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

[centrarchid]

Steena; Fermenting feed is easy. Most people suggest a "two bucket" system. One bucket with a bunch of holes drilled in it sitting in a second bucket. (I suggest getting food grade buckets but I just use two clear plastic rubbermaids.) Then you pour a bunch of water in it, and some feed and let it sit. You can add some unpasteurized Apple Cider Vinegar with the mother in tact to help it ferment faster. Mix it once or twice a day. The colder it is out the slower the ferment. It can take a week or two to get it started but once it's going it doesn't stop unless it freezes or boils or dries out, it just slows way down in the cold.

Missa; Since I give fermented feed, I add all sorts of things to it. I add cubed alfalfa for horses to it since it's about %16 protein and high in calcium... It's a really good chicken feed. Since it gets mixed into a pastey mush with the feed and the grains they eat it right along side the rest.

I find that in general my chickens don't like eating hard things. Which is why they dislike fresh squash, and carrots, hay and their favorite seeds are either cracked or softer... But if I let them have squash guts, old mushy carrots, anything soft and older they go crazy! I put out 4-5 carrots from the bottom of the bags out for my birds once and they weren't touched for a week. Then one day they were all very pock marked and were half-eaten clearly by chickens because they'd softened up. They were gone completely within a few days. They also like the fermented feed mash WAY more than they like regular layer pellets.

Mine consume hard items readily, sometimes even intact acorns that are obviously hard to swallow. We are starting to go overboard with the reprocessed (fermented) feeds. Some tough to digest items, yes, fermenting may enhance availability or even generate some nutrients, especially vitamins. In other instances the fermentation process may destroy some nutrients, especially vitamins. I would effort to supply a mixture of fermented and not to reduce odds of imbalanced diet.

 

[Steena]

When you say, "feed", do you mean corn or just scraps?
I'll get a few buckets and start the process, but I'm not sure what to put in the buckets. Feed to me means the cracked corn I give them daily.
Maybe feed is vegetables, scraps, bread, etc. I'll wait to hear from you.
I like the idea of fermented food. It's great for humans so I'm sure it's good for the bambinos.
Many thanks

Steena

 

[centrarchid]

These days the term feed is reserved for a mixture of feedstuffs and supplements that is by itself formulated to be nutritionally complete. The corn only, scraps only and the like, especially when processed in some way are feedstuffs. If you take a mixture of intact grains and animal products that combined provide a diet which is nutritionally complete, then that would fall into the realm of a feed. The mixtures of grains or even a single grain that is nutritionally incomplete is best referred to as a scratch when fed to omnivorous chickens.

 

[Steena]

Many thanks for the information.
I will begin my two bucket system this weekend.
Then we'll have fermenting foodstuff inside and out. I have a large crock of sauerkraut 'fermenting' in the kitchen. It's great for what ailes you........
Steena

 

[Beekissed]

If it got so bad you can't buy chicken feed, I'm thinking you will most likely be fighting your neighbor off your chicken flock so feed is the least of the worries. You'd do what people have done in the past, tend them like any other flock while they go out and hunt down their grub...much like people tended geese, sheep, cattle back in the day when they didn't have fencing and had to protect the flocks from predators and thieves.

It's a good idea, always, to free range as the largest portion of their diet anyway, develop pasture/yard grasses for the most nutritious mix and use breeds and methods that improve free ranging performance and survival. Don't wait until one day or for what might happen...start saving money on feed now and improving the health of your flock by instituting a good free ranging setup right now. Cull vigorously for meaty carcass and laying performance, hardiness and foraging abilities so that you have a flock that can thrive well and perform well on a mostly foraged diet.

 

[centrarchid]

Protection for me is and would continue to be heavily reliant upon dogs. They would have to be fed as well. To support them using the raw fed method coming from deathloss of flock / herd would exceed what my operation could support. I could not do it off of free-range chickens although some of the egg production could be diverted to dogs. To support dogs off a cattle herd would require at least 20 head and from sheep or goats nearly 10X that many. I do not have anywhere near the acreage required to support such herds, especially without the use of feeds, supplemental grains, and the ability to store hay. Herd size could be reduced significantly if their was a dairy component. My dogs can also double as hunting dogs which can be used to provide them eats and be used to suppress local predator abundance. Some of their nutrition can / is met by consuming small rodents like voles and mice. Problem with that is in my location, if others in area do the same the wildlife would be decimated very quickly. Too many people and dogs are in the area.

Chick production would also become much seasonal without use of feeds. I have always been able to rear chicks year round but during winter and early spring feed is required for chicks if there is anything more than a few adult birds in the same area. Setting would not be allowed to start until April and be stopped by mid summer. Harvesting of young birds would also be more aggressive with few allowed to go beyond about 12 weeks as that is time conversion starts to take a nose dive.


Getting though such clearly would require a very diversified operation.

 

[scriptkiddieJR]

OK. This question has been rolling around in my head for awhile and maybe it has been discussed already but....
here goes.....

Really, if we were to have such disasters in our country that we could no longer get chicken feed from the stores, where would that leave most of us?

(Notwithstanding that we would need food for ourselves, too!)

What could we grow in a summer garden that could help feed our chickens through the winter? What did the pioneers do?? (Don't tell me just eat your chickens and be done with it. We can go a lot further for ourselves on eggs, that perfect food)

Perhaps this thread belongs on the self-sustainable living pages, but I'm sooo focused on chickens right now (oh boy....probably way too much, or so says DH, only without the 'probably')

I paid $18 for a a 50 # bag of grower crumbles yesterday. Yikes. And I suspect prices will only increase.

Any takers on this thread?

hello,
this is a really good question, so i thought i should share my experience,
during mid-summer we ran out of chicken food (actually rats got in it and molded up 3 new bags grrrrrrr)
anyway that was supposed to supply us for at least 3 weeks so we were temporarily out of chicken money
i was able to dig up half a bag of scratch and tossed a handful a day the rest they foraged,
it was actually impressive because we had no shortage in eggs and quality in the eggs stayed the same.
the only difference i noticed in our yard was they were actually keeping the grass short and there was noticeably a lot fewer bugs
our flock free ranges on 1/2 acre
-scriptkiddieJR

 

[Ruthster55]

My opinion is to grow corn and have a grinder available. Have good fencing and good housing available that keeps the young chickens out of damp or wet weather. Make sure there is a selection of forage plants in the chicken yard and build the yard predator-proof.

Dogs are a waste of precious meat resources unless you spend the time to work with the dog so that it is a true livestock guardian. Sorry I've seen too many dog attacks on chickens from "pets" where the owners can't decide between the dogs or chickens.....and the dogs are already getting store-bought food. Imagine if the dog had to subsist on table scraps and nothing else....

Better to invest in good fencing than in a dog, IMHO.

 

[centrarchid]

My opinion is to grow corn and have a grinder available. Have good fencing and good housing available that keeps the young chickens out of damp or wet weather. Make sure there is a selection of forage plants in the chicken yard and build the yard predator-proof.

Dogs are a waste of precious meat resources unless you spend the time to work with the dog so that it is a true livestock guardian. Sorry I've seen too many dog attacks on chickens from "pets" where the owners can't decide between the dogs or chickens.....and the dogs are already getting store-bought food. Imagine if the dog had to subsist on table scraps and nothing else....

Better to invest in good fencing than in a dog, IMHO.

In your situation your birds would starve our otherwise be in a very poor nutritional situation. Ultimately, without feeds will be come down to economics of scale. If you are too small to provide forage and protection while they are out getting it, then best route is to eat birds your self and do it quickly.


Dog food would also be short if other animal feeds are are not available. Remember, most dog feeds are based on animal by-products. Ask yourself what you are going to feed your TRUE LIVESTOCK GUARDIAN DOG. Dogs as I use them could get by eating table scraps, carrion, what they catch, items we hunt cooperatively and carcasses. Can you do that with an LGD? How large of a heard / flock would be required to support your needs and those of a specialized LGD versus a smaller multi-purpose dog that would also be able to guard the barnyard just as well?

 

[Triple Willow]

My opinion is to grow corn and have a grinder available. Have good fencing and good housing available that keeps the young chickens out of damp or wet weather. Make sure there is a selection of forage plants in the chicken yard and build the yard predator-proof.

Dogs are a waste of precious meat resources unless you spend the time to work with the dog so that it is a true livestock guardian. Sorry I've seen too many dog attacks on chickens from "pets" where the owners can't decide between the dogs or chickens.....and the dogs are already getting store-bought food. Imagine if the dog had to subsist on table scraps and nothing else....

Better to invest in good fencing than in a dog, IMHO.

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.