Pasture vs. Feed

[gckiddhouse]

I have actually done the research on this. You might want to do it as well. Take a look at eatwild.com. Chickens will eat up to 30% of their calories in grass. This increases the value of their eggs significantly. They are lower in cholesterol, and higher in omegas by about 4 times. The food value alone is reason to let them forage. Also, they are taking in bugs and meat as protein. This adds to the nutritional value of the egg as well.
The feed that farmers give to chickens is mostly corn and soy. They do this because it is cheep, and not for any other reason! Now, if you do the research on corn and soy, you will find that corn is so modified that it isn't even food anymore and both are loaded with estrogens that no one needs. Plant proteins are NOT what nature intended for these animals.
My hens are producing machines. I have a hen that has laid for 40 days straight, another that laid 27 eggs in 30 days. All my hens lay at least 24 eggs in a month.
There is no substitute for happy, healthy chickens. And that is what commercial feed is, it is a substitute for the nutrition that these birds know how to get on their own.
Imagine what they would do on a farm or in the wild if no one was feeding them. They would eat downed fruit and veggies, greens, grasses, bugs, dead animals. Corn and soy will never be able to replace that nutrition.
I feed my chickens organic feed that is probably corn and soy, but at least it isn't GMO, or loaded with pesticides. But, they also free range all day. They don't eat much of the feed, but they do eat it.
I notice that the feed goes faster during a molt, or before their laying season begins, or in cold weather (not that we have much of that).
Just my 2 cents.

 

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

Chickens are monogastrics, they can not digest the fiber found in forages like grass and hay. They can utilized some of the nutrients from the non-fibrous portion of the grass, but is is not enough to provide the nutrients necessary to produce eggs. The hnes need a complete source of feed to provide adequate egg production.

Jim

 

[HennyOTurkey]

GC,

I like your Two cents! That's good to know about the chickens, I try and feed them more grass then corn, because I always figured the corn was crap, I give them all sorts of goodies, including chicken, some red meat, Lots of fruits and veggies, and I spoil them with sardines or anchovies once in a while... ocassionally worms or crickets, Only cause they cleaned my lot of bugs, Lol once in a while i'll find a big ol, Juicy potato bug, they FLIP.. but yea, when they have access to what they want and need, they lay MUCH higher quality eggs! I have people BEGGING me to sell them eggs! I am so limited though, I only have 11 Hens and only a small suburban lot.. I'd like to open a free range egg farm! That'd be so awesome! My chickens lay everyday too... my younger Rhode island red even laid me twice in one day.. which was shocking! Lol Now she's either egg bound, or internal layer.. and I am very worried... but from what I read, there is not too much I can do.. and I certainly can't afford to take her to a vet! I couldn't even afford to take classes this semster! Lol

 

[HennyOTurkey]

Lazy J,

I've notice when they eat large amounts of grass that they usually have very grassy ... uh.. stools? Please pardon Me, I am not avian expert yet.. perhaps one day... However, back to the grass. I'd imagine it's good for them and it is probably even better for making compost if they've eaten lots of grass... at least, this is my idea..

 

[journey11]

I agree with Davaroo and Ridgerunner. You'll not have a nutritious diet for that many chickens on 1/3 an acre alone. Keep a complete feed available and let them range more for entertainment and supplement. I like having mine on bug-control duty--you will notice a difference.

Make sure they have someplace to try to get away from predators. But be aware of the hazards in your neighborhood. Dogs kill chickens just for fun and leave them lie. (grrrrr) Also important, your yard should be free of things you wouldn't want them to eat. They will sometimes eat the darnedest things (glass, nails, rat poison, etc). Be sure not to spray insecticides and herbicides in your lawn or garden.

They will go easier on your feed bill if they get to range some. Also, your eggs will be a bit more nutritious, higher in omega-3's for example, and the yolks will be nice and orange. I also like to let mine range part of the day because it keeps them happy and keeps them from picking on each other.

 

[HennyOTurkey]

oh man, I agree, they need some place for refuge from flying predators, Luckily, when my hens would free range, I had a lot of Shrubs and plants that they were easily able to flee to... I've never had my chickens attacked by dogs, And I hope never to have such an experience, Perhaps said dog should become chicken feed? Lol Just kidding. Luckily, I've never had my hens eat glass, although they have picked up peculiar objects, kinda of bit them a few times with their beaks, then dropped them, they also seem to do that with sunflower seeds, they can differentiate the ones with kernels inside to the ones with nada inside! So during the warm months, I grow mammoth sunflowers, let them dry, then hang them in their enclosure so that they have something challenging to do.. jump up and pick out seeds.. Lol, I keep an array of hens, and it's amazing the bonds they form with one another, and with people as well... I also have a couple of roosters, I am trying to get rid of one right now, but it's not so easy.

 

[Davaroo]

One notion that is mentioned here time and again is the chickens ability to strip the landscape.

Only we human as are concerend with conservation and eco-awareness - chickens are not. Their famed 'chicken scratching' will turn most lawns and flowerbeds into a moonscape if allowed free run, at least certain favored parts of it.

Confinement is the key concern here, as it so often is. These are large animals, after all. You can call them "babies" or cuties" or whatever endearments you choose, but you are doing them a disservice by doing so. The fact remains that they will use their claws to tear up the ground and will elminate 70% of what they eat out their back ends. These activities burdens both you and the earth's ability to absorb their effect. It is always so with any confined animals/livestock.

"Free ranging," if practiced as the name implies, is allowing them to roam at will. They will cover a kilometer per day, of more, in search of food under such conditions and they will spread their effects over a very wide area. This way they both take what the land offers and spread their waste and effects over a very wide area. That is what 'free ranging' is. But confine a dozen of them in a carefully tended urban yard and something has got to give.

You can allow them to roam at will, to actually free range, if that is possible. If that is not possible, then anything else is simply confinement, with elbow room.