inefficient to begin with. The hens have to eat it continually all day to get their daily nutritional requirements. It's designed that way. They literally poop out close to 50% of what's fed and waste another % per day plus % of fines (the dust at the bottom of the bag) -you're just wasting hard-earned money. All you need is a bit of corn, rice, now and again some bacon fat, keep some oystershell in front of them- or just crush up egg shells and bake them in the oven until they are dark brown and feed them in place of oystershell. To supplement this rather humble diet, the occasional can of tuna or better yet jack mackerel- it's a whole lot cheaper - is much appreciated. I know a family in the Appalachians who feed their three dozen some odd lay hens ( all self- hatched) on nothing but corn, rice (raw) and kitchen scraps. They do get some fat on their chow- and on super special days a can of jack mackerel mixed into cooked oatmeal to make sure those lay hens are happy and laying in winter.


Next time you're in a dollar store, if they have those in your area, see of you can afford a box of whatever breakfast cereal they've got on stock. Sometimes they even have rice, pasta, canned meat, canned vegetables and pet food. You've got so few birds I bet you could stretch that dollar a very long way. Look in the spice aisle- lots of traditional Asian poultry food there- if it says seed after it its edible- and curry powder added to whatever you are feeding them may help boost their immune systems. If it's used in Asian/Indian cooking and its a spice in the dollar store you probably can't go wrong. Just take a quarter of the dollar store cereal out for the kids- fill it up with rice and corn and then dump a bottle of curry spice and you've got yourself the daily ration. Every week try and give them some animal protein -so when the budget allows for it buy a single can of pork or mackerel or what you can afford that does not have salt added- mix this into a can or two of vegetables- and store it in the freezer. This chicken stew is good for them and good for you too. Just feed this once a week if it's all you can handle- may try and add this to the daily fare. But you can feed a few chickens for very little money.

 

[1hawaiian]

I just got into hens... got 4 RIR's that are just a month-old.
I was shocked at the price for Chick Starter Feed... $32.70 for a 50# bag.

I'm in Hawaii and it's VERY expensive here. Yet, I still plan on getting me a couple month-old Barred Rock chicks in March to add to the flock.

I have a large backyard and I do garden my own organic vegetables and I'm a deer hunter.

I have done a few things just today to keep my costs down...

#1- Established a "Mulch" pile to create a BUG FARM
#2- Made a wired GRASS BASKET to hang grasses that I pull from our yard
#3- Made a wired VEGGIE/SCRAP BASKET
#4- Now germinating papaya seeds to plant a small grove [ approx. a dozen+ trees]
#5- Now mincing up venison-burgers and scraps


I'm thinking my hens will be really healthy, happy and well-fed.

The bag of STARTER FEED I have right now should last me 2-3 months since I allow them to forage heavily.

Next time I will be ready to get Layer Feed Pellets and I only plan on feeding them that a bit in the am/pm.

#1 thru #5 should make up to 65-70% of their diet.

The cost of feed IS NOT the main reason for me choosing to feed like this...
RATHER, I'm doing this because I truly feel they will have a much better NATURAL DIET than if I fed them just commercial feed.

It scares me when I can't even pronounce the ingredients on the label of a bag of commercial feed... who knows actually the condition of how it was derived?
We're all in it for different reasons and our situations are just as diverse.

No one RIGHT WAY...

We each must choose what works for us!

And have FUN at it

Good Luck to all of us no matter which we choose.... helping each other on a terrific thread as this...is what it's all about for me.

Thank you for all the helpful info I've gleaned from this thread and many others like it on the internet