What chickens free ranging in a traditional management system eat I.E. how it was done before commercial feeds

[saysfaa]

... Also, so many people think they do better than commercial feeds - often, "because people had chickens long before commercial feeds."

This came up in my search of research about how a lack of protein affects chickens besides their level of production...

1910 bulletin from Kansas State University

Which includes this, "There is often seen on many farms small and underdeveloped pullets which evidently never received a sufficient amount of protein."

 

[saysfaa]

the authors are, in the last line of the conclusion: "Therefore, the urgent need of developing awareness and a basic daily supplementary ration with the use of locally available feed ingredients is very critical."

I read it like U_Stormcrow did.

 

[centrarchid]

@Perris appears to get same jist as I am. Simply better awareness so residents can better supplement when needed and as needed with locally available feedstuffs or offal.

 

[WI chickens]

Not sure how, or if, this applies to the conversation, but I think it applies to this small excerpt. "My intention to begin with wasn't to try to critique or change what the Ethiopian are doing. It still isn't - although thread drift there is fine with me. It is part of my path to finding a reasonable alternative to commercial feed that might work for me." I can share my experience with regards to that.

In the summer, my chickens have commercial feed available in any quantity they might eat. They eat very, very little, relying instead almost completely on what they free range. I bought one bag of food this summer and had much of it left when fall came. I don't grow grains of any kind in the area my chickens can reach. In fact, none of my gardens are on the same part of the acreage they are on, although my food forest is and they have ready access to it. That area is young and isn't producing much in the way of fruits and berries yet, but does have a wide diversity of plants. I observe my chickens eating grass, leaves and other plants, apples later in the season, but their preferred food is without question bugs. They love my compost bins because there are so many worms and tiny creepers. My chickens are obviously much bigger than the ones in the study. Mine are breeds most call "dual purpose". They seem perfectly healthy to me, as far as I can tell by looking and behavior. That leads me to believe you can raise and feed chickens without outside inputs if you are in an area where the climate allows. I think have large compost areas is a key element.

My situation is different with regards to chicks. I allow them to range out in a closed area but they eat a lot of starter/grower when they are young. I'm not certain how they would do on free range alone. I'm not convinced I would be giving them enough access to everything they need without commercial food, so I haven't tried it. As I said, I do allow them to forage as much as possible because I want them to know how, but they aren't reliant on it. I may expand my mealworm bins quite a bit this year to supplement their food, but will still rely on commercial grower food unless something cataclysmic happens and I can't get chicken food.

Winter is also a far different story here in WI and I rely on commercial food a great deal. As my food forest matures, and I get more gardens established, I hope to be able to change that a great deal, but I'm not kidding myself that I can switch to food that I grow for them exclusively. I think it's a good goal to have, but I won't be able to do it soon I don't think.

 

[saysfaa]

This link: 1936 study of protein levels fed to laying hens

is much easier read than most of the recent research I've found.

I found the intro particularly relevant:

"...The protein requirements of laying hens embody a problem of great practical importance to the poultrymen, the milling companies, and the manufacturers of protein concentrates. Because there is a lack of information on these requirements, the practice among those who prepare formulae for laying hens has been to provide a surplus of protein from a variety of sources. In general this practice has met with success. H owever,, there are economic forces which constantly encourage the feed mixer to reduce the cost of the laying ration by eliminating any excess of the more costly ingredients, among which are some of the supplementary_ protein feeds...."

Also particularly interesting as a measure of health (as opposed to "pushing productivity") is Table 7
Showing the hatch rates of the fertile eggs: less than 50% for hens fed 12% protein to over 85% for hens fed 16% protein.

Separately, I like the ration formulations they give, also. If nothing else, to see the differences from the formulations in my 1958 textbook. In 1958, most formulations used a vitamin mix and did not use concentrated cod liver oil. In 1936, not all the vitamins had been identified yet and they did use concentrated cod liver oil. They didn't say it was for the vitamins, but that is why my family each took a tablespoon per day back in the Great Depression when the vast majority of what they ate was what they grew themselves.

The fish meal the researchers used was whole Alaskan herring, dried then ground. It is nice to see exactly what they meant by the term.

 

[saysfaa]

Not sure how, or if, this applies to the conversation, but I think it applies to this small excerpt. "My intention to begin with wasn't to try to critique or change what the Ethiopian are doing. It still isn't - although thread drift there is fine with me. It is part of my path to finding a reasonable alternative to commercial feed that might work for me." I can share my experience with regards to that.
...

Thank you for sharing. Yes, this is similar to what I'm working on.

Have you read Gene Logsdon's books? His Contrary Farmer and one of his books on growing grain on a small (and very small) scale are my favorites.

 

[3KillerBs]

Showing the hatch rates of the fertile eggs: less than 50% for hens fed 12% protein to over 85% for hens fed 16% protein.

VERY interesting statistic!

 

[saysfaa]

This 1939 research paper - Link to research - has a section on ranging vs dry lot vs confined.

The into to the section says, "The average farm flock of hens have access to free range. They are allowed to go where they please, and little consideration is given to providing any crops for grazing purposes, especially during the fall and winter months. During the spring and summer months the average farm hen is given very little feed because they have access to all the grass they want. And very often the question is raised, 'Why aren't my hens laying more eggs?' "

The paper covers MANY variables besides several kinds of pasture.

 

[The Phoenix]

https://scialert.net/fulltext/?doi=ajas.2016.182.188&org=11

"...Scavenging Feed Resource Base (SFRB) is defined as those feed resources available at farm level that consists of household refuse and all the materials available in the immediate environment that the scavenging birds can use as feed. It depends on the number of chickens per households, the types of food crops grown, methods of cultivation and food processing and the climatic conditions that determine the rate of decomposition of the food products....

...30 households keeping indigenous chickens were randomly selected from three Kebeles [the smallest administrative unit in Ethiopia - so the equivalent of a township here in the US Midwest] (ten from each). Arrangements were made with the total of 30 selected participating households for the purchase of the experimental chickens. The total of 60 chicken (30 pullets and 30 cockerels with mean weight of 1.12 and 1.4 kg, respectively) at an age of 3-5 months were purchased on the basis of their physical appearance and informations provided by the participating households. The chickens were collected directly from the households. The chickens were slaughtered and eviscerated. The crop content of each bird was weighed, visually examined, categorically sorted out and quantified. ...

...This study was conducted in November,... the season of ripening and harvesting of almost all food crops in general and cereal grains in particular in Ethiopia. The results of this study is in agreement with that of Momoh et al. (2010), who observed ... the crop content of scavenging chickens in the late dry season (January-March) within Makurdi Benue community of North Central Nigeria.

Cereal grains comprised the highest proportion (38%) of the crop content of the experimental chickens, without showing significant difference (df = 1, p>0.05) between the male and female experimental chickens. ...Insects, worms, ants and small snails were found to be collectively accountable for about 27.5% of the crop content of the experimental chickens (Table 1), followed by (28%) and (17%) insects/worms and green forages respectively and Kitchen waste constitutes the remaining 15% of the crop content. ...

The results of the laboratory chemical analysis of the crop content of the experimental chickens are shown in Table 2. ...

View attachment 3325155

...The results of this study revealed that the nutrient content of the scavenging feed resource base of Seka Chekorsa district is below the requirements of the scavenging local chickens..."

From the introduction... "These are kept under traditional management system, which is characterized by small flock sizes, low input and output and periodic devastation of the flock by disease...."

..

Well DONE!!

 

[saysfaa]

Source
University of Missouri
Bulletin 219
Cost and Income of the Farm Poultry Flock
Aug 1924

Report dealing with ... farms cooperating with University of Missouri in keeping complete farm records ... data from 1912 to 1922 ...Most of these flocks are typical of the poultry flock found on the general farm..

The largest single item of cost in the maintenance of the farm poultry flock is feed. ... One third of this feed expense was incurred in December, January, and February. February... is usually the month of the most severe weather, and the month when the poultry flock is given the special attention to develop their laying habits. This is reflected in the feed charge. For the remained of the year there is not a great deal of variation.

...it is recognized that on most farms it is not possible to measure and report all feed consumed by poultry as the hens will usually eat with the hogs or cattle, run to the wheat fields and other places consuming feed which cannot be measured. A portion of this unmeasurable feed is that which would otherwise be wasted. A greater portion is stolen from other classes of livestock or from crop harvest. On the other hand, the hens undoubtably... consumes many insects, etc... but this is as complete as records have been able to make it.

...As might be expected, corn makes up nearly one-half of the total feed bill for the hen. Grain produced on the farm contributes 70 percent of the feed fed. Mill feeds including bran, shorts, middlings, ect. amount to 15% of the total feed cost. This is second in importance to corn. Oats is next in importance making up approximately one-tenth of the total ration. Wheat and protein feeds come next. Of the protein feeds, milk is of greatest importance. This is a farm product. Slightly more than 5 of the 8.7 percent which proteins make of the total cost is milk produced on the farm. ... [Regarding green feeds] a pasture charge was made only where special crops were planted for pasture for poultry..."