Home Feeding Ideas and Solutions Discussion Thread

[furbabymum]

Pictures of what I've been doing and what ya'll inspired me to do.

Caged lettuce and tomato. Put the ducks temporary water by it for easy usage. The pot is one of the large pots trees at garden stores come in. Taken from mu parents who have a tree addiction.


Rhubarb and parsley in this one. You can see I partially buried the pots.

Compost heap inspired by ya'll with some of the lettuce and such I picked for them to enjoy.

This box has wheat, all kinds of grasses and corn.

I've a box on each side of the front of the barn. The right one has a couple small bush sprouts and sprouting peas.

 

[mar123]

I just got my silkies hatched on the day eighteen..I think the summer heat has been hard for them,(one was just 1 1/2"). They were so weak and still don`t walk very well after five days. So, my idea was hand feed them with coarse corn and oatmeal mixed with water, I guess it`s working, this morning they all started to walk a little bit. Any ideas on food for troubled chicks, please?

 

[Lacy Blues]

When I had a chick, not long ago, who seemed to have "forgotten" how to eat I resorted to mixing raw egg yolk with his crumbles. He scarfed it up and the yolk is extremely healthy. I might do that and still use some rolled oats (not cooked) and maybe chop them into the crumbles?

 

[Lacy Blues]

Pictures of what I've been doing and what ya'll inspired me to do.

Caged lettuce and tomato. Put the ducks temporary water by it for easy usage. The pot is one of the large pots trees at garden stores come in. Taken from mu parents who have a tree addiction.


Rhubarb and parsley in this one. You can see I partially buried the pots.

Compost heap inspired by ya'll with some of the lettuce and such I picked for them to enjoy.

This box has wheat, all kinds of grasses and corn.

I've a box on each side of the front of the barn. The right one has a couple small bush sprouts and sprouting peas.

First let me say how jealous I am of your barn! I sure wish I had a big barn like that!

The other thing I wanted to say was that rhubarb leaves are toxic to people. I don't know how they affect chickens but I wanted to be sure you know so you can research it.

 

[furbabymum]

First let me say how jealous I am of your barn! I sure wish I had a big barn like that!

The other thing I wanted to say was that rhubarb leaves are toxic to people. I don't know how they affect chickens but I wanted to be sure you know so you can research it.

Thank you. I had absolutely no idea. I don't think I'll risk finding out their toxicity and well move them out of the chicken run.

 

[ducklucky]

Do believe you are 100% correct, rhubarb leaves are toxic to almost everything except the insects. Would definitely keep them cut back, maybe just let them chomp on the stalks. Most feathered and furry creatures won't go near the leaves anyway, it's like they know...but you may have one or two that want to test it and learn a hard lesson.

 

[ducklucky]

Soooo many great ideas on here. Whatever works, is reasonably nutritious, and not "bad things" like banana and potato peels...We like to keep a little bit of pellets or crumbles in the mix, just in case we run out of alternatives so they are not so spoiled they refuse to eat. Always mix whole oats and cracked corn, always, along with everything else. Freeze the corn cobs we have eaten, or corn that has gone by, it's a nice treat in Jan. Anything too mature in the garden that we wouldn't eat goes in the freezer. Also plant lots of the whole oats everywhere, it sprouts up like crazy and is a nice treat, stores well. The ducks and chickens adore this. Anything you can plant which many would consider weeds works. Sunfowers everywhere! Just dry it in the fall sunshine for a bit and put it where the mice can't get to it, 5 gal containers work great,or trash cans with good lids, or freeze it if you have the space. In winter, they are not overly picky, they are craving their greens and anything different. As far as the laying goes, think most of them take a little "vaca" at some point, and they deserve it. Have gone up to 6 weeks with no eggs, but then they come on like gangbusters. Also store lots of squash, pumpkins, whatever in the cool cellar, and whatever we can't use or starts to get soft, off it goes to the coop. They appreciate these winter treats even more than we do! Love the idea of keeping the bucket next to the kitchen garbage, with a lid keeps the fruit flies out. In deep winter the birds don't much care if it's a little by. Wonderful ideas, keep 'em coming, especially with winter coming yet again. And yes, if you have a local general store or similar, put your name in for their discards, provide them with a big container with your name on it, and be sure to pick it up as you're supposed to or you may lose your space in line.

 

[dominiques]

My hens love when I pull pea plants, roots, shoots, tendrils, leaves, pods and all. They go wild for them. And so fun to open the pods and have them run to grab the peas right out of my hands.

 

[SowdersHomestead]

WooWee!!! This is right up my alley. I've been doing research on this for a few months for chickens and rabbits.

My approach has been a bit different though. Since we have 75 acres I have started to document the forages and trees that are indigenous to our land here NW Ohio. From there I find out the nutritive value of the weeds and plants. This way I'm not buying stuff unnecessarily. There are a lot of universities that have online weed and plant guides that are good resources.

We plan on purchasing a pellet machine so we can take the forages and make into pellets. Pellet machines are fairly inexpensive ($1500.00) and used ones go for $500.00.

I'm in the process of learning the nutritive values of fruits and nuts. We have apple, pear and peach trees and walnut and acorn trees. Drying them out and adding them to the pellet mixture would be the next step.

I have been disappointed that there is no real value to pine cones and that the pine nuts in this area are to small to try and harvest.

To say the least I have enjoyed the process. I love that there is so many people on here looking for ways to create their own feeding regiment. Most of the feeds that are sold today have GMO grain. It's sad that 4H, FFA and stores like TSC tell people they can't feed their animals nothing but pellet in the name of the all mighty dollar.

A protein source I am interested in researching is crickets. They breed like mad and are fairly in expensive to start. I buddy of mine bought 2000 for $25.00 to start with. I know my girls enjoy them out in the yard and fields.

Keep the thread rolling. I've enjoyed reading. Heck, I never knew Duckweed was such a high protein source.

Thanks

 

[galanie]

As is comfrey and mealworms. I grow mealworms and wow are they easy. But I'd guess crickets are too, I've no idea. I do have comfrey growing now, the kind that makes sterile seeds so it doesn't take over the world, and it does great.