What is the healthiest food you can give chickens?

[Judy]

The point of the yogurt is to give them some good gut flora. They do not digest milk very well so you give only a small amount, maybe 1 tsp per grown chicken. It does not matter what brand -- but store brands that I have seen do not have live cultures in them, so there would be no point. The label will state it, if live cultures are present.

Lazy J, you beat me to it on the corn. Here is a thread that is quite informative on this:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=74876

 

[elmo]

Quote:
That's what I use, even though shipping costs as much as the feed. It's really good stuff ...smells almost good enough to eat myself.

Since I began using this for my small flock, there is no more chicken smell. I had them sleeping in our house until they were eight weeks old, too. Their poops are smaller, firmer and practically odorless (except for the cecal poops, of course).

This feed is soy free; protein comes from fish.

Good stuff, in my opinion.

 

[joebryant]

Quote:
That'd take a LOT of yogurt. I make my own a gallon at a time for less than $2.00 using MissPrissy's directions:
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YOGURT RECIPE
By MissPrissy on BYC

First you need a good starter of plain yogurt culture. You can buy it dried, but the best way is to buy a container of good yogurt that you like to eat. Plain yogurt. Nothing with fruit or other flavors in it. I use Stonyfield Farms Organic plain yogurt. It has 6 different types of active yogurt cultures in it.

If you want a thick yogurt you will need a small box of powdered milk.

Cow milk or goat milk will make good yogurt.

Using quart-sized mason jars - Sterilize the jars and lids.

1 quart of milk mixed with 1/3 cup powdered milk.

Using a candy thermometer heat the milk slowly to 185 degrees.

Remove from heat.

Allow to cool naturally (or set pot in a ice water bath and carefully watch the temp -it will drop fast while stirring) to 110 degrees.

Stir in 2 heaping tbsp of your plain yogurt. Mix well until all is dissolved.

Pour the mixture in your quart sized jar. Wrap in a dishtowel to insulate.

Using a second jar, fill it with boiling water. Wrap it in a dish towel to insulate.

Place both jars in a small cooler that you have heated with hot water****. Allow the yogurt to cure for 10 - 12 hours. When the milk is set to a solid, it is ready. Refrigerate and serve cold.

If you do this in the morning, you will have fresh yogurt for the following morning.


****Do not leave water in the cooler. Fill the cool with hot water while you are preparing everything then pour it out. You simply want a warm place to incubate your yogurt cultures.
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Using the above, here's how I do mine to make a gallon:

You will need:
A small plastic, insulated cooler that will hold:
4 one-quart jars/lids for yogurt/milk OR 2 half-gallon jars/lids for yogurt milk
2 more quart jars to be filled with boiling water
A very large pan to first boil water and then heat milk to 185* F.

Ingredients:
One gallon of milk (1% to 4%)
One cup (or two heaping tablespoonsful per quart if not making a whole gallon) of PLAIN yogurt with live culture… no flavor… no fruit… Stonyfield Farms Organic plain yogurt OR Traders Point Creamery plain yogurt are both excellent and are sold by Marsh and other large chain stores for $5 quart. You will only have to buy yogurt one time because you will use some of what you make the first time for the next gallon that you make and all future gallons.

I used an Igloo 26-quart cooler that K-Mart sells for about $20.

After the large pan of water is boiling, dip all the jars/lids in for several seconds to sterilize everything.

Pour the large pan of boiling water into the cooler and into two quart jars. Put the lids on the jars loosely. Close the cooler’s lid with the two jars filled and the rest of the boiling water in the bottom of the cooler.

Set the cooler aside to heat up and proceed to make the yogurt.

After cooling the large pan, use it again to heat one gallon of milk to 185 degrees (I used Anne's meat thermometer because I couldn't find a "candy" thermometer in two stores). Place the hot milk pan in a sink filled with ice water and let it cool to 115 degrees (took about five minutes with ice on outside of pan). Stir in one cup of plain yogurt into the 115* F milk. After mixing well, pour the milk into the four sterilized one-quart glass jars or two half-gallon jars and put on the lids (not tight).

Go back to the cooler, set the two quarts of hot water aside for a moment and empty the hot water out of the bottom of the cooler. Set the jars of warm milk/yogurt mix into the cooler with the two jars of boiling water and closed the lid.
After ten to twelve hours, take out the bottles of milk (finished yogurt) and put them in the refrigerator to cool.

That’s it:
For the cost of a gallon of milk, you have four quarts of yogurt that are identical to the cup of expensive plain yogurt that you bought. Save a cup of your new yogurt to make another gallon when this one is almost gone.

 

[dtimms]

Hey, does this yogurt taste good? My husband likes the fancy Greek stuff, maybe he would eat this instead? (I won't tell him it was meant to be chicken food....)

 

[Chicks_N_Horses]

Bugs, greens/grass, natural grains which includes corn in any weather. I give mine yogurt too.

 

[joebryant]

Quote:
No, no, no, you missed the point. The yogurt that I make is for ME. I just happen to share some with three hens and a rooster.

 

[Fuzzbuttfarm]

My kids get organic feed, veggie and fruit trimmings, and yogurt w/ live cultures a couple times a week.

I usually chop some overripe fruit into the yogurt, just so they have an excuse to dip their beaks, because they're not real big on it otherwise. They've been eating my neighbor's neglected grapes which are growing on my side of the fence, and plums from a friend's tree, with yogurt. *bawk bawk slurp*

I have no clue how many bugs per day they're eating, but have a feeling it is a lot

 

[dtimms]

Quote:
No, no, no, you missed the point. The yogurt that I make is for ME. I just happen to share some with three hens and a rooster.

Ah! Even better for convincing DH it's OK to eat! I'm with you now! Thanks for posting!

 

[Gwen]

I've read they like bread. I'm wondering how much bread I can give them. I have lots of stale bread and also some very finely grated bread crumbs. My chicks are 6 weeks old.

I know not to give moldy or rancid stuff, but just wondering how much of the 'treats' can you give a day....bread, melon, etc.

Trying to parcel the leftovers between the dogs, chickens, worm bin, and compost pile!

 

[M To The Maxx]

I am curious of how much bread I should give my chickens too. Does anybody know?