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

[Weeg]

Alright, I'm thinking of ordering the following-

Field peas/Oats cover crop
Hairy Vetch cover crop
Millet cover crop
Sorghum
Corn
Soy beans
Leafy greens
Root vegtables
Maybe a Goji Berry bush, I've been wanting one anyway.
BOSS seeds to plant, though they will be fed in moderation

Also considering starting a BSFL bin.

All of this will be used to supplement their current diet, since I'm most concerned about prices rising. So they'll still have access to a quality feed.

Thoughts? Does anyone else have anything to add? I'm interested to see what others are buying and planting.

 

[TooCheep]

@Weeg- I like the variety. I don't know enough about chicken nutrition to say those items would be perfectly balanced, but I know that chickens have been surviving/thriving in a wide variety of environments for a very long time, so I'm sure they would survive and produce with them.

One item sticks out a little. Most of them would produce in the first year, but goji is a perennial plant and will take a couple of years to produce much. I have 3 goji plants and the chickens love the berries, so when it does fill out, it will be a nice addition.

 

[Weeg]

@Weeg- I like the variety. I don't know enough about chicken nutrition to say those items would be perfectly balanced, but I know that chickens have been surviving/thriving in a wide variety of environments for a very long time, so I'm sure they would survive and produce with them.

One item sticks out a little. Most of them would produce in the first year, but goji is a perennial plant and will take a couple of years to produce much. I have 3 goji plants and the chickens love the berries, so when it does fill out, it will be a nice addition.

I 100% agree. I don't expect it to be perfectly balanced, rather a supplemental forage if prices do sky rocket, or feed starts to become less available.
Otherwise I'll just have all the seeds on hand and keep feeding them the regular.

I agree, Goji plants wont start producing instantly, this just gives me a reason to finally get one.

 

[allenw]

Alright, I'm thinking of ordering the following-

Field peas/Oats cover crop
Hairy Vetch cover crop
Millet cover crop
Sorghum
Corn
Soy beans
Leafy greens
Root vegtables
Maybe a Goji Berry bush, I've been wanting one anyway.
BOSS seeds to plant, though they will be fed in moderation

Also considering starting a BSFL bin.

All of this will be used to supplement their current diet, since I'm most concerned about prices rising. So they'll still have access to a quality feed.

Thoughts? Does anyone else have anything to add? I'm interested to see what others are buying and planting.

What's the weather like were your at and what farm crops are growing in your area?

Some areas are more favorable for cool season crops and some favor warm season crops is why I ask.

 

[Weeg]

What's the weather like were your at and what farm crops are growing in your area?

Some areas are more favorable for cool season crops and some favor warm season crops is why I ask.

Currently warming up from the winter. Got some 50* days this week and likely get warmer as we come into spring. I'm not sure about farm crops, but peas, lettuce, is starting to come up in the garden.

 

[Shellybob]

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.

I’m going to try sprouting my Scratch n Peck also! Let me know how you do please

 

[kodster]

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

Depending on where you live, there are grain elevators that will sell to the public. I live in a farming community in rural North Dakota. Nearly EVERY town here has a working grain elevator, as well as they also have animal feed mixtures, depending on what you're raising. Check with them.

 

[DonyaQuick]

I only have 6 chickens which probably makes things a bit easier than if I had a lot more. Mine love lawn clippings and soft hay (especially if it's been soaked in water) to a frankly strange degree. They have eaten a lot of that stuff; I haven't had any impacted crop issues. So, my feed apocalypse plan at the moment is hay/clippings, food scraps, and a mix of whatever seeds are available to bridge the gap. If I have to do that, I just hope I don't have to do it for too long because everything I've read on playing the protein/fat balance game in DIY feeds does not seem very easy, and it would only be harder when things are scarce.

Earlier this year I had so much trouble with old feed going bad that I don't feel comfortable storing bags for very long, so I'm mostly just going to have to take my chances with the availability. I can store one 50lb bag in an air-tight container and might get a second container so I can keep another 50lb in reserve at any given time. More than that and I worry something would go off. I have similar long-term storage worries for seed/grain regarding mold and/or pests even in a sealed container. I've had small things of pretty tightly sealed grains turn out to be half bug poop and also would have to worry about mice chewing through bags and/or plastic tubs.

There are places in the cleared part of my property that I need to re-seed very soon. I wonder if I can convince my husband to mix in other seeds and not just do grass so that that clippings would be more diverse for the chickens. I have never seen someone so upset at dandelions popping up through the grass though, so I might not win that one lol.

 

[Vicker]

I culled out birds that weren't laying to reduce feed consumption and have already noticed a big difference. I moved the others back into a mobile coop. This coop and the portable fencing gets rotated around the property before they totally decimate the area they are in. Right now they are feasting on dandelions. They get table scraps, meat trimmings, leftovers that are cleaned out of the fridge, whey from cheesemaking, garden vegetables and insects I can catch or pick off the vegetables.

 

[kodster]

Have you considered raising coturnix quail? Grass and other seeds go a long way towards feeding them and at less than an ounce of feed daily (without supplementing them with your 3 acres of grass), is a small price to pay for meat and eggs at about 8 weeks of age. They'd need secure housing as they're smack dab on the bottom rung of the food chain (everything wants to eat them), but it would very easily utilize the space and fodder that you already have at your disposal. Tractor style housing would enable you to move them about the property to ensure that they browse and fertilize your land most efficiently.

This is why I started raising them, as well. I have 22 that I hatched out, and now, they're starting to lay. I'm not interested in harvesting any of these... yet, as they'll be my foundation birds for that part of my flock. Processing is easy... you don't have to pluck them, just pull the skin off, feathers and all, gut, and then spatchcock them, quarter them up! All dark meat, which my husband loves over white meat (he'll eat it, but it's not his preferred parts, for the flavor). A couple of quail per person, and as fast as they reproduce, it's quick to stock up the freezer with, as well as their eggs (albeit, 20-egg omelets can be a selling point, but a lot of eggs to crack!). I've got these 22 inside of a extra large dog crate in the house at the moment, and listening to "Steve Quail" crow... I'll miss the sound. They are such fun to raise as they know the routine now and stand at the door waiting when it's feeding/watering time. Feed once a day in a long chick feeder, filled to the brim. They'll take 24 hours to wipe it all out. Fill a quart waterer twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. The rest of the time, they're 'hopping' and laying, having a good ole time, or sleeping.

I'll be moving them to a large rabbit hutch that I bought last month, just need to put it together, into my chicken coop (8x10 shed) so that they'll be elevated off the ground, low enough that they can't hop too high in the interior but high enough that I don't have to bend over too far (got a bad back that if I bend over too much, I'll throw it out, and that's too painful to not take steps to avoid it). It'll also keep the chickens away from them, and the top of the hutch is sloped enough, the chickens won't be able to roost on top of it. I also have a separate 'grow out' pen that is closed off to the rest of the coop, so I can put it in there, to keep the older chickens out, but still utilize the floor for growing out chicks. I've thought this all out, and I think it'll work. I've also got ducks (10 Khaki Campbells growing out now) as well as three Pilgrim goslings arriving later this month. They all have separate areas, but can see each other. So, yep, I've been looking at alternative sources for feeding them, as well.