Times are getting hard, What else can I feed my chickens this winter?

[ilovedragons2]

I'm sure that prices for feed are going to go WAY up due to the drought. What else can I collect to feed my chickens over the winter? As long as there isn't any snow on the ground I assume that they can forage for most of the winter. Is there anything I can collect now to help them through??

 

[HEChicken]

There isn't much forage in the winter here in Kansas, so I wouldn't guess there would be much in Ohio either. Bugs are virtually non-existent in winter, and even when there is no snow on the ground, there isn't much foliage either. Grasses and other plants stop growing in the winter and what is there goes dry and brown, losing most of its protein. If they eat it, they don't get much nutrition from it, and since it doesn't grow back, once its gone, its gone.

As for what you can supplement....there was a thread on here a winter or two ago about sprouting grains, that was an interesting read. I usually buy a bag of deer corn and give them some of that most days in the winter, as a treat. You can also try growing mealworms for them, although they progress pretty slowly in the cooler months too.

 

[Gargoyle]

I used to get the vegetable guys at the local supermarket to give me boxes of the leaves and trimmings that they throw out, but too many people were asking the same, so they stopped giving it away. They now sell boxes of day old veggies for $2.50. However, occasionally I'll find something in their box shelf, like $1.99 for a box with 10 pounds of grapes.

You could get to know people at your local market, they do throw out a lot.