How to become self-sufficient (kinda) with chickens.

[detali]

My plan for feeding my chickens on the minimum amount of bought feed consists of a large "chicken pasture".

I am in the process of establishing that.

This is what I have. I have a screen covered scratching yard for my hens that has a deep layer of straw in it. Pill bugs, earthworms and other creatures inhabit that mulch layer. They happiy scratch there all day long. All table scraps and garden weed leftovers get added to that mulch layer as soon as I get it. The chickens love that. After several months that layer of mulch/compost gets incorporated into the garden and I give the yard another bale of straw to start the process over again.

Then, attached to the scratching yard (and that's what I am working on right now) is the grazing pasture. Actually two plots. I planted a special chicken pasture blend which contains flax for omega 3 rich eggs, plus buckwheat and other chicken goodies.

I will let the hens out into the grazing yard for half a day until they have it grazed down. Then I will close that yard off and let them graze in the second half.

Rotating back and forth between the scratching yard and the two grazing pens I will need to give them feed only at the end of the day. Believe it or not, My hens eat very little bought feed as long as they have access to all that green stuff and the bugs they find amongst that.

I also have a zuchini bed just for the chickens. I let the zukes grow into big bombers, cut them in half and put them into the scratching yard. They peck out the contents down to the green shell. Zukes are high in calcium.

 

[Wifezilla]

Great idea for the zucchini. The stuff grows so fast, it makes a very inexpensive treat. I even feed the shredded frozen zucchini to the ducks. I had some left over from last season. I didn't want to use it but I didn't want to waste it. I thawed it and gave it to them. They LOVED it.

 

[The Zoo]

Wow detali that sounds amazing!!
My hens get loads of veg scraps - zucchini today! I didn't know it was high in calcium - where do we learn these things?

 

[Mojo Chick'n]

Quote:
yep, ya can't figure out other people's perceptions or plan for them - so just say what ya mean and let the rest of them figure out what ya meant

they'll try to second guess your words anyway, whether you state them clearly or not.

oh, and I might plan for the zombie attack... still working on my aim

meri

Check out this motivational poster...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wmode/337059722/

I need that one for my office.

meri

 

[lavacaw]

Mojo Chick'n :

Quote:
coolness, thanks

I can picture that

I was thinking really tall, but I guess for row covers ya don't need it really tall

I plan to do a sort of straw bale/ sandwich garden next year.
The row covers may still come in handy, though.

I plan to make frames with chicken wire to hold the straw/hay in place, sandwich the straw with some dirt from the donkey pasture and plant directly into that - I figure it will A) keep the chickens and geese out of the veggies cause it'll be taller and B) make my soil problem a non issue.

We have clay soil (well, clay intermixed with huge rocks) and I get blossom end rot really badly, and other issue - just digging the ground is a major undertaking. Perhaps after a few years of the sandwich/strawbale I can plant in the ground under the frames and it'll be rich and well... dirt-y instead of the solid clay

meri

Your chickens can help with your blossom end rot as one of the causes is a shortage of calcium. I bake some eggshells to thoroughly dry them then put them in a ziplock and pulverize them almost to powder. At the bottom of every hole for my tomatoes, I put about a tablespoon full of shell. I also put some right under the seeds for my squash. Best year ever for not having blossom end rot. Good luck!​

 

[The Zoo]

Good idea on the egg shells for the squash. I did it for my tomatoes but not the squash and I'm getting rot on my zucchini.

 

[country lady]

I have really enjoyed all of your comments. I so admire the strong people who came through the 1930s. It still amazes me when I see the beautiful quilts and tools that they made out of almost nothing, and doing it with a life of drudgery--where did they find the time.

I am already planning next year's garden. Do any of you dry your food? The articles about the Bill H.R. 875 are very scary. The June 2009 issue of the National Geographic magazine also had a long article about future populations and food shortages--9 billion people by 2050. If interested also google Thomas Robert Malthus, mentioned in this article.

 

[detali]

Country lady, Yes, I dehydrate many of my garden takes, Chickens and gardens and self-sufficient living all go together.

 

[Wifezilla]

I am going to try drying a banana squash.

 

[osagebill88]

I have been to survival school, it is surprising how much is really edible. I know its simple to raise meal worms and crickets. I also know you can build a little screen container to put grasshoppers in the refrigerator and they will reanimate in room temp (we do it for fishing). Of course this is an "in the now" tip and helps little in a world without electric LOL. I know my chickens eat the crud out of clover in the yard and attack everything from field mice to gardener snakes. Those of you with rabbit problems just scored some protein!