Skyrocketing Feed Prices

[Missy3b]

With feed prices going up, I am sure I am like everyone else and looking for ways to stretch a dollar. How do you feed your birds? Do you have ways to stretch how far a bag of feed will go? Offer ideas please.

I feed layer pellets to my birds along with corn. They also do 4 hours or so an evening of free range in my yard. They also get all the kitchen scraps.

 

[Arielle]

You are doing quite a bit to reduce the feed bill alreadY!! I use a high protein feed, a bit more money per bag but allows me to feed more vegie stuff:

dandylions,
chickweed,
plant: winter squash, peas a (you eat the peas they get the plant), carrots, etc
old bread
apple cores
one lady cans fish scraps after a fishing trip

Search the back posts and their is tons! Some advice on what NOT to feed as well.

DH and I were just talking over this theory this morning: For highest egg production or meat bird growth, high protein grain diet is a must; to use scraps and more vegetation which is nearly free, a lower production rate needs to be acceptable. Mind you, this is our theory; we are new to chickens/turkeys but have been raising sheep for 24 years.

We are sure to see higher grain prices. We need to get grain out of the gasoline IMO and keep the land in production for food and feed. We need to get our oil production up and put a cap on oil prices. We need cheep oops cheap fuel.

You are asking the right questions IMO. I'm planting for the birds and my family this year; more land going from woods to pasture and gardens. I can't eat a tree but I can keep some for shade.

Good luck!!

 

[Country Parson]

This year much of my garden is alloted to chicken feed. I'm growing the following:

Turnips, Mangels, Rutabagas, carrots, cabbage, apples, barley, oats, millet, buckwheat: These will be stored and feed throughout the Winter. Some of this is already in (turnips, mangels, barley, oats).

Dwarf Essex Rape and forage turnips: Planted in early Fall for late Fall, early Winter free-ranging. I also put a bunch of rape & turnips in 4 weeks ago for Spring free-ranging.

Buckwheat: Planted throughout Summer. Once the plant is vigorous I rotate the chicken tractor over it until devoured. I plant enough so that the tractor always has a buckwheat patch to set on. For this purpose I grow it for the plant, not the seed.

On top of this they get food scraps & garden scraps. I intentionally over plant most vegetables and just feed the extra to the chickens. They even get the scraps left over from butchering the meat chickens, and what ever is left over from our chicken-dinner.

In mid to late Winter I probably can't avoid feed almost exclusively from feed bags, but this will reduce it significantly.

I know some people who pick up scraps from restaurants, etc.

 

[lebentier]

i am going to start a new vegetable garden for the chickens and humans to share