please give ideas :-(

[Lil bit a heaven]

Ok so we hit a slump here and cannot afford feed for our chickens till the end of next week :-( I have given them all sorts of veggies,grains and such from our kitchen and can continue to do so as we have quite the stocked pantry. What I'm wondering is what you all believe would be the best daily mix for them until next friday. They are 9 months old,6 RIR, 2 silkies and all layers, and they also have free range of a very large yard and wooded area. I did not realize until yesterday that we were out as we have been away with my son in the hospital and had a neighbor caring for them, still can't figure out where all the feed went ! Please help I want to keep my extra children healthy!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Can you go get some stale bread at the bakery outlet?

 

[Lil bit a heaven]

Buying anything right now is out of the question and we live in the country so no bakeries close by, I can bake them fresh bread though

 

[Kassaundra]

You could go fishing. That would be a great source of protien.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Since they can get their own worms and bugs, if you give them some grains hopefully they will be ok. I mix my own feed- I include millet (the largest component of birdseed), hard red wheat, cracked corn, black oil sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, other trace mineral things that I won't go into here, oats, and peanuts (unsalted). Also split peas. Beans and lentils are good if you cook them.

They can live very nicely on cupboard items! And birdseed!

 

[sunflowerenvy]

if you have oatmeal, feed them their eggs back. make up some bread , muffins, frozen veggies, can veggies first rinse off the salt in them. if u have yorgut,, crackers, rice. can friut.

try to get extra bag of grain when u go the store to have on hand. good luck,
i dont know where u are ? i could have let u have some food

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Long term, they need a balanced diet with carbs, fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals to be healthy. Short term, they just need some calories to get by.

Anything grain based will do for now. If you have any beans you can cook up for them, that will help for protein, when added to any grain. They have complimentary amino acids that make a complete protein, when combined. Chickens will eat most foods. Grains, seeds, vegetables, fruits, pasta, meats, eggs, pet foods, some livestock foods and yes, they will eat bread, too. Other than chocolate, avocados, large amounts of onions, or extremely salty foods in large quantities, you could feed them anything in your kitchen that you could eat. A balanced diet for a chicken is similar to a balanced diet for a person, if that helps any, when you're combining things.

Since they free range, that will help them, too. They can forage for greens, seeds, bugs and worms. You could even turn over some soil in your garden and let them dig for worms, if you have a garden. If you have bugs around, you could put some boards down and turn them over, after bugs have crawled under them.

for your son. I hope everything gets better for you, soon.

 

[eggseroneous]

What part of PA are you in? I'm south- western. If you are near, I have a bag and a half of cracked corn you could have. I know it's not a good main diet, but would help out with supplementing the other things you are giving them.

Do you have any wild bird seed? My chicks love that for a treat. I've had to feed them that and goodies from the pantry when I've run out of feed for a few days, and they didn't mind. We're not in the best financial situation either, so I know how it is. I've baked them lots of bread too!

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Go thru the freezer and find all that is freezer burnt, old foods and food you just do not think your family will want to eat. Yes even your old meat.


Defrost and feed, can crockpot it all overnight if you want - just make sure it is cool before feeding - if you cannot place your hand into the food and hold it, it will be too hot for them and can possibly crop burn them.

 

[Lil bit a heaven]

Thank you guys so much for all your ideas! I had a good dig through my comp. files and finally found my ok to feed list for chickens, YAY, and I love the idea about fishing too...I live across from a creek also thank you so much for the offer but I live in central (more eastern) Pa,You are all so kind! God bless!