If feed stores closed and you can’t free range...

[sarahconnor]

I do not want to start a panic, rather a conversation. No I haven’t heard rumors of feed shortages. Yes we all are aware of the virus situation in the United States and everywhere in the world.
Just for the sake of conversation If someone needs to decide to stop buying feed and could not free range what would be your go to way of feeding your flock?
Yes we all know free range is the ideal. This discussion is about a situation where that is not an option, neither is purchasing grains. Let’s just include the thought that this is not a farm with fields to grow tons of grain but perhaps a “backyard garden” could include a bit dedicated to chickens. Let’s discuss this in terms of various seasonal and environmental conditions. Let’s also include that you are not open to the idea that you should stop raising chickens because you can’t afford them. This isn’t about affordability. It’s just a discussion.
What would you feed your flock? What would you grow for them? What would you do in winter?
If this discussion becomes problematic I request moderators to remove it. Let’s just enjoy exchanging ideas.
I’ve had some thoughts. I have a small framed chicken garden in their run so they can eat greens through a wire barrier without destroying roots. Perhaps I could expand that idea with frames of various heights to allow more mature growth an possible fruiting. Maybe grow a protected amaranth plant to allow the grain to fall for the chickens to eat.
I have other thoughts to share but let’s start there.
Your turn.

We live on 5 acres. We could free range in the woods with someone standing guard. It is critical not to lose a producing bird at this time to predation. I feed mine expired canned goods. They love it. Getting plenty of good fresh eggs. Good luck everyone.

 

[sarahconnor]

Being the other way up on the planet we folks in New Zealand are heading into winter whilst starting our coronavirus experience. We have fewer than 100 cases in our 4 million population.

We know from seeing what other countries have lived thriugh that it will probably get a lot worse very fast.

My chemo every 3 weeks since August 2014 has kept me alive. Aaargh

Please stay indoors. You nation should shut down for 3 weeks to keep it from spreading. I hope you don’t get his as hard as we are getting hit now here in the states.

 

[sarahconnor]

Also urban foraging... what can you get from other local establishments that are still up and operating? Can you get food scraps from restaurants or school cafeterias, expired grocery products, spent grains from the brewery/distillery, etc.?

Damn good idea. Trash picking. Thanks.

 

[sarahconnor]

Well, for starters I would not be keeping chickens under those circumstances. It's hardly ideal for the birds on a good day.

For my situation, I live in the suburbs and while I have about 1/8th of an acre for them to range in it's not enough to feed them and a big chunk is taken up by gardens.

Every food scrap daily would go to the chickens before it goes into the compost to utilize every calorie. Normally I try to keep food scraps to a certain amount but that would no longer be the case. I have a big supply of oyster shell so I would be relying on that for calcium. I probably have a years worth cause a little goes a long way and I can feed back egg shells.

Then it's mostly a matter of meeting calories and while I could forage some weeds those leafy greens alone won't cut it.

So the first thing I'd do is make a new garden bed asap and fill it with high producing, high nutrition, hardy and vertical plants just for the birds. I'm thinking green beans and peas, corn, and spinach, maybe kale. You can plant those together in the same bed to get a lot of calories in a small space. I'd get that rolling now while I still had feed. I'd be using my heirloom plant seeds I have saved from previous years to do this and they could renew themselves by saving seeds. By utilizing the space vertically and cultivating the land I can get more out of it than I could by letting the chickens forage.

I have a healthy earthworm population in my compost and would then take advantage of that to make a worm farm too. A few sheets of scrap plywood, screws and a drill and anything the chickens didn't eat could go in there for the earthworms. Then the earthworms feed the birds. For me that earthworm farming would look like used rabbit bedding to feed them mostly. The worms here love that stuff and the chickens can't eat it.

I would also probably start taking daily walks to empty properties in my neighborhood and picking weeds. I would focus on high calorie weeds - wild berries, dandelions, clover and grass seed heads.

I'm not certain how long the flock could carry on like that but especially if I was feeding the eggs back to them I think I could get through until winter with ease. It doesn't hurt that I have 2+ months of animal feed at any time anyhow.

Once winter hits I have no idea. I would probably start trapping or hunting and doing fodder indoors. If I plan right I could have storage carrots to feed out. By the time we have no active animal food facilities in the winter I presume the local municipality will be struggling to enforce our local laws about firearms and bows so hunting and trapping will be viable. Real talk I'd probably be feeding me and my dogs that way too.

You have incredible knowledge! Thanks!!

 

[sarahconnor]

I was at our local TSC today when one of their employees said that they heard the local Walmart was planning to close. Then the TSC manager was speaking with the employees about the potential for them to close as well.
I bought my usual 100lbs of feed wondering if i should have gotten more just in case.
The grocery store shelves here are bare. There are no cleaning products, cold remedies, paper products, milk, bread, EZ meals, and the beer aisle is a travesty. BUT the fresh produce is still well stocked.
Our grade schools and many colleges in VA have closed.
We aren't panicking yet. We are well supplied with venison and chicken and last year's garden harvest should last until june or july.
Everyone just needs to relax and use your head and practice good hygiene. All these closures and cancellations are just to help slow down the spread of the virus and reduce potential exposure.
As for your alternative feed question, give them cat or dog food and table scraps. A couple weeks of it won't harm them. The guy who gave us our original flock fed them nothing but Ol Roy and he has raised chickens for 30yrs. Do not use your potential meals to feed them. If the hysteria continues, you may need it.

Great reply. Thanks for the info.

 

[tn_artist]

Now we’re thinking! Good ideas! Hmmmm. Could chickens be allowed to pick through compost at will? Maybe that’s where the compost pile needs to live?

Yes, because they also turn it for you! (Sorry, late to the party)

 

[sarahconnor]

It also makes them edible. Dried beans are hard as a rock. My mother taught me to soak them over night if I plan to cook them the next day.

How about canned beans? My birds aren’t crazy over them anyhow.

Yep I did today. Now have 3 bags of feed and 2 of scratch. The store was well stocked, and the cashier said there had been no panic buying. The food stores were a different story.

Because people like us are self sufficient and we don’t panic.

Anyone taking more seriously an interruption or change in feed availability? In some areas at least there will be store closures and those serving animal keepers may not get a pass for staying open, at least as until enough people complain to make an exception. Countries in world that have been nay sayers have been getting hammered before they start shutting business doors. My state has been doing a lot of nay saying so far.

What state are you in?

Now is the time to practice feed security and sanitation. Track your feed use, anything over a quarter pound of feed per hen per day (ignore the roosters) means you are feeding something else besides your chickens. I know, you think you can't afford to invest in a treadle feeder but in fact you pay that much and more several times a year.

Most areas of the country have some sort of trash fish like carp or gar. If things got too bad those fish could be a huge supplement for a backyard flock or even pets if you pressure cooked the bony fish. Earth worms are easy to raise and much cleaner than a compost bin especially to keep the rodents at bay. And for hundreds of years people raised hogs on acorns, a bit of grinding and leeching would make an edible feed.

great response. Thanks.

 

[Shadrach]

This is how it seems to work in many other parts of the world.
If you can feed yourself, then you can feed your chickens. When the balance for this tips, you eat your chickens. It is a bit simplistic but one of the attractions of chickens as livestock is they are omnivorous, they will eat whatever you do.
This I understand was part of the reasoning behind keeping chickens as domestication developed. One could provide enough food (there were no feed stores or commercial feeds) to keep the chickens in the locality. They would roam free and forage. They were left to breed and the males were eaten.

 

[igorsMistress]

Provide meals? I hope you don’t have a cat or dog too.

I have 3 dogs and 5 humans to feed. The chickens will be dinner. Meals from eggs, meals from the meat.

 

[Pete Yo]

My only problem would be some of my neighbors stealing my chickens! On the serious side Wal Marts and food stores will NEVER close, so get stuff there. They will not stop our food supply because they know it will bring chaos. I just bought a two month supply of food for all of my animals, so hopefully we are good. My neighbor and I were talking about this the other day and we agreed that at least everyone's yards will look nicer as we were both landscaping!