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

[Holas]

My trick is I tap into the LDS community. I am always telling my LDS friends. If you know anyone getting rid of old food storage I'll take it. I literally have hundreds of number 10 tin cans of wheat. Ferment it and boom! chickens love it better then feed. Old canned potatoes from the 60s soak for a day. Dried pees/ green beans / anything else you can possibly imagine. Soak for a day. They love it. As for the 25ish 5gallon buckets of 60+ year old beans........... I haven't figured that out yet.........

 

[BethBale]

My chickens will eat leaves off trees too, if they can reach them. I'd have to check to see which are okay for them to eat, but there are tons of leaves out there! I get old bread from Subway sometimes, as they throw it away. You have to establish a relationship with someone there who might break their rules of not being able to give it away. You can always dumpster dive at groceries especially if you find out what days they tend to dump their expired products. Just be sneaky. Thinking outside the box.

 

[centrarchid]

Can you turn your coop into a chicken tractor - move them about your available space?

I only have 3 chickens, and cannot free range as we do not have vegetation cover against hawks, so our small coop has a metal frame base with wheels attached to one end, a handle on the other end. I move them once a week...

If there was a lack of feed, I would move them every day, and sow more vittles for them on the path of the chicken tractor, afore and aft.

I do just that with a bunch of roosters and a few hens. I have several acres that could be used but the ground varies greatly with location and time of year in terms of nutritional value for the chickens. Birds between short mixed grass-legumes and taller cool season grass seems most productive. During the winter the tall grass near edges seem best based on preferences of the free-range birds.

 

[Debutante]

This is an EXCELLENT topic! The first thing I would do is start a colony of mealworms. They are easy to raise (BUT be aware that certain people may have a potentially-dangerous asthma-like sensitivity to handling them). They provide a pretty good source of protein if fed in large volume, and are sustainable over time. Also, if the shit really hits the fan, they ARE a source of protein for humans too. Before that, I would rely on kitchen scraps... this is NOT the time to concern yourself with whether broccoli and pasta are your flock's "first choice". Next up: delicious chicken recipes!

 

[BethBale]

I like the idea of trapping rodents for the flock. Food thinking. Foraging is good too.

Oh, yeah, my chickens go crazy if a mouse is uncovered under their water bucket!! You should see 'em get the little sucker....poor mouse, but they love them! Yummy, I guess.

 

[DrumstickRanchTex]

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?

I guess I would have to look some things up and do a bit if reading, but there has to be other food sourced in the area. How about acorns and nuts which can be broken up?
I have a neighbor who used to plant rape which is a bit like spinach. Her animals, including chickens, did well on it. They were in a good sized building with a yard. Im certain that there are lots of ideas and most would be more practical for smaller flocks.

 

[Don Merriman]

We are just coming out of winter here and there is very little growing that can be collected for our chickens. In the summer we do feed our chickens weeds (dirt clumps and all), grass clippings and vegetable scraps, etc..
We also feed fermented grain. Fermenting is a great idea. First thing is the chickens will eat less grain (this helps to extend your grain supply). When fermented the grain swells about 3 times is size. The fermented grain is more nutritious than dry grain. Your chickens also get a good dose of probiotics. The probiotics are great for the chickens gut. Less likely to have intestinal parasites. I don't by all my whole grains I ferment from the feed store. I go to a bulk food store which has a great assortment of whole grains and seeds, most at reasonable prices. You can also ferment chicken pellets. Fermented chicken pellets will be kind of mushy, but some chickens seem to like it. My chickens fight over any fermented grain, even fermented chicken scratch. I often add extras to the fermentation batch, such as nori and during molting season and in the winter I'll add legumes such as dried peas and lentils (Warning: Do not feed your chickens dry legumes of any kind that have not been fermented or cooked, this includes raw peanuts). The fermented legumes are a good source of extra protein. I also feed my excess sour dough starter left over when feeding the sour dough.
Cheers,

 

[BassBirdie]

My chickens can't free range because my neighbors dogs get loose all the time and would kill them. I called my feed store today. They are considered a vital business, and as such will not be closed. I am in northern California, where the entire state is on "shelter in place". I have a small vegetable garden, but it's not enough to support my two chickens and our family. I agree with CraftyHen - the social and economic ramifications are just, if not more than, as worrisome than the virus itself.

 

[anno1]

That's so odd. My girls go nuts for leftover black beans. But they're cooked? The beans, not the chickens.

I think it's just dried beans that are a problem. If they are cooked, or fresh, I don't think they are a problem.

 

[Grateful1]

I am not certain this will actually work, but we are saving and drying our plentiful grass clippings. I will also dry kale and Swill chard. I thought I may be able to powder the greens and make a paste I could sort of pelletize with some cracked grains and maybe even soldier fly larva to bump the protein. Not sure the chickens would eat it, but it is all stuff I can grow during the summer to "put up" for the winter.

I loved the idea of a fenced chicken garden where they could eat, but not destroy their garden...and amaranth is a great idea as well!

Thanks for the tips.