Too many veggies?

[IdyllwildAcres]

The only fresh veggies my girls get are when I let them out to free range, 2 hours before sunset, weather permitting. I live in CT and in spring, summer, and autumn they have grass, clover, dandelion, and various other greens as well as insects to eat. No kitchen or table scraps for my girls.
Table scraps may be loaded with salt and sugar, and oils/fats, as in barbecue sauce, ketchup, salad dressing, cooking oils.
I have little to no kitchen scraps. I don't peel my veggies, and I would not give my girls wilted or old greens, that I wouldn't eat, either.
That's my way, yours will differ. GC

The produce was not in bad shape, I could have eaten most of it.

Gary

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

I'm curious about this! 100 lbs/week for 7 chickens seems like a lot. I don't consider veggies treats, and one of the things I like most about keeping chickens is that they help reduce our family's food waste, but I'm wondering if given that much access to them, they'll pig out on those and never eat their regular food. Might work for you, but you might see reduced egglaying. On the other hand, of those 40 pounds that go in, most might be worm/bug food by a few days later, which only benefits everyone! Perhaps you could give it a shot and if you end up with a lot of slimy nasty in your run, you could arrange to share some with a local wildlife rescue, zoo, someone with pigs, etc. Please let us know how it goes!

Its mostly water, after two days you can barely see anything left.

Gary

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

I have a different take on the free produce: I think that if I were so blessed, this is what I'd do: I would also scrounge up a source of free hay. The important thing with hay is that it must not be treated with any of the newer herbicides on the market. They have a very long half life, and when a field has been sprayed with them, the hay is harvested, and even after passing through a cow, or being composted, the toxins persist, so if used on your garden, can poison it so nothing will grow there for years. Any how... I'd source as much free high carbon material as I could get my hands on. (hay, wood chips, woody garden debris, leaves, cardboard) Give veggies to the flock, and compost the rest. You may also be in a climate where you could keep a black soldier fly larvae collection system going. Dump in the veggies, the larvae will self harvest into a collection container, or straight into the chicken run.

My coop/run floor is dirt, that IS my compost pile.... I do have a free source for wood chips from the tree service, they sat all winter in a pile and are the base layer in the coop. I bought a bale of Timothy hay and only 1/3 used so far I think I will use 2 a year at this rate. This fall I will gather leaves as well. Pine needles available year round but I have not used them yet.

My plan is to pick up a box of produce every three days or so and see how it goes, I could always start another compost pile but I would rather keep it all in the coop. I just started this spring and I am playing it by ear but I am guessing it will be NEXT fall before I empty it out to the garden and start over. We shall see.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

I think the whole "playing it by ear" is a good idea...start adding, and keep balancing with carbon, and adjust as necessary.

I throw my chickens all the food waste we generate, and occasionally, extra I get from other people or from work. The coop has some leaves, pine needles, and straw in it, and honestly, I've been putting things in there for 3+ years, and never taken anything out. It all either rots or gets eaten.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

So I decided I would pick up a box every 4-5 days. I went in today and they begged me to pick up more often, I don't want them to find someone else who will take it all then I have none, and I can't feed my flock on it 100% and expect good egg production so I am left trying to figure out another way, will look at @lazygardener 's reply a little closer....

Gary

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

So I decided I would pick up a box every 4-5 days. I went in today and they begged me to pick up more often, I don't want them to find someone else who will take it all then I have none, and I can't feed my flock on it 100% and expect good egg production so I am left trying to figure out another way, will look at @lazygardener 's reply a little closer....

Gary

I agree with your thinking that you should probably take it all so they don't find someone else.

I've fed my girls on 75-90% food scrap at different times - the key is to keep the protein levels up.

If you can't supplement with extra protein, maybe you can do something like give them access to layer feed all day, then feed them the scraps later in the day?

 

[sfgwife]

So I decided I would pick up a box every 4-5 days. I went in today and they begged me to pick up more often, I don't want them to find someone else who will take it all then I have none, and I can't feed my flock on it 100% and expect good egg production so I am left trying to figure out another way, will look at @lazygardener 's reply a little closer....

Gary

Gah! I so wish we had a place like this round here! I would make a compost pile in the run and let the cluckers have at it. Maybe block it off for a bit while it got started then let them at it. They would get everything they needed from the pile and turn the compost for you as well. Cause if you have a compost pile you know all the bugs and grubs and worms that love to live in them. Except for needin oyster shell on the side.

I was actually readin somethin a few weeks ago and it led me down the youtube tunnel lol! There were quite a few videos on just this thing. People havin the chickens just feedin from and gettin beautiful compost from it. So much so that they even sold the compost. And the gardens they grew with that soil omg lovely!

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

I was actually readin somethin a few weeks ago and it led me down the youtube tunnel lol! There were quite a few videos on just this thing. People havin the chickens just feedin from and gettin beautiful compost from it. So much so that they even sold the compost. And the gardens they grew with that soil omg lovely!

There's a commercial compost facility in Vermont that that uses chickens similarly...turn the piles, convert "protein" to "nitrogen", and produce some eggs.

 

[lazy gardener]

So I decided I would pick up a box every 4-5 days. I went in today and they begged me to pick up more often, I don't want them to find someone else who will take it all then I have none, and I can't feed my flock on it 100% and expect good egg production so I am left trying to figure out another way, will look at @lazygardener 's reply a little closer....

Gary

There's a commercial compost facility in Vermont that that uses chickens similarly...turn the piles, convert "protein" to "nitrogen", and produce some eggs.

The company that does that is Vermont Compost. It's truly impressive. They take a waste product and turn it into something very useful. Gary, if you find the idea of composting ALL OF THAT BOUNTY to be a bit overwhelming, why don't you advertise on your state's thread to see if there is some one local, perhaps even in your own town who will share the bounty with you, while you can still maintain control of seeing to it that that store doesn't farm that stuff out to some local pig farmer? If you find a like minded neighbor, you could split the resource, and perhaps even take turns picking it up. You could do an every other day pick up, or what ever else fits your schedule. You might also look around to see what other free materials you can find to add to the veggie matter to build a mini replica of Vermont compost. What ever materials you get, especially if it's hay or straw, be VERY sure that it's not been treated with ANY herbicide.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

The company that does that is Vermont Compost. It's truly impressive. They take a waste product and turn it into something very useful. Gary, if you find the idea of composting ALL OF THAT BOUNTY to be a bit overwhelming, why don't you advertise on your state's thread to see if there is some one local, perhaps even in your own town who will share the bounty with you, while you can still maintain control of seeing to it that that store doesn't farm that stuff out to some local pig farmer? If you find a like minded neighbor, you could split the resource, and perhaps even take turns picking it up. You could do an every other day pick up, or what ever else fits your schedule. You might also look around to see what other free materials you can find to add to the veggie matter to build a mini replica of Vermont compost. What ever materials you get, especially if it's hay or straw, be VERY sure that it's not been treated with ANY herbicide.

Would it stink if I started composting on that scale? Small town here, 2500 people I could find a partner on Facebook, actually my next door neighbor comes to mind but they are REALLy against GMO's and I wonder if they would compost anything they were unsure if there was GMO's involved....

If I had more hens and not worried about production going down I would give it all to them and compost in the coop.... chicken math? Lol, I am already pushing (through) the local limits so thats not really an option. I need to talk the next door neighbor into a flock....

If I let them have it all, 7 hens 5-6 boxes a week is there a way to offset the nutritional needs without getting complicated? Like feeding tuna or other high protein to supplement in addition to the veggies and 17% layer?

Thanks

Gary