Home Feeding Ideas and Solutions Discussion Thread

[Buttercup1979]

I have the bucket that I put all my kitchen scrapes in, in the morning a few times a week I mix in oatmeal and canned blueberries(bent cans that were thrown away at a plant so got them for free)and my homemade yogurt and hot water and mix it all togather and they have a warm breakfast.I especially do this on cold lmornings like this morning it was 3 below 0.It is so cute they know what they going to get and I have all these necks strectching upwards trying to see what I have to give them.Can you tell I like my chickens?LOL

I am excited to see a post about cold weather. I live in Northern Indiana and gets lots of lake effect snow and worried about having chickens in the cold an snow. I am doing all the reading I can but don't have much in my local library about chickens in cold weather. I would like to free range in the summer but am worried about feeding and free ranging in the snow. What do you do to keep them warm in their coops and around the snowy yard, assuming yours get outside? What do you feed them when there's two feed of snow on the ground?

 

[dandydoodle]

Opps I forgot to say this is in response to Sky in the Chicken man.

Thanks, I would look back later tonight to find your past posts. How do you find seed as stuff in bulk to make homemade feed? Is the stuff you put in it organic? Do you know where to get get the stuff organic and in bulk?

 

[dandydoodle]

Sorry, I forgot to say this is in response to Sky in the Chicken man

Where do you buy your organic feed from. I really want to start feeding mine organic and supplement with a lot of natural foods I grow and free ranging. I haven't found a good place to buy organic food though.

Thanks,
Michelle

 

[rebel gardener]

I have enjoyed reading through your thread and signed up because of it.
I have a 3 small flocks of different breeds and 4 ducks Peking and khaki cambells.

You mentioned a few times duckweed lemna and other varieties, but what I had added to my pond two years ago is known in the UK as fairy moss ( Azolla http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azolla) which I am sure someone mentioned. Needless to say as it took over the spare space of the pond in my garden so I picked it out and threw it towards the chook enclosure, sceptics at first they barely touched it but when I threw it again the next day or two bamm it was rushed for and became their new treat as such as I didnt realise until know the nutritional benefits. I also added water cress into my pond filter system and harvest so much of it in the summer/autmn and winter I should feed more of it to them or take it down the allotment for the others.

I did however add fairy moss to my ponds and water butts at the allotmentthis year. You would think my ducks were addicts the way they behave when they see you go towards the water butts with an empty flower pot(strainer). I harvest a 5 litre pot worth at a time and add it to the small pond I have for the ducks and it is gone in minutes followed by a display of glee from the ducks that neighbours enjoy watching.

Being an allotment I have benefitted from everyones bolted lettuces, brassica leaves,old fruit- there is a horid tasting plum tree in the pen with the chooks and apart from the odd purple stained chook we did notice the eggs change flavour during fruiting season. Apples go down a treat with my girls as do old or split tomatoes from the greenhuse. One old man collects bread from a near by bakers. He always soaks it before giving it to them, something his mother from Malta used to do.
The girls take the time on the whole plant material, especially cauliflowers, the leaves were gone quickly leaving the stemy vein and head to slowly been eaten over days. Do people do much prep work on whole plants?

I do have a fruit and veg wholesale market on my road, they are great resources but you have to get up early to grab the waste before it is binned and carted away. When I worked there that was easy and I brought home so much my chooks started getting fussy and only wanted grapes

, most of it went to the compost. I feel after reading this thread and writing my reply I may start going back down in the morning for more scraps.

I do also make my girls a nice bowl of porridge on the coldest of days especially if water had frozen as it ensures they get some water and nutrition.

I do add DE to the layers pellets mix from time to time but have not really observed the results. If I add it to wet food I notice the girls are less happy to eat the food, this is the same with the cats in the house( I use it as a natural wormer for them).

I have raised mealworms for 2 years and had troubles with summer temp being too high in the shed while I was away and that I lost them all. They are really easy to keep on oats with a split potato in the plastic box for moisture and the chooks and wild birds love them. Dont use polystyrene or cardboard as the mealworms will eat through or climb out.

Has anyone tried breeding stick insects for chook food, they multiple quickly?

My last comment before I retire to bed, I do love picking off the slugs from my garden veg at night and feeding them to the chooks but note to everyone DONT FEED CHICKENS SLUGS BEFORE BED, If you do this dont expect the girls to go to bed for at least another hour as they wont believe you when you say they have all gone and they will go searching the grounds for more.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Really enjoyed reading the collective wisdom on feeding alternatives. I'm just starting a flock with baby chicks next month

and am wondering if anyone has any insight as to how feeding chicks in this way would differ from adult chickens? We already collect our kitchen waste for the compost bin so that's a start. I'm ordering the Ussery book! Great thread!

 

[mo puff]

After reading all the creative things others have fed their chickens... i feel bad for my girls. I mainly feed store bought grain and scratch. I do let my girls out nearly everyday to forage in the yarden...but i guess i need to get them some fresh greens and more table scraps! thanks for the info, as a new chicken mom this is great !

 

[houckfam5]

hey maybe someone can help me this is my first winter with my chickens since they have been stuck in the coop for a few days we thought we would get them a treat of some meal worms and seeds they love it but now they aren't eatting there laying pellets???

I was wondering what else I can feed them?
do I have to have grit for them?

would starting some grass in a tray be a good treat??

any help would be great.

I school project that has now really expanted lol!
thanks
Houckfam5

 

[RaZ]

hey maybe someone can help me this is my first winter with my chickens since they have been stuck in the coop for a few days we thought we would get them a treat of some meal worms and seeds they love it but now they aren't eatting there laying pellets???

I was wondering what else I can feed them?
do I have to have grit for them?

would starting some grass in a tray be a good treat??

any help would be great.

I school project that has now really expanted lol!
thanks
Houckfam5

I did the same thing. It is like having desert before the meal. I now use mealworms as treats and training aids. When mine snubbed the pellets I switched over to crumbles and they like that better. Maybe the pellets were too hard to ingest. I also have grit and oyster shell available at all times in case they want it. Your hens will know if they need it, far better than people can tell IMO.

If you have grass available, throw it in for them. No grass here but I think I'll sprout some in a windowsill pot for my cats and hens.

 

[evenstargirl]

I love baking bread. I usually make a loaf a day. However, my husband and I usually eat just about half of the loaf, so the leftovers go to the chickens, who just go nuts over it. It's so cute, and giving it to the chickens doesn't make me feel like I'm wasting it!

 

[ipana]

For those who are interested in the maggot idea, here is a link that I had saved from a while ago. The issue of botulism was addressed in another article that I am currently unable to locate and apparently it can be a problem. You would need to google that issue to make sure you are not causing a problem for your hens. Be careful if you decide to do this.

http://onibasu.com/archives/cl/12779.html