Is “Chicken feed” necessary?

[Hopperkiller]

If they are in a run "most" of the time then they will need to be fed. Also during grass season you can put some clippings in to give them something to dig through and play with. I just put some leftover hay in mine because they are being confined due to coyote problem. There are plenty of ideas about feeding here so your goals could be met.

 

[AllenK RGV]

If they are in a run "most" of the time then they will need to be fed. Also during grass season you can put some clippings in to give them something to dig through and play with. I just put some leftover hay in mine because they are being confined due to coyote problem. There are plenty of ideas about feeding here so your goals could be met.

Some of us folks don't ever run out of grass season and I can imagine its the same in most of Florida. Insect season does get slim Dec-Feb, but by March they are back in full swing.
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Anytime I want more grass I just add water year round. Heck I was out mowing today taking care of the grass in Texas is much nicer at 65F vs tomorrows 85 and Saturdays 90's.

 

[Hopperkiller]

Some of us folks don't ever run out of grass season and I can imagine its the same in most of Florida. Insect season does get slim Dec-Feb, but by March they are back in full swing.
---edit--------
Anytime I want more grass I just add water year round. Heck I was out mowing today taking care of the grass in Texas is much nicer at 65F vs tomorrows 85 and Saturdays 90's.

I'm out of power again ice storm came through yesterday reeking havoc. Lineman have been out since noon yesterday.
Grass quit in October will be back next month. Still having cows.

 

[AllenK RGV]

I'm out of power again ice storm came through yesterday reeking havoc. Lineman have been out since noon yesterday.
Grass quit in October will be back next month. Still having cows.

Yep I spent quite a few years up in Wise county in your neck of the woods. Was unincorporated land with a Rhome postal code off 287. Gotta love how folks in pickup trucks with 4x4 think that works on the ice! Saw quite a few pileups on that stretch. And wow even saw like 14 inches of snow around Dec 2010.

Thankfully we learned to buy oil lamps and keep wood on hand for the fireplace being that rural we weren't a priority for power restoration.

 

[JenLiz]

Thank you so much for your insights and ideas! Like I said, I’d love to keep their diet as natural as possible and y’all have given me some great options!

 

[chickengeorgeto]

What I mean is, do I have to feed them commercial feed?... But is there a more natural approach?... are there other options? We are planning on giving the chickens veggies and fruits and herbs and flowers, etc... is that even an option for backyard flocks?.... but haven’t found a lot of information on... Alternatives to commercial feed....

The breakfast of champions for all chickens is good old fashion cow and hose dung with hog dung coming in a close second. Besides these farm animal manures are loaded with pro and macrobiotics as well as being pre-fermented. Further more animal dung is relished by all chickens, even the most picky eaters. Many is the time that I have watched a brooding hen leading her clutch of chicks around in the footsteps of a cow while the hen eagerly and greedily waited for a fresh cow patty to hit the ground so that she could wade drumstick deep into the soft green oozing patty and begin calling her chicks to dinner. A word of caution, the best manures are produced by domestic animals that are fed a grain supplement to augment their diets of forbs and fresh grasses. This is what true FREE RANGE originally was.

 

[Kiki]

Connie, this is what the oyster shell grit is for?

Oyster shell is for calcium.
Grit is to help break up anything they eat besides a "normal" commercial feed.

Two different things.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Something to think about as well.....

Today's chicken is much different then the wild jungle fowl they are descendants of.

They have been bred to be superior layers, frilly top hatted, fuzzy bodied, super small or super large. All those things affect a birds supplemental feed needs.

A wild Jungle chicken does not lay an egg every day, they don't have top hats and can see better for it, etc etc etc.

This means to keep them healthy and productive they will likely need a commercially prepared ration.

Just sayin.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

The breakfast of champions for all chickens is good old fashion cow and hose dung with hog dung coming in a close second. Besides these farm animal manures are loaded with pro and macrobiotics as well as being pre-fermented. Further more animal dung is relished by all chickens, even the most picky eaters. Many is the time that I have watched a brooding hen leading her clutch of chicks around in the footsteps of a cow while the hen eagerly and greedily waited for a fresh cow patty to hit the ground so that she could wade drumstick deep into the soft green oozing patty and begin calling her chicks to dinner. A word of caution, the best manures are produced by domestic animals that are fed a grain supplement to augment their diets of forbs and fresh grasses. This is what true FREE RANGE originally was.

That's what my organic farmer SIL in Tennessee tells me. His broilers have the least incidence of coccidiosis when they follow the cow herd. After he started doing that, the birds didn't get sick.

Sounds gross, but it really is the breakfast of champions for chickens.

LofMc

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Something to think about as well.....

Today's chicken is much different then the wild jungle fowl they are descendants of.

They have been bred to be superior layers, frilly top hatted, fuzzy bodied, super small or super large. All those things affect a birds supplemental feed needs.

A wild Jungle chicken does not lay an egg every day, they don't have top hats and can see better for it, etc etc etc.

This means to keep them healthy and productive they will likely need a commercially prepared ration.

Just sayin.

21hens-incharge brings up a really good point.

Breed differences also factor into nutritional needs. Some breeds do much better than others on foraging. Some breeds simply CAN forage better than others.

And how rich your ground is for forage makes a huge difference too. Flock size vs. ground size and forage availability factor in.

There won't be any one formula that says this many birds with this forage equals this.

Each keeper will have to carefully factor in their specific flock needs.

One head up warning, chicks started on bagged chick start often have trouble transitioning to straight forage. They can get spoiled with the easy to access and digest "canned" food.

I have free access to leavings from a produce store...only my spoiled girls, having been raised on bagged feed, turned their beaks up at it. Others have had similar issues.

I don't have enough free forage for my birds to not give bagged feed, so it became a losing battle for me.

Just something to think about too.

LofMc