Home Feeding Ideas and Solutions Discussion Thread

[400constantne]

Oh for crying out loud.

That is probably the same reaction that my silkie chicken would give if I were to tell her that she were a "subspecies of the Red Junglefowl" (Wikipedia), and then proceeded to feed her tree bark, aspen leaves, and ragweed...

 

[FireTigeris]

Does anyone know what the commercial feeders feed their chickens in order to get those yellowish green yolks that I see in store bought eggs?

You take a normal chicken feed it nothing but the cheapest grain or grain by-product you can find for its entire life then take the first twelve eggs she lays and store them for 1-2.5 months before eating them...

 

[400constantne]

In Utah, aspen buds made up 85% of the volume in the crops of winter-harvested​

grouse (Phillips 1967).

This source may actually be better, as regards Grouse (which may or may not help with chicken feed) :
http://www.jstor.org/stable/3801737?seq=1

I find it interesting, beings that this would likely be the diet of a "wild chicken"... without wolves, foxes, hawks... bitter cold/wet winters... etc. Although this scenario is obviously unrealistic... beings that we can hardly even protect the chicken in our own yards! But a person could collect chicken feed based upon the diet of a grouse... in purely speculative theory

 

[galanie]

Well if you want them to have a wild diet then just turn them loose and let them eat whatever they can find. For me, I'll use what works for millions of today's poultry keepers chiefly. I see nothing wrong with a bit of experimentation but this thread is taking a real turn into the absurd.

 

[Clay Mudd]

Well if you want them to have a wild diet then just turn them loose and let them eat whatever they can find. For me, I'll use what works for millions of today's poultry keepers chiefly. I see nothing wrong with a bit of experimentation but this thread is taking a real turn into the absurd.

In the wild, forum threads always take a turn into the absurd somewhere around a dozen pages.


It's natural!

 

[galanie]

Well if you want them to have a wild diet then just turn them loose and let them eat whatever they can find. For me, I'll use what works for millions of today's poultry keepers chiefly. I see nothing wrong with a bit of experimentation but this thread is taking a real turn into the absurd.

In the wild, forum threads always take a turn into the absurd somewhere around a dozen pages.


It's natural!

I keep forgetting we're using a forum that is in it's natural habitat!

 

[Deerfield Acres]

I keep forgetting we're using a forum that is in it's natural habitat!

Oh for crying out loud!

 

[sue ragan]

we have 39 chickens,i hope you can give me some information we are new at this,we raised the 23 rhode island reds from one day old we have 2 roosters,altho it was supposed to be a straight run,we already had 13 that we bought grown,we are afraid to let them free range on our 10 acres ,afraid of preditors,but we would love to give them some space,also they just started laying(the reds)and we dont want to lose the eggs,our friends and neighbors love them,question is,we leave the laying mash out daily in a nice trough we built,are they getting to much to eat,how do you estimate how much to feed,we were told 4 ounces each or a good handfull,BUT what happens if the older ones get more and the younger go without,please help with this problem,we dont want to overfeed and they sure do look healthy,thanks sue and curtis

 

[galanie]

I keep forgetting we're using a forum that is in it's natural habitat!

Oh for crying out loud!

 

[galanie]

we have 39 chickens,i hope you can give me some information we are new at this,we raised the 23 rhode island reds from one day old we have 2 roosters,altho it was supposed to be a straight run,we already had 13 that we bought grown,we are afraid to let them free range on our 10 acres ,afraid of preditors,but we would love to give them some space,also they just started laying(the reds)and we dont want to lose the eggs,our friends and neighbors love them,question is,we leave the laying mash out daily in a nice trough we built,are they getting to much to eat,how do you estimate how much to feed,we were told 4 ounces each or a good handfull,BUT what happens if the older ones get more and the younger go without,please help with this problem,we dont want to overfeed and they sure do look healthy,thanks sue and curtis

Most feed about a cupful per bird. I wouldn't worry if everyone looks healthy and is doing fine. My observation has been that if the older don't let the younger eat, the younger ones will wait till the older ones have wandered off out of sight of the feeder, then they'll get their fill. For instance, I have 4 month olds and year or older birds. The older ones always run the young ones off, but they'll then wait and get plenty to eat once the others wander away. I keep food in the feeder all the time and they are finding so much grass and bugs to eat that they aren't even eating 1/2 cup per bird right now due to this mild winter.

ETA: It's often suggested to have more than one feeder. My experience has been that I could have 10 feeders for 5 birds and the older ones would still run the young ones off from every feeder. So I just have two, enough for all the older ones to eat at once. It's just a waste to have more than that here.