What Do You Do To Lower Your Chicken Expenses?

[Pghelp]

We have an arrangement with our local Chinese restaurant. We love to eat there anyway and they save the veggie clippings from bok choi (which our chickens google up), the ends of snapped green beans, and other assorted fresh bits. The girls free range and get feed and scratch, but the greens are like forage for them and they are getting a healthy mix. We pick up a box of veggie clippings once a week during the pandemic, used to be two when they could serve inside. Works great for both of us. Since our city doesn't have commercial composting it would just go in their trash. When they don't have enough for our flock we also glean clippings from our local farmers market.

 

[PioneerChicks]

We have an arrangement with our local Chinese restaurant. We love to eat there anyway and they save the veggie clippings from bok choi (which our chickens google up), the ends of snapped green beans, and other assorted fresh bits. The girls free range and get feed and scratch, but the greens are like forage for them and they are getting a healthy mix. We pick up a box of veggie clippings once a week during the pandemic, used to be two when they could serve inside. Works great for both of us. Since our city doesn't have commercial composting it would just go in their trash. When they don't have enough for our flock we also glean clippings from our local farmers market.

I've been wanting to make a similar deal with some farmers or a fruitstand! Thanks for reminding me!

 

[Pghelp]

It's been a win-win for us, the restaurant, and the local farmers. They're usually happy to see us coming. Costs them nothing and it's less work for them. We have been known to deliver a thank you of fresh eggs too!

 

[PioneerChicks]

It's been a win-win for us, the restaurant, and the local farmers. They're usually happy to see us coming. Costs them nothing and it's less work for them. We have been known to deliver a thank you of fresh eggs too!

Fresh eggs is a great idea!

 

[BDutch]

More cost savings:

• Keeping small bantams, they eat less. (and make less poop and provide smaller eggs)
• Expanding a small coop with second hand wood, windows, etc..
• Sand as a bedding in the coop that only has to be raked to clean it. Fill it up only twice a year.
• A poop board with free card board from shopping and free grass clippings and other free stuff from the garden.

Less work/ healthy chickens:

• A large uncovered run with bushes that doesn't have to be cleaned out in combination with free ranging.
• Lots of fresh air in the coop, -> the poop gets dry very quick, the coop doesn’t smell and the chickens stay healthy.
  

 

[3KillerBs]

Free bedding/litter. Wood chips from the tree service and pine straw raked out from under the trees.

I still buy some large flake shavings, but mixed with the pine straw it's almost impossible to pack/mat so I get the maximum performance out of the coop bedding that way.

 

[centrarchid]

Fewer birds in backyard setting is first approach. If you already have livestock, especially those already fed a little grain and dogs in place to run off predators, then free-range works to reduce production cost with appropriately sized flock. If you get a guardian animal(s) or have to invest a lot in containing the chickens, then you are upping your cost a lot.

Where free-ranging is already a practical option (for the overwhelming majority it is not) then you can employ planting that concentrate naturally occurring insect eats with some plant species like legumes that can supply substantial nutritional value. Most free-range keepers do little to promote actual forage quality or quantity because it does not look pretty.

With my game chickens around the house I feed them on a restricted feeding regimen where they are fed enough in AM to take them through sometime after noon. Then they are released in the evening a couple hours before dark to forage. I watch closely. If they range to far I feed them a limited amount of scratch grains. If the young birds still coming up short and represent the dual purpose American Dominiques, then I pop them with some complete feed as they go to roost. Even though the American Games do not go to roost with full crops. they are still rock solid in terms of muscle.

 

[Sunshine_Chick]

I only have 3 & they free range & have access to both dry & wet feed (fermented in Winter. Seems to attract flies in Summer). I don't find them to be expensive & certainly cheaper than the 2 dogs, 1 cat & the 2 stray cats outside; plus, those 3 chickens feed us all those 2 strays love scrambled eggs!! Yes I feed them dry cat food too.