HOW TO FEED YOUR CHICKENS if there is no scratch or pellets?

[GigitheBackyardHerbilist]

I'm definitely interesting in this topic. I am mildly concerned about the possibility of chicken feed becoming unavailable. I am at least interested in finding ways to supplement the diet to reduce the feed consumption.

An idea posted on another thread was to grow black oil sunflowers, and harvest the seeds. I plan on getting a bag of black oil sunflower seeds and trying to plant some next week. Also experimenting with sporting grains, or growing fodder.

We plan on planting an entire 50lb bag. They had it last week. I hope they do next week. That a great idea as well.

 

[Battlepants]

We plan on planting an entire 50lb bag. They had it last week. I hope they do next week. That a great idea as well.

Out of curiosity, where did you get those seeds from? And is there any difference in seeds for planting and seeds for birds/eating?

 

[MasAhora]

This is a great thread. In my rural area the availability of the most balanced chicken feed I can find is fluctuating significantly. I do not like to store feed too long because of mold due in our humid climate (summer and winter the humidity is quite high).
So to continue having 20-50 chickens I need a back up food supply that is convenient, healthy and independent.

 

[Chullicken]

I really have no woes or fears of a chicken feed shortage in 2022, seems more so a house pet issue (Of sorts), but it's always a good idea to learn ways to off set feed consumption. Typically free ranging really solves that issue with a huge decrease in usage though the winter time this isn't practical. Fodder systems are SUPER easy and with proper management you can grow several plots a week. Oats, Wheat and the like grow pretty amazingly indoors. I spent hours when I was younger with my parents clippers cutting lawn grass before (years later) I could grow fodder inside and the nutrition can be higher when you get away from your typical lawn variety plants. So to keep this short, I can go on for a page;

1) Fodder System
2) Household Left Overs
3) Nutritional Supplements, Oyster Shells etc.
4) Grow your Own~ I will tell you it takes A LOT of corn rows and other grains to grind up in enable to amount to anything
5) Check out your current feeder system, see if you can minimize waste
6) Birdseed...very high in fat and proteins. Ok for the winter but in the summer you may suffer some over weight fatty feather butts which can lead to health issues.
7) Oatmeal, you can buy that stuff in bulk and they love it. Can be used for scratch or hardened chicken bricks.
8) Cut Straw. Has tiny little seeds left from the process, keeps them busy and offers a little bit of a food source.

Darn it, I went on for a page~ XD Good luck with everything. Some terrific ideas in this post so far~

 

[Weeg]

We plan on planting an entire 50lb bag. They had it last week. I hope they do next week. That a great idea as well.

Cool! We don't have a ton of space ufortunetly, but I cold always create a garden bed within the coop if we needed more space. I could probably easily find locations to add other raised beds as well. Probably a good idea now that I'm thinking about it.
I want to plant as much as possible. Maybe grow corn, though I don't think that has a ton of nutritional value. Probably way more fresh than dried corn though.
What about soy beans? They are a pretty complete protein source. I try to avoid them in chicken feed due to commercial spraying, but it could probably be beneficial if it was grown from organic seeds.

 

[Weeg]

I've been thinking about this lately as I have been having trouble finding cat food occasionally. I think it's a great topic.

I was thinking of a small fodder system but not sure what to grow.

You can sprout all kinds of things, I'm trying to sprout my Scratch and Peck feed right now. Not sure if it will sprout though.
You can sprout anything from oats, millet, barely, quinoa, peas, to sunflower seeds, alfalfa, etc, etc. Basically any seeds or grains.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Stormcrow, how do you feel about Millet for part of a chickens diet?

Well, since I deliberately seeded my pasture with several varieties of panic grasses (panicum ______), and millet just happens to be the seed of panicum, I might have an inclination in that direction. Also just overseeded with a sorghum/sudangrass hybrid, to join my existing (but very patchy) "native" sorghum (poaceae sorghum bicolor).

I'd have to say I consider it to be a pretty decent grain as a drought resistant staple of a poultry diet in areas where wheat does not grow well. Though I'll be happier if the chickens didn't eat all 50# of it I put down, and it actually gets a chance to grow.

There are limits - due to the tannins, millets (except white/proso millet - the expensive stuff) shouldn't exceed 15% (Red, Dark/Indian) or 30% (Green/Italian) of diet. White millet is fine to 50%, assuming you can hit the other dietary targets.

There are studies showing chickens surviving on up to 70% sorghum diets without ill effect, but not thriving.

Here are the key numbers I lifted from Feedipedia.org. Sorghum should NOT perform as well in practice as it does, but apparently what little it contains is readily digested, and some of the enzymes assist in digesting companion grains. Even without that little tidbit, if you remove all the corn from a recipe and replace it with sorghum, you almost always end up with a superior feed (though not by much).

 

[Lor]

Out of curiosity, where did you get those seeds from? And is there any difference in seeds for planting and seeds for birds/eating?

This was one of the questions I had. Glad you asked it.
Also fermented feed? I fear it getting moldy so that is why I was thinking fodder.

 

[Lor]

What do you think of minnows and a worm bin?
I'm not sure if the chickens will eat some minnows but my ducks love them.
I have this small pond next to my back deck doing nothing at the moment so I could add some minnows in hopes that they breed.
Don't know much about worm bins but willing to learn. Worm tea is good for gardens, I hear.

 

[Battlepants]

Another concept worth exploring is a Black Soldier Fly Larvae farm.

And if you can work with a local school or restaurant to get their food waste, this effectively becomes free feed! Other than the effort taken to go and get the food scraps.

Downside though is that I expect a lot of stink to happen with this.