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

[prairiepearls]

lil' fowl :

you can use sour milk on old bread to grow maggets and won't hv to deal with dead stuff...just put bread in pie tin and pour milk over and put in wire veggie basket and hang in ch house....no sour milk, use fresh ,it will sour....only problem it has to b warm, i need winter feed AND I'M NOT DOING ROACHES!!!! haven't seen one since i left the low country and intend on keeping it that way...in the summer they eat the baby frogs and even the tadpoles on the edge of the pond...i bet i can mk a box with a heat lamp and grow maggets in the winter...old refridge maybe and just sweep them out of the bottom every day....hummm, i'm gonna give this some thought....

Hey, lil fowl, the maggot "breeder" sounds interesting! Only one question -- probably dumb, but I can't picture what you mean -- what exactly do you mean by a sire veggie basket and how do you use it with the pie tin?​

 

[lil' fowl]

well i made the contraption....hope 15 watt is not too much .....now where in the heck am i gonna find a fly in this weather????can't remember the last time i even saw a fly up here....i will carry it out with me tomorrow(if i can get out) and leave it with some friends, warmer there...ofcourse they are gonna think i am nuts....i'll pick it up in a few days or how long it takes....it was easy to mk, had to b if i made it....i think if it works it will b a good source of winter protein, hope so this feed is killin me at 9 bucks a bag and thats just scatch....i would hv never thought of this if u hadn;t ask the question, "what would you feed....", THANKS for gettin me thinkin about it....let ya kno how it works...

 

[lil' fowl]

you kno, the wire baskets that u hang and put onions and potatoes in, they have 3 sections...cheap at the dollor store...but anything u can hang that has holes would work...just fill pie plate with bread and pour milk over,or milk and raw chicken juice, or just use raw chicken if u can stand the smell...the bread mk's it so u don't drowned the mags...if it is freezing where u are try this bucket deal....it didn't take 30 min to mk, i scrounged around in my junk, didn't cost me a penny....

 

[IggiMom]

Tala, why did your mealworms fail? I was thinking of doing mealworms, but if they are going to be a big flop I don't want to.

Catherine

 

[leenie]

Now this is my kinda POST! I finally got my chickens because I prep. Had heard about hanging something dead up to get maggots to fall for high protein. Love the idea of bread and milk in a wire basket MUCH better

That would also be a great thing to do when one goes away for a few days to keep the chickens happy.

 

[IggiMom]

Sheesh. Mealworms and Maggots and Roaches, oh my...

Catherine

 

[Spacecitypaula]

For those of you thinking about planting Corn to supplement, consider a 3 Sisters arrangement in your corn patch. Plant Corn, Beans and squash together. The corn gives the beans something to climb, the beans will provide the corn with nitrogen, and squash will help keep the weed population down. Plus you get the added benefit of beans and squash from your your corn patch. Interplanting is good!

 

[lil' fowl]

where are u gettin the mealworms from? i need some...more for wild birds....i had a flycatcher that did not migrate and i think it must hv died....first yr it did not leave then weather turn so bad...poor lil wrens need worms too....anyone have any they could sell me????pm me..... will they mk it through mail this cold? i lost mine ...didn't fasten the lid good and the chickens ate them.....thanks.

 

[IggiMom]

I was going to send for some from Sillybirds. He sells kits. But if any of you have them, plez let me know.

He sold me some mealworms, and the hens LOVED them. They eyed them askance for a few minutes, thinking, "Hmmm is she trying to poison us, hmmm..."

Then one picked one up and tossed it around a little and ate it, and all the others followed suit.

BUT--they were really expensive for a treat the birdies ate in approximately 30 seconds. I am not saying that he charged too much, not at all, just that maybe I should raise my own!

Catherine

 

[gsim]

Quote:
There are kits available for around $25. Supposedly you just save 50 or so for the next generation. You can buy a 50# bag of bran meal or order it for succeeding generations, and just use the same jar. I would just dump the entire contents out, old bran meal and all, to let the chooks sort thru it for the goodies, AFTER removing 50 or so for next generation. kCould make a sieve and trap worms, leaving the old bran meal for the garden or for composting. Have to keep one colony going a little bit all summer to avoid having to buy another starter kit in the Fall. Does not take even one sq ft space on a shelf per colony, etc.

I am planting tons of sunflower seeds all around my place this year. No special processing either. Just yank a blossom off and chuck it in to the run. Have to figure on squirrels eating a percentage of the crop.