How Much Fruit and Veggies is good for a Chicken?

[Brooks_]

My new job is attending a farm stand. Waste produce I take home is waste produce that the farm doesn't have to send a truck to pick up so I can have all the overripe melons, overripe tomatoes, wormy ears of corn, 3-day-old strawberries, limp green beans, etc. that I want to collect on my workdays.

I'm only going to have 4 hens (meeting tomorrow with the woman who is raising the chicks for me), so I don't need anywhere near a busy farm stand's total wastage. How much is a reasonable amount of produce for a chicken to have in a day? Or, alternately, how many chickens does it take to eat a bruised cantaloupe? (Too much rain in Florida last week -- have a whole bin so waterlogged and overripe that they're bruising under their own, juicy weight).

I'm like WTH 3KB? You know the answer. Then I saw the date.

 

[The WinterWolf]

I'm like WTH 3KB? You know the answer. Then I saw the date.

Yes. me too i saw this thread and clicked on it thinking it would be helpful because apparently i was feeding my girls too many treats. then i saw who asked it. then i saw everything else, and was like,You've been here for 13 years and you don't know? then i saw 2013

 

[Brooks_]

Still, a hearty welcome to @snoooks2u

 

[3KillerBs]

Still, a hearty welcome to @snoooks2u

Indeed.

We always appreciate people who are willing to be helpful.

 

[SourRoses]

I'm only going to have 4 hens

I remember when we thought in numbers like this too...

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

I'm like WTH 3KB? You know the answer. Then I saw the date.

Same thoughts, then looked at the date.
3KB is a chicken whisperer today.

@3KillerBs “4” hens, eh?? Can you break that down using chicken math logic?

 

[Hedgeland Farms]

Welcome to BYC.

That post was nearly a decade ago.

I'm much more relaxed about it and willing to trust that when I toss a pile of fruit or veggie trimmings into the run the birds will eat an appropriate amount and the rest will become one with the litter.

Do you have any problem with food sitting too long and getting moldy or what not??

(I know it's an old post but it's totally resurrected now lol)

I've tried to give my girls some cauliflower, lettuce, fruit etc...and they don't really eat it. (Berries, yes)

It sits and sits and sits...till I take it out so it doesn't attract unwanted creatures to the run....

Now I just toss out 2 handfuls of scratch at night, (20 chickens) and let the cockerel point it out to them during the day ( I am obstaining from being the one that delivers the treats as I feel I would then be making it hard for Johnny to become part of the flock...I wanna let him do his job)

So yeah, do you just let unwanted scraps (unwanted by the chickens) sit in the run and decompose or pull them out??

 

[3KillerBs]

I remember when we thought in numbers like this too...

Same thoughts, then looked at the date.
3KB is a chicken whisperer today.

@3KillerBs “4” hens, eh?? Can you break that down using chicken math logic?

We're into chicken calculus, I think.

Current numbers are 18 females of 4 months to 2 years old, 1 rooster, 13 chicks (7 for sale), and 5 cull cockerels (for sale until I have room for them in the freezer).

So yeah, do you just let unwanted scraps (unwanted by the chickens) sit in the run and decompose or pull them out??

In my climate, soil, and bedding I find that things dry out rather than mold if they're not eaten promptly.

I never dump a big pile, I scatter it. That way all the birds can get some and it doesn't clump up in a soggy mess.

In a different environment and under different management, things could be different.

 

[PatrickGale]

Fruit & Vegetable Feeding To Chickens
I have access to almost unlimited garden fruit and vegetables.

My 75 chickens receive over 10: 5 gallon buckets of fruit weekly.

Some people allow their chickens to free range over enormous piles of food in compost piles from produce markets and restaurants.

They don’t feed their chickens any other Feedstocks!

Their chickens do not seem affected by bacteria or contamination.

We shred everything to a pulp,

Drain the fluids and feed separately.

After 24 hours the solids and liquids are discarded because of bacteria growth.

Some bacteria provides resistance; I worry that too much will create sick chickens.

The chickens still have access to their regular feedstocks.

Consumption per adult chicken averages about:
1/2 cup of feedstocks
1/2 cup of fruit & vegetable pulp
1/2 cup of fruit liquid

The coop is raked out weekly and all large materials shredded and composted elsewhere.

2 year old composted organic horse manure, freshly shredded with the fines screened out is laid down to provide a well drained walking surface to absorb the chicken manure and compost further.

It is actually primarily white wood shavings from the horse bedding at this point.

Twice a year the coop run is shoveled up and put into a compost pile.

After 6 months of additional composting the compost is sold for $8 per gallon after shredding and screening.

Patrick Perry
Salt Lake City UT

 

[Brooks_]

1/2 cup of feedstocks

What do you define as feedstocks?