Pasturing Chickens

[ChickensAreSweet]

I live in the Wilamette Valley on the Washington side, so I probably have the same climate as you. I would think that my chickens wouldn't be getting enough to eat just foraging. Even with the green grass and bugs, they are sure glad to get some grains- even in the wintertime.

(Yes folks our grass is green in the winter.)

I wouldn't just free range with no grains and seeds (sunflower seeds are great- the kind that comes sold as birdseed- black oil sunflower seeds) unless it was an emergency.

Mine free range every second or third day- BUT ----------

when they come back to the chicken yard in the evening, they go fill up on grains and seeds before roosting for the night.

That tells me that they wouldn't have been satiated without the official feed mix that I make them.

 

[kateseidel]

I have 14 hens, 7 acres of my own property, and based on what my neighbors tell me, the hens have no respect for property lines so they spend some time every day on other property. I'd say they MOSTLY stay in about a 2-3 acre area, half woods, half pasture. I always have chicken feed out for them, and they are eating about 50 lbs a month, and they completely ignore their flock block (which tells me more than anything that they are well fed). They free range during all daylight hours. I must confess to also providing them with a daily snack of whatever leftovers we have in the house.

For the most part, the hens lay in the coop. When we moved them out of the brooder, we kept them in the coop for about a week. They come home to the coop every evening. Occasionally I will find a new nest in the hay barn, but 95% of the eggs are in the nests in the coop.

Have lost one to predators in the last year. Still have no idea what happened to her, found a few feathers in the woods, but never saw her again. I do think a rooster is a peace of mind addition, but since I really don't want chicks, my girls are on their own.

 

[Beekissed]

14 hens that free range eat 50# of feed per month?

Are you sure rodents aren't eating your feed? I always keep a flock of around 30 free ranged chickens and I don't go through 50# of feed in a month!

 

[centrarchid]

Quote:
Mice, oppossum or darn song birds. Latter eating half of mine at present.

 

[kateseidel]

Quite sure we don't have rodents - thanks to our mighty barn cats there's not a living rodent anywhere (yay kitties!)

I do have some large, plumpy hens however. I was just thrilled that their consumption went DOWN from when they were locked in the coop/run for a while!!! I'm not gonna be the one to tell them they are eating too much <g>

 

[new chick 203]

some breed are better foragers than others too. My BLRW can forage like nobody's business!

 

[pringle]

Fayoumis are a hardy breed, and particularly well suited to hot climates.[4] The breed, through poultry genetics research and anecdotal reports, is thought to be especially resistant to viral and bacterial infections.[1] They are also very good foragers, and if left to their own devices on a free range basis they can fend for themselves in a nearly feral manner. Fayoumi hens are good layers of small, off-white eggs. They are not given to broodiness as pullets, but can be when they reach two or three years of age. The breed is fast to mature, with hens laying by four and half months, and cockerels crowing at five or six weeks.

Taken off wikepedia but I checked and all info is true http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_Fayoumi

 

[rmonge00]

Wow!! Thanks for all of the responses!! I am not sure where to begin....

I am building a coop that is 120 sq feet so I think I will have enough space for 30-40 birds. My plan was to raise about 10 to lay and 20 for slaughter. I wanted to have them forage over the two acres during the day and then come back to the coop at night. It sounds like I am definetely going to need some additional feed, but I was really hoping to grow it all myself . Do you think they could survive on a diet of pasturing during the day and then supplemented with sunflower seeds, corn, and kitchen scraps at night?

As far as predators are concerned - I was hoping that it wouldn't be too much of a problem as long as they came back to the coop at night ( I was under the impression that most predators were nocturnal). Which brings me to another question. How do you get them back to the coop at night? Feed? Or starting them off in there for a few weeks? Thanks for the help guys!!

Ryan

 

[kateseidel]

My flock comes back to the coop on their own when it gets dark. If I want them back early, it's just a matter of getting the red scoop of happiness and calling them. They'll follow the scoop anywhere. We raised our hens from a day old in a brooder in the basement. When we moved them to the coop at about 7 weeks, we kept them locked inside the coop for a week, and they see it as their safe place.

 

[WldFlwrs]

It really depends on your expectations for your flock and how many you have. You can range on pasture during the warmer months without feeding them supplemental feed and they may do well and adapt nutritionally to what they can forage. They may not produce eggs optimally on just foraged foods but then, one could start culling for those who do not and only keep those who thrive on pasture alone and see what kind of self-sustaining flock you can develop.

If you run a very large flock and they are competing for food on just the two acres, with time they may deplete most of the available insect life from your acreage and have to subsist mostly on foraged grasses. Unless you have some exceptional pasture, you may want to watch for overstocking.

I free range on an acre all year long but I supplement feeding with whole grains and some laying mash. Not continuous or free choice, just feeding in the evening in the warm months and in the morning in the cold.

How many chickens do you have on your one acre? We are just starting our flock.
We have fenced in an acre, but can let our chickens out of that if we need or want to. We plan on letting them forage, but will be supplemental feeding too.

Changing up the fencing wouldn't be that big a deal periodically (like every couple of years or so) Neighbors aren't that close as we are on 25 acres in a National Forest.