How to feed chickens without buying feed

[Ariel301]

Quote:
This could very well be from poor diet. If the are not getting the nutrition they need they may never lay an egg.....Most varieties start laying at around 21 weeks, some heritage varieties start later, some hybrids start sooner.

ON

They're free-ranging and have free access to layer feed/Flock Raiser (16% protein), some scratch thrown in the run (a cup or so) when I want them to go in, plus free access to the brewery mash (25% protein) and whatever table scraps we have. They are not too thin...you think they may be lacking something? I know there is some sort of problem going on, and I have been trying to figure it out. (I've checked to be sure they are not hiding eggs while free ranging, and tested to see if I have a predator by leaving store-bought eggs in the nest boxes to see if they disappear, neither seems to be the issue)

My older hens were laying great (especially for 5 year old birds, some were laying an egg a day still) on this diet, they stopped to molt a couple months ago and have not started back up again.

 

[chuckstillman]

Well unless you grow your own corn and have a grinder, the most economical way I've found is to find a bakery outlet store that sells day old bread, cupcakes, twinkees, donuts Etc. I spend about $36.00 a week on bread and I feed 150-60 chickens, 21 ducks 3 turkeys and 17 hogs bread from the day old outlet store. I still buy scratch as well as layer pellets at around $100.00 a month. I'm retired but work in a grocery store part time and believe me they would rather throw away a bag of apples with one bruised apple in it than give them to me for my hogs. Thank you trial laywers for coming up with ways to sue big grocery chains over some idiot eating from a dumpster and getting sick and blaming the store for it. THAT'S why they won't give you the produce waste. Hell I even contacted corporate and offered to BUY the crap and they would'nt do it. Feed prices are so high because of environmentalist wackos that want to turn corn into gas or diesel instead of drilling for more oil right here in the USA. So if you can't afford to feed your animals then get rid of them. Oh BTW I sell eggs as fast as they lay the 3dozen for $5.00 or $2.00 a dozen, it helps but not by much. I sell about $35-$40 woth of eggs a week. I should be charging $5.00 a dozen to kinda break even. The big Ag companies want to put the backyard as well as family farmer out of business. Govt. control through food. Call your senator and tell him not to support the food safety bill currently up for a vote this month. I think it's S-510 Good Luck!!

 

[Tdub4chiks]

Mealworms are so easy to raise. Initially, they take a couple of months to get going, but then it is not stop. All you need is a container of some sort, with a cutout with screen taped or glued on, some wheat bran, cornmeal, flour etc., potato or carrot for a little moisture and you're all set.

Because I sell mealworms, I use a mixture of mostly wheat bran, small amounts of rice baby cereal, dry milk powder & wheat germ. They also like a piece of newspaper put on top, which I spray a little water on once a week for moisture. I also put a small carrot or potato in the container for moisture too. The container has to be kept dry, so they must have alot of ventilation. That is why I cut out a large portion of the top, and either tape or glue screen in the top. Just keep them where it is warm & they will eventually turn into beetles, lay eggs, and the process begins.

My chickens turn into hogs when they see mealworms. It is so much fun to watch. I like to sprinkle them on a bunch of leaves or grass and make them scratch for them. Nothing like chicken TV. lol

 

[Ariel301]

I can't grow corn here without spending hundreds of dollars to plow up more area and fence it and keep pests out--not an option, especially since I am living on borrowed land, the owner of which is not interested in agriculture. Corn alone would be pretty affordable to buy as a feed, but it's not a balanced diet. Nor is bread. $100 a month is too much to feed chickens when I also have to feed goats, pay bills, and buy some groceries that we can't grow at home.

Government control through food is one reason we grow our own. Our goal is to be completely living off the land by 2012. Hence the need for alternative feeds, by that point, we do not want to be buying any commercial feed, which is all made of genetically modified trash grains and soy anyway, and there's no way I could buy organic feed at $39 a bag.

Oh, I know about the lawsuits and not wanting to give things out because of that. I had a friend a few years back that worked for a major craft store, and if they had cardboard boxes, they would crush and shred them as soon as they were empty so that no one could take the boxes for packing their stuff in. One of my friend's jobs there was to smash broken merchandise into tiny bits so that no one could take it from the dumpster and get a free item. It's all about greed, control, lawsuits, and money these days. We do have a small locally owned produce market, I am pretty sure the owner takes the stuff home and eats it himself if it starts to get a little "off" but I'm going to try asking there this week.

Hopefully in the next year we can move somewhere that natural food on the land is easier to get, where we live now is very difficult for gardening as well as foraging our stock, we can't turn the goats out to pasture here at all. We're looking at a 50 acre mountain ranch that would be perfect, but it's a matter of getting the money to get it, so in the meantime, we just have to make do.

For anyone who raises crickets: I have been unable to find any real information on how fast they reproduce. Can someone give me an idea? And how fast would a cricket go from hatching to a good feeding size?

 

[Beekissed]

You can sprout any whole grain and gain more nutrition than if you fed it alone. You can place a layer of about a half inch of seeds in a large shallow pan/box/tray , lay dampened a towel over the seeds, and place it in a warm, dark place. In 3-4 days you should have sprouts...don't let them go beyond that or keep them too wet or they may mold.

I read about this from an old man who raised chickens commercially for laying back in the old days, before it went factory farming. He supplemented his feed rations in this manner and really cut his feed bill. You can keep several containers going so you have sprouts to feed each day. Much more nutrition in a denser, smaller portion than it would be if just feeding the whole grain.

 

[FlipFlopFarmer]

4

 

[Ariel301]

Quote:
Any idea how many mealworms it would take to supply an average laying hen with a good amount of protein for the day? It would not be the only protein source, but to be worth doing, it would have to make a big impact.

 

[Lotsapaints]

I would sprout wheat and oats and sunflower seeds re-cleaned wheat runs 10.00 for 50lbs and oats run 12.00per 50 the sunflower runs 28.00 for 50. 3 bags of the wheat 1 bag of the others should last you a month. Just soak it in a 5 gallon pail and start getting eggs......and feed alfalfa hay with the free ranging it might last longer than a month too....try the mealworms too for added protein

 

[tammyd57]

Another source you might try for free stuff for chickens to eat: Senior Gleaners organizations.
I know there is one in Kingman, they helped me at one time. The Gleaners receive a lot of food that is past it's prime and they have to pick out the more edible to give to clients, and the rest is discarded. You can probably get a lot more than just vegetables there too as they have dairy products, bakery goods and a lot of other stuff.
I get a bag of food for myself and my husband, and a box of food for my chickens every week from our local Senior Gleaners. I return the favor with extra eggs.

 

[rufus]

When I was young, my father got a part time job sweeping out the movie theater. You would be surprised at the amount of pop corm people spill. Anyway, at that time they would let him take the sweepings plus the left over stale pop corn. He kept our chickens alive and laying just with that and the horse and cow poop from the corrals.

I don't think that is an option any more.

However, chickens can get a lot of protein from vegetable matter. I feed my chickens a lot of the winter weeds that grow here in the valley. I go up and down the alleys cutting the wild mustard week and the wild hollyhocks. They also love the careless weeds and the winter grass. Be aware, that if you pull the weed it will not come back. But if you cut them down, they will grow back from the root.

There is something in those weeds that make them lay like crazy.

If you live in Kingman, you probably should see the winter grass and weeds popping us sometime in December. They will last until it stops raining or gets too hot.

Gardening in Kingman is probably just like it is in Phoenix, a lost cause. The water bill will be outrageous. If you are in a position to save and recycle gray water from the washing machine and the showers you might be able to grow something. Don't save dishwater, it has too much grease for the plants.

And when you do get ready to buy some land, talk to the neighbors to find out how deep their well is and what kind of water they are getting. I have some really nice desert properties, but the local wells came in salty. The next option is to collect rain water off of roofs and to build a rain shield. That is nothing more than a huge tin structure slanted to collect rain water. It is a very precarious existence.

Good luck,

Rufus