Old-time method: Is layer food really needed?

[saladin]

You've been given some sound advice so far; the best being from the post regarding the 1914 ag pamphlet that says to 'keep things balanced.' Basically, your laying crumbles just make it easier for you that's about it.

If you choose to do things the old fashioned way you need to remember that folks years ago would have been wise enough to feed MEAT scraps too. Those folks new that chickens are omnivores not vegetarians! They also new that a chickens favorite food is chicken! Only, be careful about the salt content of some meats like cured pork.

On their own the flock will eat bugs, mice, small birds, and even small snakes and lizards. If you are not sure they are getting enough then purchase a calf liver every now and again for them to eat: don't cook it as they prefer it raw.

 

[BeccaOH]

Quote:
There is a guy I buy grass-raised meat from. He moves his chicken coop on a wagon frame into a field after he moves his cows out. The hens (all layers) feed off the maggots and such that hatch out of the cow patties. They also mulch down those patties, which helps the grass and makes the field more inviting for when the cows return. The hens need very little laying mash or grains, though I believe they are offered some occasionally.

I love this system, but I don't have large farm livestock like he does for the hens to clean up after.

 

[Albert Ward]

This way of feeding chickens is definitely not so "old time" and here by us in SA it is quite a custom both rural and suburban areas to let chickens free range. My ladies have 30 000 sq/m to themselves and it is only at night they go back to the run. Even in winter (which by us is quite moderate), they go roam about. I do however give them a general pelleted feed once every two days depending on the weather or if they are laying/hatching eggs. When we harvest our veggies from the vegetable garden, we give them all the scraps except beetroot leaves (they lay less when I give them beetroot leaves - personal experience). The ladies hatch their own eggs with no or little help and usually by day seven or so the mother hen will take the chicks to go free range with the rest of the chickens. It is really a treat to watch this little ones go crazy and chasing one another when they have hit the jackpot!
When producing eggs or meat on a large scale it is a different story and science all together as you all know! But I have heard many stories where chicken farmers is going back to the "old way" of doing things. How they do it, I don't know but imagine 10 000 plus chickens free ranging!!

Regards, Albert

 

[country freedom]

Thanks for every ones replies, so far! I really needed to know because of financial situations of some people may not get better, some may actually get worse - we all need to try to be more self-susstaining, and I'm speaking for myself - moving to a house with acrage is unknown territory for myself/family (I have memories of living on my Pappaw's farm for 5 1/2 yrs. as a child) and I am really starting to look into every way possible to stay as frugal as we can be living in the country.

!!

 

[Albert Ward]

I cannot agree with you more! What is wrong with us today? We have become so dependent on the little shop around the corner and we literally eat what we are been fed! Some years ago, almost every household had some chickens and a vegetable garden and we were quite self supporting. Children got to hang around with the animals, looking after them and learning responsibility in stead of slumping before the TV or computer the whole day.
How many people still know how to can your own fruit, make your own chutney and jams? What gives you more pleasure to be able to give your fellow neighbor a bottle of jam that was literally made of the fruit of your labor?
We are willing to pay sky high prices of second grade quality - for what do I ask you?? We suffer from all kinds of diseases etc because of all the crap that goes into food! Maybe I will sound bias, but I am glad to stay in a so called third world country where we still have something left of what it is to grow your own vegetables, having your own chickens etc etc! Just to be down to earth and to be a plain simple man is enough for me. The thought that I have to drive to one of the "big" cities here by us like Johannesburg, scares the living daylights out of me and Johannesburg is still small compare to places like New York, Washington etc.
What am I saying?? Let's get our lazy hands out of our pockets and enjoy nature the way our Creator has intended it to be. It is the small things in life that counts, that brings fulfillment, that brings joy, that give you a sense of belonging somewhere and in the economic times we are facing we will have to look out for one another even if it means to give my neighbor a chicken that came from my own back yard so that he might have food on his table!
Regards, Albert

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

Quote:
You said it perfectly, the worst thing is if you try to grow your own, there are people who think your nuts, then eat all that faux food. the low fat, no fat and the fak stuff the the companyies that sell it says 'its healthy' and they belive it

 

[speckledhen]

My grandfather was born in the late 1800's and lived to be 100 years old; till he was in his late 90's, he lived alone on his farm, the one I spent summers and holidays on. He had cattle, mules, chickens and pigs so the chickens had lots of feed they could clean up, yet he still bought laying mash to keep them laying well. The pigs got most of the scraps.

 

[Jennings Gamefowl]

i thought about this too.. started thinking in the old days they didnt care if feed had xx amount of protein or whatever, they fed them what they could...my dad says that he use to just let them free range and still got a egg a day

 

[whatthecluck]

Quote:
I LOVE this article... it is a wealth of knowledge and I have saved it. It makes so much more sense to me than measuring and worrying about the different feeds available.
We have a bowl of feed, its diverse, and we give our scraps and they love scratching for most of it in the hay and shavings so far (they pay little attention to the feed unless I toss it on the ground for them to scratch for). The only reason I can see to not give the meat as I saw here was pathogens if you are planning on using the compost in your vegetable garden- which we are. Wonder if anyone has thoughts on this?
Thank you for that article.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I grew up on the type of farm you are talking about. The climate was such that the chickens could get out almost every day all year long. The door to the chicken coop, called hen house, was never closed. We had about 25 to 30 hens and usually two roosters.

The chickens were pretty much expected to take care of themselves. They were truly free-range as they had access to the entire outdoors. We had pigs from mid-spring until we butchered them in late October-early November. The pigs got all table scraps. The way they were fed, the chickens could not get to any of it. From when the hogs were butchered until we got the new pigs in the spring, the table scraps were thrown out where the chickens could get to them.

We were in limestone country and never gave them any extra calcium. They got all the calcium they needed from the rocks they used as grit and fom the hard-shelled bugs they ate. We never had problems with shell quality.

In the winter, we would throw some hand-shelled corn to them. It wasn't a lot, but it was fed just before dark. We never fed them anything else specifically. We did feed the cattle hay outside on the ground, so they would get to pick over that for the grains, but most of their food came from their foraging. Even in winter, they were able to find quite a few small critters and they had a lot of weed and grass seed to choose from.

The chickens were expected to take care of themselves as much as possible. We were too busy to babysit them. They were livestock and treated as such. We supplemented their food when they needed it in the winter, we treated them for lice or mites when required, we made sure they had a dry place to roost if they wanted it though some roosted outside in trees year round. If needed, I broke the ice on the pond twice a day for the horses, cows, and chickens to drink. We all had our specific chores.

The only area that was bare was right in front of the coop, but that was in such heavy shade I doubt anything would have grown there anyway. They had a lot of ground to cover and they spread out fairly well.

We did not get an egg a day from every hen, even in the summer, but we got a lot of good quality eggs. Egg production dropped in winter, but we still got enough eggs to eat. I don't remember ever not having eggs for breakfast and there were five of us kids. They must not have suffered too much in the winter if we still got eggs.

We never even considered separating a broody from the flock. If we wanted her to hatch out some eggs, we'd just mark the eggs and I'd check her nest daily and remove any freshly laid eggs. If we did not want her to hatch out some eggs, I had a cage to put her in to break her. We would hatch out enough every year to replace the layers as they aged and eat chicken once or twice a week. We never considered separating a hen and chicks from the flock. They were raised as part of the flock so we did not have any issues integrating them with the flock. Sometimes a hen would hide a nest and surprise us with a bunch of new chicks. A couple of times, these nests were in the hay loft. The chicks got to the ground about 10 feet below with no intervention from us. I'm a strong believer in letting mama do it.

A couple of times, Dad brought home a dozen chicks from the coop to improve the bloodlines of the flock. Once it was New Hampshire Reds and the other was what he called Dominoes. I still haven't figured out if they were Dominiques or Barred Rocks. We raised them on newspaper in a box with a bare incandescent light bulb on 24 hours a day on the back porch. They ate mostly corn meal. When they were feathered out, we turned them loose. I don't recall any serious issues over the pecking order. They worked that out.

When I get my chicks in about 3 weeks, I will not raise them on newspaper. I will keep a balanced commercial feed and water available to them for the rest of their lives. I will use a red bulb in a heat lamp in the brooder. They will be locked in a secure coop every night. If I get a broody hen, she will be isolated while she hatches the eggs but not while she is raising her chicks. I'll probably try free-ranging some I'm raising for meat to see if I can trust my neighbor's dogs but am fully prepared to keep my laying flock confined in an adequately sized run. My conditions are different than when I was growing up on the farm and I'll change to suit my current conditions.

Sorry to be so long-winded but it's raining outside and I'm relaxing today.