Heritage Feeds for Heritage Breeds

[WoodlandWoman]

I was wondering about palatability. I know the wild birds never liked to eat it back in the days when I fed a mix that contained milo.

 

[KenK]

I feed very little scratch to my chickens, mostly to keep them trained to come back to the coop when I shake the can. They don't seem to cull the milo in it but they are only getting a couple tablespoons each of the feed.

 

[Jake Levi]

I feed scratch as a treat too, to bring them but now I call them and they come running, still, the milo is the last grain eaten, so if including in a mix it will be ground. But I will include it just to increase the variety. Depending on cost.

 

[kerrysmommy]

may i ask what heritage breeds are????

 

[Jake Levi]

Heritage Breeds are those older breeds that were the main farm chicken flock breeds in the Countrys early days, either brought to North Americda by colonists or developed from breeds that were brought here. Many of these were displaced when the heavy production breeds used by the factory farms replaced the farm flocks for eggs or broilers. So increasingly the farm flocks fell by the wayside, a process increased as many people at the same time left farms for the cities especially after WW2.

Most Heritage Breeds are considered to be both egg producers and meat birds, albeit not laying as many eggs as the egg production breeds or producing broilers as fast as the heavy meat production breeds.

That said most Heritage CHicken Breeders feel that their homestead eggs have better flavor then the eggs bought in stores and that the meat from their birds has fuller and richer flavor then the production raised fryers. Freshness can be a part of this as the meat is often stored frozen and eggs are often weeks old before sold.

I and many others use the terms Heritage and Homestead interchangeably as for the most part they refer to the same breeds.

The name is also applied to other species of fowl grown in our early days, Ducks, Geese, Turkeys, Guineas and Pigeons also all have Heritage Breeds within them, many are considered critically endangered along with many of our Heritage Chicken Breeds.

 

[Erica]

That red cast iron grinder looks great, Jake, about the right size for me anyway.

Milo (sorgum) has quite a bitter taste due to tannins. It's not a terrific feed for chicks, I gather. But it grows fast and produces a lot of seeds, so it's hard to overlook.

I also just want to chime in with Jake's point about looking after the land. Carrying capacity is vital; if you can truck in cheap feed and use heaps of energy to light sheds, then carrying capacity is irrelevant, but as soon as energy costs skyrocket and soil minerals are depleted this system falters.

On traditional farms, during winter the flock was culled back to breeders and young pullets; over spring it of course was allowed to increase. There's no reason why the carrying capacity should drop permanently if the land is looked after and never over-stocked.

regards
Erica

 

[Jake Levi]

I liked several, unfortunately the one I like the most is around $ 1700, plus extras.

I just started looking though, there has to be good capacity ones out there that do more then 5lbs of flour at a time.

 

[KenK]

Jake, how do you feel about animal proteins?
Deer hunting is big business in this area. If a fellow could capture and process the bones and offal from just one of the many processors in this area it would make hundreds of pounds of feed.

I may try feeding the hearts, livers and kidneys of whatever deer I kill this year.

 

[Jake Levi]

Animal byproducts are per lb one of the most expensive ingredients in commercial feeds because of the very high protein level and the amino acids that arnt available in vegetables and grains. Chickens are omnivores not vegetarians and need animal protein.

I feed animal scraps every chance I get.

In a home mix it either needs to be included or supplemented some how, free ranging is most common but if there is a predator problem then it needs to be supplied.

 

[Chris09]

three more grinders,
http://www.lehmans.com/store/New_It...r_City_Grain_Mill___quakermill#11712951171300
http://www.lehmans.com/store/Kitche..._Hand_Turned__High_Speed_Grain_Mill___232#232
http://www.lehmans.com/store/Kitchen___Grain_and_Grain_Mills___Diamant_Grain_Mill___525#525

Chris