I don't want to buy any more feed. Well, enough to get through winter, spring and most of summer. But my question is this: what can I grow to feed my chickens so that I don't supplement with laying feed? This is kinda a self-sufficient question but anyway ...
... here's what I grow (or am planning for this year) already:
sunflower seeds
millet
amaranth
greens
weeds (in abundance!)
tomatoes
peppers
beans
peas
lentils
zucchini / yellow squash
winter squash, incl pumpkins
cucumbers
berries
various herbs like parsley and basil
various flowers like marigolds
trying to grow apples, pears, peaches and nuts but ... it'll be a while!
i plant heirloom non-gmo corn too but they get maybe one ear every couple of days. per pen.
Won't grow soy because my son loves it but it's like crack to him: makes him crazy. I'll supplement the protein with scrambled eggs or leftover cooked meat.
We have sandy soil so they get plenty of grit. And I make pancakes with crushed eggshells in them. We have goats, so I also give them whey leftover from making cheese, homemade yogurt sometimes, and cheese when i can buy it really really discounted (for humans AND chickens).
Anything else?
Oh, and I dehydrate almost all of our harvest, so it's real easy to take some from my jar, grind it and add it to the chicken feeder.
Can anyone help me figure out how much of the above (percentage) I should give?
THANK YOU!
... here's what I grow (or am planning for this year) already:
sunflower seeds
millet
amaranth
greens
weeds (in abundance!)
tomatoes
peppers
beans
peas
lentils
zucchini / yellow squash
winter squash, incl pumpkins
cucumbers
berries
various herbs like parsley and basil
various flowers like marigolds
trying to grow apples, pears, peaches and nuts but ... it'll be a while!
i plant heirloom non-gmo corn too but they get maybe one ear every couple of days. per pen.
Won't grow soy because my son loves it but it's like crack to him: makes him crazy. I'll supplement the protein with scrambled eggs or leftover cooked meat.
We have sandy soil so they get plenty of grit. And I make pancakes with crushed eggshells in them. We have goats, so I also give them whey leftover from making cheese, homemade yogurt sometimes, and cheese when i can buy it really really discounted (for humans AND chickens).
Anything else?
Oh, and I dehydrate almost all of our harvest, so it's real easy to take some from my jar, grind it and add it to the chicken feeder.
Can anyone help me figure out how much of the above (percentage) I should give?
THANK YOU!