Natural feed?

[3KillerBs]

He mixes feed and it's not cheap.

IIRC -- it's been a good while since I read his book -- Salatin rotates his chickens behind ruminants, which gives the benefit of undigested feed and the bugs from the ruminant manure as well as the pasture vegetation and the chicken feed.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

IIRC -- it's been a good while since I read his book -- Salatin rotates his chickens behind ruminants, which gives the benefit of undigested feed and the bugs from the ruminant manure as well as the pasture vegetation and the chicken feed.

yes, and follows with pigs, after the chickens, I believe.


Anyhow, I pulled my receipt from 04/04.

I paid $12.10 / 50# for 16% Protein Layer Feed from Harrell Milling Company.
I paid $14.15 / 50# for the 24% Protein "Game Bird Grower" from the same.

As those who follow my threads know, I feed my hatchlings just the GBG until around 8 weeks, when they join the main flock to help give them a great start on life and to assist early weight gain to sort the best from the rest - and because almost all hatched males will soon be on my table.

Beyond then, they are part of the main flock, which gets the two feeds mixed 1:1 for a 20% final protein mix with higher calcium than I'd like - currently at a price of $0.263 per pound.

Why was I so wrong about my prices when I commented last night? My total feed bill had grown by 50# of rabbit feed at $13.95 and a bag of goat mineral $12.85 which I averaged across the rest of my purchases. Apologies for that, I plead "old and tired". The brain isn't what it used to be.

 

[Vicker]

A heritage breed will not have to eat a heavy "egg-layer" diet like modern crosses. With the exception of winter months, they hardly put a dent in their commercial pellets because they prefer the insects, weeds, grass, garden trimmings, scraps, etc. I move the coop and run around so they have access to fresh vegetation. They still lay plenty of eggs. I also give them ground eggshells.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

A heritage breed will not have to eat a heavy "egg-layer" diet like modern crosses. With the exception of winter months, they hardly put a dent in their commercial pellets because they prefer the insects, weeds, grass, garden trimmings, scraps, etc. I move the coop and run around so they have access to fresh vegetation. They still lay plenty of eggs. I also give them ground eggshells.

Numbers please.

Flock Size. Acreage. Eggs/week. Average Weights at a given age. Amounts fed/week. Brand and style. Pasture/Forage contents.

 

[3KillerBs]

They still lay plenty of eggs.

Define "plenty".

As noted earlier, the worst layer in my flock, a Light Brahma, did better than a Leghorn was expected to do in the 1920's.

 

[allenw]

Joel Salatin has a method he has developed over time that works for him where he is at. You can take information from him and other people like him to put your own system together. I wouldn't try to do everything at once but start with smaller steps, if your going to pasture your birds more add some clover to your grass. Try new plants in garden plots to see how they do and what grows best in your area.

When we listen to 15 minute clips of information we don't always get the full picture of what is going on and sometimes we selectively hear what we want. That's why I try to work through the information people have out and make up my mind about them and what they are doing and their actual knowledge.

 

[Judy Todd]

Stop there. That has all the authority of "I saw a facebook meme" or "I read in the checkout aisle", "the infomercial after midnight claimed", and only slightly less than this anonymous guy on a bulletin board "U_Stormcrow" said...

At least in my case, you can follow threads I've created over the past two years to see the weights of my birds, what they looked like at butchering, and check out the links I've left as basis for my opinions. Old books like that cited above, numerous studies, various agencies and institues of higher learning, other governments, compare my claimed experiences with the expectations of recognized experts. I've made plenty of mistakes along the way, expect I will make many more in the years to come.

By all means, VERIFY. One of the best ways of learning for ourselves, in my experience.

Thank you for providing some common sense. I guess there must be a reason for someone wanting to have chickens that cost nothing to feed, but have not found it yet. My girls forage each day and get plenty of bug/weed diet, but also free choice layer pellets. I sell the eggs to neighbors for $3 a doz and cover my cost of feed completely. I , at this time have 16 hens and 3 babies under a broody. Seems to work out for me and I am always aware of the cost of raising chickens. But, I get healthy hens who provide eggs for me and older hens who provide lots of stewed chicken who go into soup and pot pies aplenty. Common sense goes a long way.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Thank you for providing some common sense. I guess there must be a reason for someone wanting to have chickens that cost nothing to feed, but have not found it yet. My girls forage each day and get plenty of bug/weed diet, but also free choice layer pellets. I sell the eggs to neighbors for $3 a doz and cover my cost of feed completely. I , at this time have 16 hens and 3 babies under a broody. Seems to work out for me and I am always aware of the cost of raising chickens. But, I get healthy hens who provide eggs for me and older hens who provide lots of stewed chicken who go into soup and pot pies aplenty. Common sense goes a long way.

Just doing what I can to help new posters set reasonable expectations for themselves and their flocks - so everyone is happier - or at least, less disatisfied. ...and try to steer around the most obvious health issues for birds in our care.

 

[Judy Todd]

Just doing what I can to help new posters set reasonable expectations for themselves and their flocks - so everyone is happier - or at least, less disatisfied. ...and try to steer around the most obvious health issues for birds in our care.

Wish I knew about you when I lived in Florida, only a short 2 plus years there . You are a fountain of knowledge and common sense together with practicality. Would have been a plus to get to know you personally.

 

[bethnlee]

How would you supply them with the calcium that they need? My reading says feeding them their own egg shells back isn’t sufficient…they need oyster shell offered separately…