Topic of the Week - "Off-grid" Feeding - Homemade feeds, etc.

[mistycolleen]

first of all i have to say what an awesome thread this. i also took this as a SHTF scenario and this is my first full year with chickens. i will say i do rely too much on my commercial feed. but i have beeen lucky and have found a place that custom blended mine. now reading thru this really has my wheels turning of what i can be doing better for the next years to come. currently i give kitchen scraps, leftovers, fodder, BOSS, mealworms and of course the commercial feed.
now reading this thread.... i think i will be growing a garden soley for chickens needs from now on! storing winter vegetables(squash & pumpkins) growing sunflowers and drying the heads, drying more herbs and freezing more fresh veggies for the dead winter days. long term ill have to keep brainstorming since growing grains is not an option for us.
now if i could only figure a way for our four dogs. always having a back up plan is always a great idea. you just never know....last year we went 6 days with out power. me being the stock piler that i am, but after just moving, learned real quick that nothing is as important as water. especially when you have so many animals. that was the one thing i never thought of. that has since changed and i will hopefully never be in that struggle again. keep these comments coming! i love this post

 

[PirateGirl]

A double layered cold frames can add 3 growing zones to your current climate. In my zone 4, a double layered cold frame would provide a micro-climate = to zone 7. So, it adds WEEKS to both ends of the growing season. A very effective cold frame can be made with 5 or more bales of hay, a couple of 2 x 4's for support of glass which covers the top and plastic to cover the south face. Instant cold frame! The hay bales can then be recycled as mulch.

This is good info in figuring out what may be able to be grown.

 

[Ahavati]

Why do you provide the kelp free choice? I understand the kelp as it's in many feed recipes I have seen, but why not mix it in?

I guess because it's smaller. Their minerals are smaller as well. I feel like they just sink to the bottom of the tub it's mixed in. I usually add them to the ferment bucket though. Some days I do add the kelp to the ferment as I get tired of them messing with the free choice bins and pooping in them. I also leave it for the chickens to eat as needed like oystershell. But we've been feeding shells back to them so we haven't done oyster shell in a while.

 

[Ahavati]

i mix my own feed as well. I buy whole grains, non GMO from the feed store in 50# bags that store perfectly in 20gal steel garbage cans. It has cost me approx $60.00/yr for the grains I mix up batches as needed, each bach lasts about 10 days. The grains I use are 6 parts wheat, 3 parts oats, 2 parts sunflower seeds and 2 parts millet. I NEVER feed my chickens #2 field corn, it has NO nutritional value. I do, occasionally, treat them to an ear of sweet corn, and they love it, but it is only an occasional treat, like candy. I also add 1/2 part flax seed for omega 3s and 1/2 part split peas and/or field peas for added protien. I mix in some dried sage and thyme with the grains for their anti bacterial/viral/fungal properties and their resperatory health support and drizzle a spoonful of molasses into their daily ration for extra vitamins and minerals. I supplement with meal worms, crickets, fresh fruit and vegetables as well as scraps from the kitchen. I somethimes cook up some fish for them and I grow greens in the garden for them. I let them free range when I can watch, but after losing one hen to a coyote, I dont let them out of their pen unless I can watch them. I also add ACV, garlic, basil and oregeno to their water. I keep a compost pile in their pen so they have plenty of fun digging through that and I get excellent compost for my garden. They also have a sand pile to dust bath in and like to hang out under to coop when it's very hot, or raining. Right now I only have 2 hens and 1 rooster, SLWs They are beautiful, strong, healthy and no issues with parasites or runny poo, We're hoping to increase our flock this spring by having baby chicks, if not I'll be in search of a few SLW pullets.

I forgot that at times I add flax and peas. I was using organic corn for humans (not field) but it got too costly and I also just decided I didn't want them to have so much corn. Along with wanting to streamline an all-stock feed. I also do the ACV in the water and I add oregano and garlic to their feed and sometimes garlic in the water too. We don't do a compost pile in the pen per say, but we do throw leaves and the scraps from the kitchen is in there. I'm hoping that when we move their pen, it will be a great garden spot!!

 

[PirateGirl]

I guess because it's smaller. Their minerals are smaller as well. I feel like they just sink to the bottom of the tub it's mixed in. I usually add them to the ferment bucket though. Some days I do add the kelp to the ferment as I get tired of them messing with the free choice bins and pooping in them. I also leave it for the chickens to eat as needed like oystershell. But we've been feeding shells back to them so we haven't done oyster shell in a while.

Someone gave me an interesting link lately. It was to an article essentially saying that feeding back their own eggshells is a great calcium supplement, but not sufficient on its own, and due to the way the birds process calcium they need the larger chunks provided by oyster shells. Do you have any issues with thin/weak shells now that you exclusively feed them their own shells back? Especially since you are not feeding a commercial layer ration with added calcium?

 

[Ahavati]

Someone gave me an interesting link lately. It was to an article essentially saying that feeding back their own eggshells is a great calcium supplement, but not sufficient on its own, and due to the way the birds process calcium they need the larger chunks provided by oyster shells. Do you have any issues with thin/weak shells now that you exclusively feed them their own shells back? Especially since you are not feeding a commercial layer ration with added calcium?

We haven't noticed any. I do give oyster shell if we don't have many eggs to give that week. But otherwise I haven't seen any thin shells at all.

 

[AllenK RGV]

I trust mine to feed themselves and choose what they need if times are tight, or the feed store isn't stocking the feed I want for them(or what they will eat). I'll toss em some scratch, they have 24x7x365 Coastal bermuda grass at around 12% protein and manage just fine. We also dust-buster up bugs for them as living in the south we have plenty.

I also fed a juvenile green anole to one of my birds I accidentially killed openening up one of my storage sheds. I love watching them play keep away with larger prey.

 

[clucklady]

I've also heard of people getting spent grains from the brewery. Does anyone do this? Is there enough nutritional value that it's worth it? From what I understand they have to be used pretty quick. The one brewery I looked at wanted someone to take all or nothing and it was such a huge quantity it in no way worked for my small flock, but if this is a viable way to help cut your feed costs, I will ask around more. Colorado has more microbreweries than I can count.

I use spent brewery grains. My local micro-brew has a partner in a pig farmer, and if I can get to the barrels going to the pig farm before they've left, I'll fill a couple of buckets.
Honestly, I don't know about the nutrition of the spent grains, but the girls love them! Just driving home, my car smells heavenly - like baking bread. I've known to dip a bowl out from the buckets just for me.

 

[AllenK RGV]

I use spent brewery grains. My local micro-brew has a partner in a pig farmer, and if I can get to the barrels going to the pig farm before they've left, I'll fill a couple of buckets.
Honestly, I don't know about the nutrition of the spent grains, but the girls love them! Just driving home, my car smells heavenly - like baking bread. I've known to dip a bowl out from the buckets just for me.

The protein should mostly be there in the spent grains just the carbohydrates and suguars were extracted during the mashing process.

edit--and anything water soluable.

edit-edit-- Fat soluable vitamins should still all be in place in the mix.

 

[AllenK RGV]

The protein should mostly be there in the spent grains just the carbohydrates and suguars were extracted during the mashing process.

edit--and anything water soluable.

edit-edit-- Fat soluable vitamins should still all be in place in the mix.

During the mashing process they take and hold those grains at around 155-160F for as long as they need in copious amounts of water to extract the fermentables and a bit of the proteins. So yes it isn't a complete feed in any way imaginable. Vitamin A & D I believe are fat soluable, but that feed will be B and C deficient we all know you would never rely on this as a complete feed.