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

[ILChickenTV]

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.

Chickens make great compost "eaters" ala EdibleAcres, Karl Hammer, etc. I have yet to find evidence that quail can thrive on such a lifestyle.
I do however hope to conduct some experiments and post how it goes.

 

[MIgardengal]

So maybe it’s nuts, but if things really got bad. Like grid shut down WWIII kinda thing…

My coop is under several maple trees. I have noticed my hens eat both maple leaves and the spinners that fall into their run. They even eat the soggy ones in spring after snow fall.

Maybe it’s not ideal long term, but there are always leaves to be had.

 

[frostypenn]

One thing: if the seed is hybrid, you might not get back what you planted. In that case, the corn seed you buy is better. But in Virginia, I planted out of the bag (15 rows of 50') and got only three cobs with any seed. I planted those back the next year and got a couple dozen better looking cobs. I did that for 9 years until I had a beautiful crop of huge cobs the animals loved. The fittest seeds survived.
My problem here in NM is the dryness. Things need watering twice a day and even then, some things scald just from the radiance of the sun. Also, the rabbits and the rat-tailed squirrels eat anything that sprouts and you can't get a decent grain crop from tubs. BTW, oats grow well.

 

[Weeg]

I ordered a bunch of stuff the other day. Hoping to use some straw bales to make some extra beds and plant some things. Interested to see how it goes.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I ordered a bunch of stuff the other day. Hoping to use some straw bales to make some extra beds and plant some things. Interested to see how it goes.

Please start a thread on the strawbale plantings. I've seen the slick videos, would rather have a report from an opinion I trust

 

[Weeg]

Please start a thread on the strawbale plantings. I've seen the slick videos, would rather have a report from an opinion I trust

Okay! I'd love to! I think I'm going to make some beds with them, and fill the inside with dirt, like a raised bed too. Might try planning corn in the bales though to use up the space. Not entirely sure yet. I'll post a thread and document how it goes.

 

[Tina Chickenlips]

With the current events and talk of no fertilizer. The fear of losing animal feed is real. So I've been researching going through all of my homesteading books trying to find ways to feed my chickens and keep them healthy and producing with no layer pellets and no grains. I have found a few amazing videos as well, on composting with chickens which I've been doing since I've got my chickens. (Last spring) That was one reason I was really thrilled to have my own so I didn't have to go to my friend's house and beg poop from them.

What I'm finding is that composting and letting your chickens pick through compost, they eat the bugs they turn the compost and they leave their own little nuggets of nutrients behind. Is an excellent way to grow my crops.
Also there are crops you can grow just to feed your chickens which I was doing last year to supplement but now know, that there are ways to feed and I don't have to grow an entire crop of corn for the girls, which I have been failing miserably at, just trying to grow for our own table.
Hoping that my chicken poop would help me yield a better crop of corn for our family plus all my other veggies. But I do not have to grow another crop just for my chickens?
Which I just do not have the room.

So I thought I would start sharing some of the things that I am learning on how to feed your girls and boys, if there is no rural King to supply you with your chicken feed.
Anyone else interested in this? Anyone else have their own advice to give an ideas to share? I'd be happy to hear.
Just for fun, this is fluffy. Who's not so fluffy at the moment. She's molting. Lol

I am interested in what you are doing. I have started throwing my scraps into my raised garden beds and the girls are turning the soil for me I would like to compost but for my girls and myself, but I don’t know what to do about the local wildlife (I prefer NOT to attract them. Any ideas are welcome.
(And thanks in advance!)

 

[sheiden4]

With the current events and talk of no fertilizer. The fear of losing animal feed is real. So I've been researching going through all of my homesteading books trying to find ways to feed my chickens and keep them healthy and producing with no layer pellets and no grains. I have found a few amazing videos as well, on composting with chickens which I've been doing since I've got my chickens. (Last spring) That was one reason I was really thrilled to have my own so I didn't have to go to my friend's house and beg poop from them.

What I'm finding is that composting and letting your chickens pick through compost, they eat the bugs they turn the compost and they leave their own little nuggets of nutrients behind. Is an excellent way to grow my crops.
Also there are crops you can grow just to feed your chickens which I was doing last year to supplement but now know, that there are ways to feed and I don't have to grow an entire crop of corn for the girls, which I have been failing miserably at, just trying to grow for our own table.
Hoping that my chicken poop would help me yield a better crop of corn for our family plus all my other veggies. But I do not have to grow another crop just for my chickens?
Which I just do not have the room.

So I thought I would start sharing some of the things that I am learning on how to feed your girls and boys, if there is no rural King to supply you with your chicken feed.
Anyone else interested in this? Anyone else have their own advice to give an ideas to share? I'd be happy to hear.
Just for fun, this is fluffy. Who's not so fluffy at the moment. She's molting. Lol

Yes I am interested.

 

[Lumley Farm]

I like all the ways everyone is talking about to feed the chicks. I have started a cricket farm, slow going, and after I boil chicken for my dogs, I let the girls pick off the bones. They love it and you don't have to get cat food. There is extra protein for them during the molt. (bones, carcasses, necks....those little raptors clean it off like pirhanas!)

 

[dirkandlorie]

Please start a thread on the strawbale plantings. I've seen the slick videos, would rather have a report from an opinion I trust

When I pull out the straw bales from the coop in the spring, I always save the 3 best intact bales for planting my sweet potatoes in. They grow fabulous that way and saves land space for other crops.