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

[Sissy Howell]

slow your roll, I didnt say anything about raising them vegan you are jumping to conclusions, I used my story as a way to relate. I simply said that protein can come from other sources and isnt dependent entirely on animal byproducts that come from processed feeds. thank you.

Jeff Nolan's comment didn't sound aggressive at all. In the end we are all here to help each other. There's no reason to get upset. Glad ppl are commenting.

 

[AllenK RGV]

Wow how did this thread go wrong? I will admit I haven't read it in its entirety. I do hate being in the middle of a volitaile one. But do know I can raise my chicken vegan if I want to and they will be fine supplementing with grubs and lizards and the insects they find.

I trust my girls to find what they need free ranging!

 

[Sissy Howell]

I add it to their regular feed... but in a pinch I could temporarily give them straight cat food.

Hi... Is the cat food you give your chickens, dry or wet?

 

[AllenK RGV]

I have a whole 1 pound container of nutritional yeast. Can that be useful for feed? It is something we will never eat again?

NM the dogs just told me to shut up, they want the nutritional yeast for themselves.

 

[chicknmania]

Oddly enough, a lady I know who shows birds feeds hers dry cat food. I've started doing it and their feathers are staying so glossy and full.

Ours love catfood, especially our peafowl...and they get it for treats...mostly because they won't let the barn cats have any if we don't give them some too. But, the bag DOES say CAT food; and depending on what brand, it can have a lot of salt or other things that might not be the best for a bird.

But personally, I don't worry too much about it; like others have said, there's no way I'd spend the time, money, or effort, in making or attempting to make scientifically formulated homemade chicken feed. We feed crumbles, sometimes layer, cracked corn, scratch, table scraps sometimes, and they free range...and they seem fine with that.

 

[JaeG]

I just want to caution people about using cat or dog food for their chickens. Pesticide residues can't be above a certain level to enter our food chain but there are no regulations for animal feed that doesn't.

This is from another member:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...yone-using-them.645057/page-851#post-18804187

 

[AllenK RGV]

I totally trust them to know what is edible. They do not eat Monarch butterfly larvae or other poison things.

 

[1cock2hens]

Jeff Nolan's comment didn't sound aggressive at all. In the end we are all here to help each other. There's no reason to get upset. Glad ppl are commenting.

I never said he sounded aggressive or got upset? lol talk about Fake News, thank you. I simply said to not jump to conclusions

 

[Nardo]

Ours get table scraps along with sprouted grain and pellets. When we run low on grain and pellets we cook up some cheap rice and give them that, and chopped up dog roll

Add some more to this, please. I'm in Texas and idk what a dog roll is?

 

[Nardo]

I have been reading about acorns being used to supplement feed. of course you cant just throw to them, you have to prepare them. per ounce they have 1.7gs of protein, they have fats, magnesium, potassium, calcium, iron, vitamin b etc..[/QUOTE]

Don't want to highjack the thread, but I made acorn flour once and baked some cornbread with it just to add to my list of 'what can I do if i just HAD to do it' stuff. It's a tedious pain and tastes pretty bad, but it's doable. I imagine the birds may like it way more than we did.