What would you feed if you couldn't buy feed?

[gsim]

I am a rookie here, and am only guessing. From what I see where I live, bantams do very well just foraging. For one thing, they can easily fly to the top of a tall tree to roost and that raises the odds in their favor. My neighbors have them and they rarely feed theirs and just hunt for the eggs as best they can. They also regularly have to hose down their porch , walks, cars, lawn furniture, etc.

I guess they prove that there ain't no free lunch?

I still hope that I never have to find out what my standard layers are capable of regarding foraging. They might do surprisingly well if I only would set traps and provide them with a possum or coon or squirrel carcass a couple times a week in winter. Who knows? I read on BYC about some Katrina chooks that were found living wild behind a man's property and would not come to his barn. He had been unsuccessful at coaxing them to eat his feed. His daughter came and got some by using a flashlight and just picking the ones she wanted from the brush they were living in. Apparently the flock had grown somewhat since Katrina had caused them to be located there. It was an interesting concept and from it I learned that at least they could survive in a place like Louisiana and even to expand their numbers. No way to know anything about egg production tho from the story.

 

[calista]

Growing up, it was my responsibility to do the spade and wheelbarrow work for preparing the garden beds, and every single one of our chickens learned very quickly to gather round and scratch through every spadeful of soil (thus making my work much easier).

The smartest hens pushed and shoved to the front of the flock to RIDE THE SHOVEL, perching on the edge as I pushed the spade into the soil, excitedly clucking when worms and bugs were brought to the surface. One of my fondest memories as a teen! And, as posted by Prairie Pearls, GREAT exercise that doesn't cost a thing.