is there any way to cut feed costs 100%. ?

[Ahmed Hussein]

i think water plants growing very fast and it can be unlimited source to feed chickens
azolla , duckweed and much more can help us ..
so is there any one can help me to cut feed costs 100%

 

[QueenMisha]

No. A balanced commercially mixed ration should constitute 90% of a chicken's diet at all times. Things like greens, scraps, treats, etc. should not exceed 10% of the diet. Chickens will cost money to feed in any scenario and if there is no money being spent on actual feed, you're going to have very sickly birds who rarely lay.

 

[Ahmed Hussein]

No. A balanced commercially mixed ration should constitute 90% of a chicken's diet at all times. Things like greens, scraps, treats, etc. should not exceed 10% of the diet. Chickens will cost money to feed in any scenario and if there is no money being spent on actual feed, you're going to have very sickly birds who rarely lay.

Why greens should not exceed 10% ?
Thanks in advance

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi again, Ahmed. In your new members introduction, I remember that you mentioned wanting to try and reduce the costs of chicken so that it would be more affordable to a greater number of people. The first thing that springs to mind would be to farm broiler chickens, and they, for sure, require proprietary chicken feed. Guess another possibility would be to hatch dual purpose chickens (those that can be used for both meat and egg production) and sell chicks at the village level. Either way, for healthy birds, proper chicken feeds are necessary. I'm sure that chickens are very common in the rural areas in Egypt (as everywhere that i have worked, in Africa) but they are light in weight and do not lay well - feed plays a huge part in this.

 

[junebuggena]

Why greens should not exceed 10% ?
Thanks in advance

Because chickens aren't vegetarians. They are omnivorous. And they require a delicate balance of nutrients for optimum growth, development, and production. Too many greens can upset that balance, resulting in nutrient deficiencies. This can lead to a host of deformities and behavioral issues.

 

[Newmamabear]

I am subscribing Ahmed. I too believe in an end goal of raising happy healthy birds in a sustainable way, for the purpose of providing affordable meat for my family. I have not found a way to be 100% free but I do ferment my feed and I believe that helps with not just feed costs, but health costs as well. I've never lost a bird to sickness yet and I believe the amount of food wasted is near 0%. What kinds of feed is available in Egypt? Would you be able to raise some of your own protein like meal worms or beetle larvae or maybe crickets?

 

[lazy gardener]

If you have access to quality table fare, perhaps the food returned to the kitchen from a restaurant. (The feed scraps that would be sent to the dumpster). You might look at Vermont compost. This company has made a huge business from taking all matter of compostable material, including material sent by the truck load from local restaurants. They create mountains of compost, using power equipment. They have flocks of chickens that work the compost, and turn a tidy profit from the sale of eggs and compost. Generally speaking, for the average back yard gardener, IMO, it's not possible to have a healthy flock that gives you plenty of eggs and meat without inputting some feed. There are feral flocks throughout the world in temperate regions, but I question how much food is gathered from them.

 

[Lynnski]

Hi Ahmed - I, too, am always interested in a more self-sustained way of life. Although our land is not big enough to create a self sustaining agricultural ecosystem, we love to learn different ways to rely on ourselves and help others. Your desire to help others is admirable and i wish you luck on your journey! You have already gotten some great advice here, everyone is so helpful, take what fits and leave the rest!

That said, i LOVE this guy Justin Rhodes. He has a permaculture vlog i love to listen to:
https://soundcloud.com/permaculturevoices/sets/ask-voices-with-justin-rhodes

He has a youtube channel as well and in it, a video describing how he feeds his chickens almost for free. There is a cost (because like the others have described its important to keep their diet balanced) but he has worked it out that he spends the least amount by getting bulk wheat, corn, peas, oats and fish meal. What little he spends, he more than covers when selling the eggs:

There may be things where you live that you might be able to substitute from his menu.... for instance, a friend of mine makes beer and his spent grain is a wonderful source of protein and is free!

For me, having only 4 chickens, the organic, ready-mixed blend is perfect.

 

[Stephanie8806]

This is quite a long response(sorry), but this topic brought a lot of things to my mind:

If your birds are free ranging, they eat a lot of greens, but I think people would be surprised at just how many insects chickens are able to find. I wouldn’t be too concerned about protein...

We had an idea to reduce feed costs and we are going to see how it goes this season. It wouldn’t work with a small flock, but I think it could be feasible with a mid-large size flock like ours(18-24 chickens). Here’s our plan:

We love eggs and that is the primary motivation for us to raise chickens(meat being secondary). We butcher cyclically, so that no layer goes past two-three seasons, at which point production would slow down. This means, that at peak production, with 20ish layers, we could be getting 18-20 eggs a day. This is obviously a surplus, but not enough to garner actual income. We have several friends and neighbors interested in buying occasional eggs from us and this was my idea:

Instead of just charging money per dozen, I proposed a cooperative feed system. Our chickens are only fed organic feed, organic produce, and free range on land that is completely wild(never been chemically treated). These “Free Range, organic, pasture raised blah blah blah” quality eggs would easily fetch $7-$8 at a grocery store. So what we will be doing is a trade sort of system: “customer” buys us a bag of our specific feed(about $30/40lb bag) and they get a “punchcard” for 5 dozen eggs. I think this will reduce our feed costs by close to 75%... while still giving us enough of a buffer for eggs for ourselves.

With free ranging and garden trimming snacks, our flock of 22 in the spring/summer/fall takes 10-14 days to go through a 40 lb bag. That’s 3-4 bags a month, if I’m being conservative. With us being able to rely on about 10 dozen eggs per week(also conservatively) during peak season, that is more than enough supply to support the demand of a few “customers”.

With this plan, profits come directly in the form of chicken supplies. You could, of course, alter the purchase requirements to fit your needs... say, if you needed grubs, oyster shell, or other supplements.

You must also consider that you need to be prepared to pay for feed out of your pocket if necessary... and be happy with the savings you make in times of surplus.

Anyhoot, that’s our plan. I also like to factor in that we usually go through about 2 dozen eggs a week in our house. At $7/dzn at the store, we are already almost breaking even... our egg costs would calculate out to nearly $60 per month... and is we sustained a flock only large enough to meet our needs, that’s well within our monthly feed expenditure. So although it may seem “expensive” to buy feed each month, if you’re only supplying a flock that meets your personal needs, it’s very easy to actually break even, even if it doesn’t feel like it. You’re just not spending money one place, and spending it elsewhere.

Also consider the benefits of any other pet ownership... companionship, education, and personal fulfillment. You wouldn’t buy a dog and then think, “Hey, I don’t think it’s worth paying for food for this animal”. Also also, if you don’t enjoy keeping chickens, why invest time, energy, and some money into them at all? Not judging or chastising, just offering some thought processes that might be worth entertaining if anyone reading this thread is just in the stage of considering raising chickens In short, you’re going to be spending some money... either on the chickens themselves, a coop, a run, equipment like feeders and waterers, bedding, and YES, feed... not to mention the sheer value of your TIME. Ask yourself, is the “cost” worth it?

 

[Kiki]

This is quite a long response(sorry), but this topic brought a lot of things to my mind:

If your birds are free ranging, they eat a lot of greens, but I think people would be surprised at just how many insects chickens are able to find. I wouldn’t be too concerned about protein...

We had an idea to reduce feed costs and we are going to see how it goes this season. It wouldn’t work with a small flock, but I think it could be feasible with a mid-large size flock like ours(18-24 chickens). Here’s our plan:

We love eggs and that is the primary motivation for us to raise chickens(meat being secondary). We butcher cyclically, so that no layer goes past two-three seasons, at which point production would slow down. This means, that at peak production, with 20ish layers, we could be getting 18-20 eggs a day. This is obviously a surplus, but not enough to garner actual income. We have several friends and neighbors interested in buying occasional eggs from us and this was my idea:

Instead of just charging money per dozen, I proposed a cooperative feed system. Our chickens are only fed organic feed, organic produce, and free range on land that is completely wild(never been chemically treated). These “Free Range, organic, pasture raised blah blah blah” quality eggs would easily fetch $7-$8 at a grocery store. So what we will be doing is a trade sort of system: “customer” buys us a bag of our specific feed(about $30/40lb bag) and they get a “punchcard” for 5 dozen eggs. I think this will reduce our feed costs by close to 75%... while still giving us enough of a buffer for eggs for ourselves.

With free ranging and garden trimming snacks, our flock of 22 in the spring/summer/fall takes 10-14 days to go through a 40 lb bag. That’s 3-4 bags a month, if I’m being conservative. With us being able to rely on about 10 dozen eggs per week(also conservatively) during peak season, that is more than enough supply to support the demand of a few “customers”.

With this plan, profits come directly in the form of chicken supplies. You could, of course, alter the purchase requirements to fit your needs... say, if you needed grubs, oyster shell, or other supplements.

You must also consider that you need to be prepared to pay for feed out of your pocket if necessary... and be happy with the savings you make in times of surplus.

Anyhoot, that’s our plan. I also like to factor in that we usually go through about 2 dozen eggs a week in our house. At $7/dzn at the store, we are already almost breaking even... our egg costs would calculate out to nearly $60 per month... and is we sustained a flock only large enough to meet our needs, that’s well within our monthly feed expenditure. So although it may seem “expensive” to buy feed each month, if you’re only supplying a flock that meets your personal needs, it’s very easy to actually break even, even if it doesn’t feel like it. You’re just not spending money one place, and spending it elsewhere.

Also consider the benefits of any other pet ownership... companionship, education, and personal fulfillment. You wouldn’t buy a dog and then think, “Hey, I don’t think it’s worth paying for food for this animal”. Also also, if you don’t enjoy keeping chickens, why invest time, energy, and some money into them at all? Not judging or chastising, just offering some thought processes that might be worth entertaining if anyone reading this thread is just in the stage of considering raising chickens In short, you’re going to be spending some money... either on the chickens themselves, a coop, a run, equipment like feeders and waterers, bedding, and YES, feed... not to mention the sheer value of your TIME. Ask yourself, is the “cost” worth it?

OP hasn't been online in four years so he may not respond.