Successful 100% forage diet experiment (long post)

[AccidentalFarm]

This is a really awesome post. What you're doing has somehow become a radical idea, but was probably the norm a certain number of years ago. Thanks for the detailed account. It got me and seemingly a lot of others at least thinking about a more natural approach. That's pretty cool.

Thanks! I'm hoping that those who decide to try it, or even a modified approach to it, will stick around and let us know how it goes so that we can all learn from each other.

As to your comment about it being a 'radical idea', isn't it funny how the simpler approach to many things is considered radical nowadays?

 

[Artichoke Lover]

A .22 will fix your problem real quick

If I can catch them near the chickens again that will happen. I hate to do it but they are aggressive towards people to. Unfortunately usually they hang around the house of the neighbor who claims to own them but they doesn’t get them shots, fixed, feed them, nothing so they run wild and terrorize the neighborhood. Also unfortunately we don’t have animal control.

 

[Tre3hugger]

Thanks! I'm hoping that those who decide to try it, or even a modified approach to it, will stick around and let us know how it goes so that we can all learn from each other.

As to your comment about it being a 'radical idea', isn't it funny how the simpler approach to many things is considered radical nowadays?

Yeah somehow everything has become backwards but that is a whole other thread, maybe even forum altogether!!

 

[AccidentalFarm]

SO they need to have a plethora of different kinds of plants or will anything in with "wild" do? I love this story and have always thought about doing it! I probably will do it because of your success story! Do you think it would be sustainable if I didn't have the electric poultry netting, just a coop in the woods?

For me, I think it's more about the fact that I have so much undeveloped property for them to forage in. I'm not 100% sure what they find to eat, but from watching them, they seem to focus on digging through the deep leaf litter in the wooded areas more than they do on eating vegetation.
The electric poultry netting does not keep my birds in, but it does keep ground-based (raccoons, foxes, etc) predators out. I doubt it would stop a determined domestic dog.
That said, any fencing is only useful if the birds go inside of it, and most of mine no longer do. More and more of them are choosing trees and other odd places to roost at night.

 

[aart]

As to your comment about it being a 'radical idea', isn't it funny how the simpler approach to many things is considered radical nowadays?

Blame the 'backyardchicken' movement.

 

[ChickForLife]

For me, I think it's more about the fact that I have so much undeveloped property for them to forage in. I'm not 100% sure what they find to eat, but from watching them, they seem to focus on digging through the deep leaf litter in the wooded areas more than they do on eating vegetation.
The electric poultry netting does not keep my birds in, but it does keep ground-based (raccoons, foxes, etc) predators out. I doubt it would stop a determined domestic dog.
That said, any fencing is only useful if the birds go inside of it, and most of mine no longer do. More and more of them are choosing trees and other odd places to roost at night.

Alright, do you think they would be fine in any ecosystem? I don't know if I would be able to put the brooder outside at a young age age due to our cold climate. I may have to do it a little different like put sod in the brooder, even when they are inside, on the bottom as their bedding.
If I am interpreting what you are saying correctly, then I don't need an electric fence. My property is small so I may have to put a fence of some sort of barrier to contain them.

 

[NatJ]

I don't know if I would be able to put the brooder outside at a young age age due to our cold climate. I may have to do it a little different like put sod in the brooder, even when they are inside, on the bottom as their bedding.

I'm sure it would depend on the season, and the style of brooder.

If the ground is covered in snow the chicks would not be able to forage anyway, but if you wait until the snow has melted then it's also warm enough for at least some kinds of brooder as well. I know I've read of people brooding chicks in their outdoor coops even when temperatures were dropping below freezing.

 

[ChickForLife]

I'm sure it would depend on the season, and the style of brooder.

If the ground is covered in snow the chicks would not be able to forage anyway, but if you wait until the snow has melted then it's also warm enough for at least some kinds of brooder as well. I know I've read of people brooding chicks in their outdoor coops even when temperatures were dropping below freezing.

Wow, okay, thanks. That made me think of a question, when there is snow on the ground can the chickens still forage enough to live off of?

 

[TooCheep]

Wow, okay, thanks. That made me think of a question, when there is snow on the ground can the chickens still forage enough to live off of?

In Texas where the OP is- maybe. It is still to be determined. How long do you have deep snow in Connecticut?

 

[ChickForLife]

In Texas where the OP is- maybe. It is still to be determined. How long do you have deep snow in Connecticut?

Depends. It melts during the season so about 2 - 7 day spurts.