How to get a free range diet in a coop/run

[FlyWheel]

Yet earthworms doing the same are fine.

Forget chickens...People are weird!

 

[mixedbreeds]

I also wanted to say I have all the layer pellets out they want to eat.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Don't forget all the treats from the little rug rats in your wife's care - my small children are a big part of the reason I got chickens.

After every meal, their plates are a virtual buffet of chicken treats - sandwich crusts, half eaten chicken nuggets, half a banana, a few grapes/raisins, etc.

 

[OhZark Biddies]

Haha, I too have hypthetical chicks at this point as well. Final touches on the brooder pen now. I had that exact same question si following closely

The thing about hypothetical chickens is they eat very little, but it can be what ever you want.... they like hypothetical lobster a lot.

As for actual chickens, black solider flies are something that some folks raise for their chickens, there are some other benefits to them as well. I've toyed with the idea in the past, but haven't actually tried it. Here's an article I found on the subject with a quick search:
https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/05/23/black-soldier-flies/

 

[Azmomm]

Read up more on the black soldier fly and while I agree it seems like both a great source of food and pest management tool, I am totally grossed out about raising maggots and seeing them crawl out in mass from a grower.

 

[Percheron chick]

I would place a raised bed frame in the run. Create a compost pile with yard, kitchen and chicken waste. A feed bag full of horse poop is a good starter. The frame will keep things tidy and easier to harvest the finished soil. Another solution is to buy a small bale of hay (50#) and place it whole in the run. You can sprinkle grain or bugs over the top and they will scratch and peck digging the treats out. If you have the space to store a bale, you can also just give them a flake every few days to pick through.

 

[happy duck]

This might not help you, but I have a little hanging basket in my run that I put grass and weeds in if I can't let my ducks out. I have ducks but I am sure it will apply to chickens too!

 

[springvalley123]

Simply having your compost bin in the run would also help, it seems to be a favorite gathering area for my birds.

 

[Tbjenkins2007]

We get free produce from our community. And we have a compost pile that they mix and turn which has bugs n stuff in it. Good stuff

 

[Azmomm]

I don't have real chickens yet, just "hypothetical chickens." I'm very close to finally starting to build a coop and run. I live on a small property in the city. I have done the research on chickens and local rules.

That being said, I want to give them a free range diet, but I have to keep them in a chicken run. My wife does in-home daycare, and letting them run around is out of the question, I can't let the yard get full of chicken poo. I have a section of the yard fenced off, and behind it will be the chicken domain.

So, what'w the best way of letting them scrounge around for natural dinner in a small area? I understand that a diet of grains isn't the best for nutritious eggs, and they're supposed to go find beetles, worms, the like.

I was thinking about buying maybe nightcrawlers and tossing those in the run occasionally. I've also heard about growing maggots in a bit of soil suspended above the run (the maggots fall over the edge to the waiting chickens). Duckweed is something else I want to do.

Are there any other ideas to get some protein to them that I don't know about? I figure I'll have to have some grain, or standard chicken feed, that's fine, I'm just wondering if there are any good other ideas for attracting some extra protein.

Haha, I too have hypthetical chicks at this point as well. Final touches on the brooder pen now. I had that exact same question si following closely