What can I grow? DIY chicken feed.

[U_Stormcrow]

"at minimal cost". Almost no research is done on what is best for the chicken, ignoring the cost of the feed or housing etc. As you say,

If someone is prepared to spend a bit more (as you yourself are) they can do a lot better by their birds than the bare minimum required to get the most eggs out of a hen as quickly as possible and then kill it.

Ys, this is why I don't generally recommend simply "meeting the minimums". Sadly, most make at home feed recipes don't measure up to even the very low bar of "minimally acceptable commercially".

 

[KRack]

Thank you for your opinions and thoughts! I am still going to try, obviously. They’ll be on their regular feed while I tinker with it, no matter how long that takes.

I don’t currently accept that I can’t figure this out, or at least figure out something much more sustainable than relying on big name brands. I may be proven wrong and that’s ok. But I’ve been right enough, when people told me I couldn’t figure something out, that I’m gonna go ahead and give it a try.

You’ve all given me a lot to consider, I appreciate it!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Thank you for your opinions and thoughts! I am still going to try, obviously. They’ll be on their regular feed while I tinker with it, no matter how long that takes.

I don’t currently accept that I can’t figure this out, or at least figure out something much more sustainable than relying on big name brands. I may be proven wrong and that’s ok. But I’ve been right enough, when people told me I couldn’t figure something out, that I’m gonna go ahead and give it a try.

You’ve all given me a lot to consider, I appreciate it!

Bending the cost curve through educated supplimentation is, absolutely, achievable. It is also beneficial in providing enrichment (as an activity/boredom buster). LOTS of us do that, and will be happy to help.

Wholesale self sustaining replacement - that's a bridge too far absent extremely unusual circumstances, and still involves tradeoffs.

 

[KRack]

Bending the cost curve through educated supplimentation is, absolutely, achievable. It is also beneficial in providing enrichment (as an activity/boredom buster). LOTS of us do that, and will be happy to help.

Wholesale self sustaining replacement - that's a bridge too far absent extremely unusual circumstances, and still involves tradeoffs.

Thanks @U_Stormcrow

 

[Sally PB]

Bending the cost curve through educated supplimentation is, absolutely, achievable. It is also beneficial in providing enrichment (as an activity/boredom buster). LOTS of us do that, and will be happy to help.

That's my goal. I know I can't replace their feed, but I hope to stretch it out with what I can find (like bugs), or grow.

I call my chickens "petstock." They provide me eggs and poop, like livestock, and entertainment and their own kind of friendship, like pets.

 

[KRack]

That's my goal. I know I can't replace their feed, but I hope to stretch it out with what I can find (like bugs), or grow.

I call my chickens "petstock." They provide me eggs and poop, like livestock, and entertainment and their own kind of friendship, like pets.

I’ve read of people starting their own little bug farms for their chickens. I found that pretty interesting as well lol. Lots of things to consider! I find it exciting

 

[Sally PB]

One of my goals in this lifetime is to eradicate Japanese Beetles.* When I dig in the garden, I take a bucket with me for grubs and other bugs for the chickens. From the first week of July through most of August, I spend an hour or so a day hunting the adult JBs and feed them to the chickens. I do notice that they eat less of their feed for those two months.

*It's personal. They killed my hazelnut trees.

 

[TooCheep]

I support your looking for ways to supplement and provide alternatives to exclusively commercial feeds. I'm very concerned about the sustainability of our current system and expect things to get far worse for multiple reasons.

However, you should look at the other side of the equation. Many of our current breeds were developed to be highly productive (more eggs and/or grow meat quickly) to thrive in a very artificial environment of food abundance and low cost. You should also think about breeds that are better foragers. They will likely grow more slowly and/or lay fewer eggs, but will be able to survive more difficult times.

It is the same idea as having a high performance car that needs lots of maintenance, specialized fuel and perfectly smooth roads to perform vs. a Jeep or pickup that isn't a racer but can deal with much harsher conditions.

 

[KRack]

One of my goals in this lifetime is to eradicate Japanese Beetles.* When I dig in the garden, I take a bucket with me for grubs and other bugs for the chickens. From the first week of July through most of August, I spend an hour or so a day hunting the adult JBs and feed them to the chickens. I do notice that they eat less of their feed for those two months.

*It's personal. They killed my hazelnut trees.

I’m sorry about your hazelnut trees This is really interesting!

 

[KRack]

I support your looking for ways to supplement and provide alternatives to exclusively commercial feeds. I'm very concerned about the sustainability of our current system and expect things to get far worse for multiple reasons.

However, you should look at the other side of the equation. Many of our current breeds were developed to be highly productive (more eggs and/or grow meat quickly) to thrive in a very artificial environment of food abundance and low cost. You should also think about breeds that are better foragers. They will likely grow more slowly and/or lay fewer eggs, but will be able to survive more difficult times.

It is the same idea as having a high performance car that needs lots of maintenance, specialized fuel and perfectly smooth roads to perform vs. a Jeep or pickup that isn't a racer but can deal with much harsher conditions.

Thanks for this! I did just recently think about better foraging breeds. That’s a really good point.

I got some feed/poultry books that are almost 100 years old, on the way. I know many things are obviously different between now and then, but I like to have a starting point of understanding how things used to work compared to how they work now. Figure out the in betweens and go from there!