New Feed Idea- Will cut your feed bill down

[Gomes Bantams]

ok so while up in Modesto, I was talking to the security guard about my chickens....

Me:---and my feed bill is always way too high.
Him: well, when I was a kid, I had chickens and I discovered a new way of cutting costs.
M: oh really! What is it???
H: Alfalfa. A bale of alfalfa will last them for up to a month and lower you feed intake. You'll need one bale for every 30 chickens.

I thanked him and left.

Not ten minutes later my G-Pa and I rode to the feed store, picked up 13 or 14 bales of alfalfa and you know what? It worked! They have been consuming less feed and I don't have to refill the feeders so often. Plus the alfalfa is high in protein, healthy fats and minerals, making the eggs stronger.

Just. Thought I'd share and seen if this helps!

 

[Marty1876]

Have your eggs become more intensely flavored?

 

[Gomes Bantams]

Oh definitely. The yolks are orange to dark orange.

 

[coffeekittie]

Geese and ducks like it too. I can't free-range my flock any longer due to predation, so alfalfa and local grass hay help give them back the forage they want so much.

Great reminder, thanks!

 

[honeybunny]

We have horses and we get alfalfa for them, occasionally I've given them some as a treat, but I didn't think it'd actually put that much of a good influence on their eggs, I'll definitely give them some more often!

 

[WillsC]

The problem here is a bale of alfalfa is the same cost as a 50# bag of ADM layer feed.

 

[onafixedincome]

Easy fix--feed the alfalfa to the rabbits; the leaf shatter under the cages will make both worms and chickens happy....? Or you can feed the alfalfa stems the chickens don't eat to the rabbits.....

 

[coffeekittie]

The problem here is a bale of alfalfa is the same cost as a 50# bag of ADM layer feed.

Ugh, that's not fun. The hay does help fulfill a drive in them that pellets don't, though, to forage. Plus, they do eat much less pellet when they have access to hay....? Just an idea.

 

[mickey328]

We're fortunate to live in Colorado which produces tons of alfalfa every year. Small bales here can be got pretty much anywhere for under $10. I'm going to plant some myself in the spring...it's an amazingly nutritious food for both animals and people too. The bonuses are: it's a perennial, so as long as you cut it when the first flower shows, it'll come back for more cutting...over and over again. It's also a nitrogen fixer so it does really good things for your soil. We only have our yard, so I can't put in much but I can put in a few patches and just mow it down for greens for them and dry any extra for use over the winter. Also gonna sow a little throughout the yard so as we move our coop/run around, the girls can "wild forage" it.

We supplement with all sorts of stuff...they love dandelions and other weeds, so those go in the pen. I planted oats, clover and comfrey this spring for herbal medicines/food and turns out they love all that too (and the clover is a cut and come again deal). I make live culture yogurt and give it to them 2 or 3 times a week for extra protein. Pinto beans are cheap and we even have a source for free, so I cook them up (all beans MUST be cooked for chickens) and they love 'em...also an excellent source of protein. Any cheese we have that gets a tad old goes to them, and they make that disappear in a heartbeat...likewise for most other veggies. Our neighbors brew their own beer and give us the spent grain. We dry it out and give it to the girls and they're crazy for that.

We're putting in a cold frame so we can grow some hardy greens for them over most of the winter, kale, spinach and chard. Next spring I'm going to put in more of the oats for them and going to try some winter wheat and winter rye in a couple months. I got enough rye, wheat and alfalfa seeds to last us for 2 or 3 years and it cost a whopping $2.80!

We have the layer pellets available for them all the time, but with all the other stuff, they really only eat about half what they would on feed alone. That's a big help on our pocketbook!

 

[coffeekittie]

We're fortunate to live in Colorado which produces tons of alfalfa every year. Small bales here can be got pretty much anywhere for under $10. I'm going to plant some myself in the spring...it's an amazingly nutritious food for both animals and people too. The bonuses are: it's a perennial, so as long as you cut it when the first flower shows, it'll come back for more cutting...over and over again. It's also a nitrogen fixer so it does really good things for your soil. We only have our yard, so I can't put in much but I can put in a few patches and just mow it down for greens for them and dry any extra for use over the winter. Also gonna sow a little throughout the yard so as we move our coop/run around, the girls can "wild forage" it.

We supplement with all sorts of stuff...they love dandelions and other weeds, so those go in the pen. I planted oats, clover and comfrey this spring for herbal medicines/food and turns out they love all that too (and the clover is a cut and come again deal). I make live culture yogurt and give it to them 2 or 3 times a week for extra protein. Pinto beans are cheap and we even have a source for free, so I cook them up (all beans MUST be cooked for chickens) and they love 'em...also an excellent source of protein. Any cheese we have that gets a tad old goes to them, and they make that disappear in a heartbeat...likewise for most other veggies. Our neighbors brew their own beer and give us the spent grain. We dry it out and give it to the girls and they're crazy for that.

We're putting in a cold frame so we can grow some hardy greens for them over most of the winter, kale, spinach and chard. Next spring I'm going to put in more of the oats for them and going to try some winter wheat and winter rye in a couple months. I got enough rye, wheat and alfalfa seeds to last us for 2 or 3 years and it cost a whopping $2.80!

We have the layer pellets available for them all the time, but with all the other stuff, they really only eat about half what they would on feed alone. That's a big help on our pocketbook!

Wow. I am impressed!