HYPOTHETICAL DISCUSSION: What to feed your chickens when we can't buy chicken feed anymore

[centrarchid]

That reminds me of years ago. My grandfather always had several hunting dogs. He never bought dogfood. The dogs were fed "dog bread" and what few scraps were available. Dog bread is mainly cornmeal and water and probably some kind of grease. I've made it myself when I have ran out of dogfood and sometimes cook the table scraps in it too. When I was a kid we never bought dogfood either. The dogs ate table scraps and occassionally dog bread.

Chicks were raised on moist cornmeal.

Did you feed chicks only the moist cornmeal or where they also allowed to forage? For me, the corn meal can only represent a portion of what the chicks eat, especially the younger ones. Such is very far from being nutritionally complete.

 

[Triple Willow]

I believe that if/when times get as we are thinking, a good all around guard dog will be a valuable asset. Anybody in a position to raise pups of the same will have a source of income in them. Dogs use to guard the house, the kids, the livestock, etc. Dogs that killed livestock were killed without much of a second thought. People couldn't afford to pay for the neighbor's livestock that their stupid dog killed and they sure didn't want their dog killing their own livestock which was their own food and/or income. People were just smarter back then. lol

 

[Triple Willow]

Did you feed chicks only the moist cornmeal or where they also allowed to forage?  For me, the corn meal can only represent a portion of what the chicks eat, especially the younger ones.  Such is very far from being nutritionally complete.

I'm sure most all of them foraged too because very few people had fences that would actually keep chickens in. That was too expensive. My mom is 85 and she still talks about how she loves to see mama hens out searching and scratching to find her chicks something to eat. Where I live predators got so bad it was a factor in people no longer keeping a home flock. That and then people got stupid in their "dog management".

 

[nguyenkinhphuc2]

Not really expensive if you search your local craigslist for cheap stuff. For my case, my fence is 8 ft - 9 ft tall, and it cover around 3,000 square feet area. I use:

2 of this: http://www.agrisupply.com/14-gauge-welded-wire-36-inx-100-ft2-x-4-mesh/p/11250/&sid=&eid=/

and 1 of this: http://www.agrisupply.com/netting-poultry-wire/p/11264/&sid=&eid=/

to make it 9 ft. I also use T-posts like this: http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/light-duty-fence-post-5-ft

and bamboo to extend these T-posts to 9 ft long.

 

[Triple Willow]

Not really expensive if you search your local craigslist for cheap stuff. For my case, my fence is 8 ft - 9 ft tall, and it cover around 3,000 square feet area. I use:

2 of this: http://www.agrisupply.com/14-gauge-welded-wire-36-inx-100-ft2-x-4-mesh/p/11250/&sid=&eid=/

and 1 of this: http://www.agrisupply.com/netting-poultry-wire/p/11264/&sid=&eid=/

to make it 9 ft. I also use T-posts like this: http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/light-duty-fence-post-5-ft

and bamboo to extend these T-posts to 9 ft long.

Thanks for that info but I was talking about people not being able to afford good fencing years ago... 60's, 70's and prior years. Have you ever thought about the fact that chickens didn't go extinct even before fencing was invented? Interesting to think about how our ancestors must have done things. I will check out the links you gave. Thanks.

 

[Beekissed]

That reminds me of years ago. My grandfather always had several hunting dogs. He never bought dogfood. The dogs were fed "dog bread" and what few scraps were available. Dog bread is mainly cornmeal and water and probably some kind of grease. I've made it myself when I have ran out of dogfood and sometimes cook the table scraps in it too. When I was a kid we never bought dogfood either. The dogs ate table scraps and occassionally dog bread.
(Years ago the people I knew didn't have a bunch of useless dogs without a purpose. There might be a family pet but a lot of times it was a retired hunting dog.)

Chicks were raised on moist cornmeal.

Same here...dog food was never bought when I was young and we didn't keep "pet" dogs either...hunting or herding dogs. And granny free ranged and fed all her chickens on field corn all year round, chicks getting cornmeal.

 

[Ruthster55]

Of course it's better if there are also vegetables and table scraps for the chickens to eat in addition to corn - a good idea might be to research old feed recipes.

My comment about dogs was aimed at those who get a dog and envision it as a guard dog without taking the time and effort to TRAIN the dog. I've seen a number of these "guard" (actually, pet) dogs ruin their owners' or their owners' neighbors efforts at chicken-keeping.

Having a guard dog isn't only a matter of breed - plenty of mutts can do the job just fine, if their owner spends the TIME and EFFORT to TRAIN them correctly. That's the hard part.

 

[centrarchid]

Thanks for that info but I was talking about people not being able to afford good fencing years ago... 60's, 70's and prior years. Have you ever thought about the fact that chickens didn't go extinct even before fencing was invented? Interesting to think about how our ancestors must have done things. I will check out the links you gave. Thanks.

Our games did all their breeding free-range without fencing. Chicks acquired all nutrition from foraging under hens skirt. Dogs were critical to this working. Any given year this was replicated in many locations with our birds. Best locations also had other larger livestock, not always grain fed, and the dogs that kept predators out, The proper dog management is standard operating procedure for some. Keeping birds alive free-range consistently was not practical otherwise.

 

[centrarchid]

Of course it's better if there are also vegetables and table scraps for the chickens to eat in addition to corn - a good idea might be to research old feed recipes.

My comment about dogs was aimed at those who get a dog and envision it as a guard dog without taking the time and effort to TRAIN the dog. I've seen a number of these "guard" (actually, pet) dogs ruin their owners' or their owners' neighbors efforts at chicken-keeping.

Having a guard dog isn't only a matter of breed - plenty of mutts can do the job just fine, if their owner spends the TIME and EFFORT to TRAIN them correctly. That's the hard part.

If you are in a situation where feed can not be acquired and the birds and other livestock are important, then you will invest effort in dogs are not have much in the way of animal protein to eat.

 

[Shalom Farm]

I would probably try to stockpile corn or wheat flour and make simple flat breads. Water and flour, mixed and cooked over a hot stone if times got suddenly really bad. It would sustain them. I would probably use a tether to let them free range if we were displaced or more danger was around. It would depend on the scenario, otherwise they would start getting crafty quick! Hunting is a vital part of my own life, but the hens always get something from it as well. I let them clean heads, tails spines, eat organs, etc. a little at a time. They get a lot from it.

If I had nothing, they would be all free rangers and fend. Depending on the disasters, water would be more of a concern and a life/survival straw I would use for questionable sources. My chickens would quickly become more carnivores than omnivores. If I was 100% cut off from anything, they would fend and I would be hunting and willing (more than willing!) to give them parts of the hunt or dry it for later use. Seasonal grass seed could be gathered and stock piled along with ground tubers, dried insects, maggots, etc. All things they would probably be more than happy to gobble up. My chickens get a lot of fat scraps anyway, but it be more so important.

This question got me thinking