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

[centrarchid]

Funny my birds wouldn't eat the Japanese beetles. They do love slugs, grasshoppers, fishing worms, and earwigs. I hate earwigs. They looks so fierce and they do bite with their pinchers. But I love my birds for eating them.

I had well over a hundred chickens eat the live beetles as they flew in. It took a few minutes for some individuals to start but once they did, they consumed a lot. Neighbors with free-range birds reported similar. Difference was observed with some beetles harvested dead from traps. Some chickens did not get all that excited over those.

Videos of I linked show birds eating the beetles very well to point of crop fill. Taste may me impacted by type of plants the beetles consumed prior to capture. Some beetles here do eat a lot of plants with cyanide or a form of milkweed.

 

[WindingRoad]

I had well over a hundred chickens eat the live beetles as they flew in. It took a few minutes for some individuals to start but once they did, they consumed a lot. Neighbors with free-range birds reported similar. Difference was observed with some beetles harvested dead from traps. Some chickens did not get all that excited over those.

Videos of I linked show birds eating the beetles very well to point of crop fill. Taste may me impacted by type of plants the beetles consumed prior to capture. Some beetles here do eat a lot of plants with cyanide or a form of milkweed.

These beetles were still alive from the trap. There is not insecticide in the trap itself. Just the pheromone bait at the top. I have some of the finickiest birds on the planet I think. They won't eat watermelon, cucumbers, not even the seeds. I bought some of that heavy seeded bread. I had some left over. I don't eat the heal of a loaf of bread. And I brushed them off into a pan and they wouldn't eat them either. I've tried hanging a cabbage in the run . Cabbages begins to smell bad after a few days in the sun. They wouldn't eat. My birds won't eat crumble either pellets or go hungry.

 

[AussieJen]

I have a deep litter run and my girls don't free range. So far it seems to be working ok (they've been in since November and have just started laying - it's summer here). I try to add as much variety as I can for them to indulge their scratch/hunt instincts. I have a few pavers on the ground that I move around - the bugs love to hide under the pavers and the chooks love discovering them when I lift and move the pavers! I also have pots of fodder greens surrounding the run which grow through the mesh and are "pruned" by my girls (and they love it when I poke leaves through while I hold the stalk). I also throw in weeds I've pulled, fallen fruit, extra greens, and sometimes harvest worms and/or larvae that are naturally attracted to my compost bins. Plus they have a constant supply of pellets and get a new tub of mulched garden waste every 2-3 days to scratch around in. This seems to be working well for me and my girls.

 

[centrarchid]

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.

How much space is available? I have done duckweed but suggest chickens not be allowed to harvest it themselves. Keep rugrats out of duckweed tanks.

 

[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.

 

[JCRbrahmas]

Composting yard (sugar maple leaves) and kitchen waste in the run is what I do. I use bales of hay in the coop and throw it all into the pen. It is a large area for 3 birds (18 by 24). They are happy but I also let them out whenever I can.

 

[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.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I have a deep litter run and my girls don't free range. So far it seems to be working ok (they've been in since November and have just started laying - it's summer here). I try to add as much variety as I can for them to indulge their scratch/hunt instincts. I have a few pavers on the ground that I move around - the bugs love to hide under the pavers and the chooks love discovering them when I lift and move the pavers! I also have pots of fodder greens surrounding the run which grow through the mesh and are "pruned" by my girls (and they love it when I poke leaves through while I hold the stalk). I also throw in weeds I've pulled, fallen fruit, extra greens, and sometimes harvest worms and/or larvae that are naturally attracted to my compost bins. Plus they have a constant supply of pellets and get a new tub of mulched garden waste every 2-3 days to scratch around in. This seems to be working well for me and my girls.

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.

Composting yard (sugar maple leaves) and kitchen waste in the run is what I do. I use bales of hay in the coop and throw it all into the pen. It is a large area for 3 birds (18 by 24). They are happy but I also let them out whenever I can. View attachment 1688218 View attachment 1688218

Totally forgot the deep litter/composting yard.....I think I'm just so accustomed to having it I dont even think about it being there....definitely provides lots of digging, scratching, bugs, treats, etc

 

[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