Ouch, that's one expensive egg!

[Dixiedoodle]

last winter, I used my garden to plant a huge plot of mixed greens--kale, spinach, turnips, rape, carrots etc.. I think I spent 8$ on seeds, a little time and gas to till it up and I fed them all winter by pulling up a five gal bucket and pouring in to the run... They LOVED it.. They didn't eat anymore feed during the winter than in summer and my egg yolks were actually brighter orange than in the summer.. I also ate out of my patch.. I guess you would have to use something to cover your plot w/ --not sure how they would grow up there...

 

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

Wow, what time did I post that last night? That was definitely fuzzy math. For one thing, I realized my bags of feed are 80# for $30, not 50 lbs. Still not cheap, but better. And it is still lasting me only 3 weeks, maybe a month, with minimum waste.

I can actually get the peas, whole barley and whole oats significantly cheaper than ANY feed because it is all local and quite affordable. I've been reluctant to take the plunge, though. Would sprouted peas (after there are no more greens available in the winter) and oats and barley, combined with the 5 gallon bucket of kitchen scraps every two days or so be enough? What about minerals and vitamins? You can't just get a mineral lick for them like I can with my rabbits.

I can also get alfalfa pellets very cheap. Seems like that would up the protein, but I don't think I've ever heard of people selling alfalfa pellets to chickens.

And yes, our Wal-Mart has a feed store in it and it is awesome, that fact is the sole thing that made me start shopping there again.

They carry Manna-Pro products and a very inferior locally milled line that I'd like to avoid using it, just not a big fan of soy and corn. The feed I use now is another local, textured feed with whole and rolled grains, a LITTLE cracked corn, and vitamins and minerals. It's a good feed, but things are tight and I'm having trouble justifying it.

Also noticing some of my birds are staying fatter than the others, even though they are lower in the pecking order. My young Brahma pullets and a Chantecler cockerel I got to breed them to are VERY fat and meaty, whereas my Delawares (the top of the pecking order) are always skinny and act ravenous. Definitely things I will be keeping in mind!