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

[RumneyRoost]

I picked up more feed last week, they said they’re considered essential so will stay open. Unless the supply chain breaks and they can’t get feed.
They have switched to having people call ahead, pay over the phone, and they leave the feed out for you.

To answer the question though.
I have seeds to grow sprouts inside. And I have 6 hens and they’re all laying, and there’s only two of us and the dog. Many of the eggs would get fed back to the girls.
Other than that they would get food scraps from us, plus their oyster shells.

 

[Ggg]

My flock has access to a compost pile year round and I feed them from my garden but it's not enough to maintain them. They can snack on greens through chicken wire and they have a grass frame to graze. I prepare the best I can and keep a couple months of feed on hand. If getting feed became a problem for more than a month I'd be forced to downsize. My chickens would still provide meals as meat for the table. After that, it would depend on the situation.

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

 

[rhondita55]

I can't free range because I'm in the city and it's not allowed. But I give them my weeds, there are certain weeds I let grow. I have a WEED Garden. Then they get all safe kitchen scraps, melon rind, stuff like that. If all else fails, I'll give them bird seed. I do take a fishing stringer and drill a hole in cabbage, then thread it through. Hang it up in the middle of the run and they Love to eat/play

 

[Northern.Ontario]

I thought feed stores were an essential service and couldn't close, just like grocery stores. But that's Canada, not USA

 

[preciouspanda]

I have been clipping our tall grass that really needs mowed just enough that the birds eat and don’t get wasted as well as limiting their amount of feed the get and try to waste. So i think I will keep procrastinate more on mowing

 

[ConDioFarms]

Potato peelings, fresh veggie scraps, clippings, raise worms in an old refrigerator, and all those things people have mentioned....

 

[Ranasimunovich]

I plant Rape seed. Its a great geen and it comes up fast. My girls are in a 20x30 dog kennel for their protection and their outside play area is where i plant seed. In the winter, they get rye grass and i also have cinder blocks lining their kennel filled with dirt , fresh herbs and marigolds for them to stick their heads through and eat. I found that parsley and cilantro are the girls favorite.

 

[speedy2020]

I bought 3 bags about 10 days ago. It will last for awhile. If not, reduce the block and free range. I do feed them scrap that we don't eat (apple peal, left over food, etc..). My block have been trained on scraps that we don't eat so no issues.

 

[Ol mcmissy]

I personally don't think animal feed stores will be running out of stock like supermarkets are. I mean there are more people than farm animals in most medium sized towns, and animals aren't affected by the virus (I have heard varying opinions on that) so I won't worry unless the situation gets way worse

Our Big R store in rural central Illinois did not get their feed on the trucks today. They are limited on livestock feed right now.

 

[aliciaFarmer]

You're actually lucky if you haven't noticed a feed shortage or I'm very unlucky. We have three feed stores within a 45-minute radius and one of them hopes to have feed next Thursday, another one isn't sure when they will get it and the other has a three-week waiting list due to people pre-ordering metric craptons. My chicken mostly free-range but I have a 48 of them on our little farm so it's not the easiest thing to come up with something quick to feed them.

I've been making them oatmeal and scrambled eggs, adding in flaxseed and foraging around the garden for various things such as greens (the garden is the only place they aren't allowed except between seasons). Summer is a lot easier because I've noticed they're quite in love with grass seed and other similar things that are in abundance on our little farm but for now we're getting creative. I decided that I'm going to get a five gallon bucket and just start gathering stuff, drying it and putting it in. We have sprouting seeds and that helps. I put in some of my goats oats, some sunflower seeds left over from last year's garden, dandelion petals, flax seed, and am just picking random things and putting them in there that I know they like. But being spring, it's sparse. We have a couple of bags of feed left but I'm still supplementing with other stuff. One of their favorites has been the powdery little left over bits of goat alfalfa in a bit of goat milk, though I know many don't have access to that.

Fearing that this may continue, I'm looking into building black soldier fly and red wiggled feeders for a more sustainable long-term solution. Soon they will have lots and lots of garden goodies too. Oh, and the have their very own compost chalk full of worms and bugs already.