Winter feed options for cold climates?

[Beccazon]

As winter approaches, here in Michigan, I expect free-ranging will be limited if not all together on hold. Not much to forage for in the snow with frozen tootsies! So what are my feed options for winter to increase the flock's nutrients closer to their free-range intake?

Sprouting grain I heard is an idea? I am going to search a thread on that. What else?

 

[paneubert]

I soak alfalfa pellets or cubes and then mix it with wet feed. Pellets marketed for rabbits, cubes marketed for horses. I like the cubes more since the alfalfa is slightly longer and less just "mush". 40 or 50 pound bag of horse cubes costs 10-20 bucks and lasts virtually forever. Haha.

 

[paneubert]

Other benefit of alfalfa is it is on average around 16% protein. So it is almost the same protein as many layer feeds.....

 

[RoosterML]

I don’t change any feeds for cold weather. I do have rabbits and will toss in a handful of rabbit feed every once in awhile.

 

[Northern Flights]

Making a mash out of layer pellets or crumble works great, as does the odd plate/tub of warm oat groats or rice. Sometimes I make a doughnut shape of mash on the plate and put yogurt or sour cream in the middle.

I add mixed veggies and even ground Turkey or beef to the mash on the rare ccasion but my hens really like just plain old warm layer mash which is ideal really. On really cold indoor only days it makes things kinda fun for them.

 

[wyoDreamer]

We stored a bunch of winter squash and shared them with the chickens. I plan to cut the weeds around the yard and dry them as hay. Stored in old feed sacks and throw in the coop and run, they enjoy breaking them down if nothing else.
Last year I tried that with some stinging nettle (their favorite green thing so far) and they went bonkers for it. I just put it into the feed trough with their layer crumbles.
Mine also like sprouted grains. I use corn and wheat for sprouting. Alfalfa sprouts are too expensive, so those are mine.
I like to see those dark orange yolks all year round.

 

[Folly's place]

I feed Flock Raiser all year to everyone, with separate oyster shell, and some garden goodies. No changes in winter, realizing that there's nothing much out there when there's snow! My winter horse field is immediately next to the coop, and the chickens get some hay fines out of the bales, and scrounge through the road apples too.
With a light on a timer in the coop, I do get some winter eggs, and they do just fine all winter.
Mary

 

[centrarchid]

If I had only a handful of birds, then it may become practical to setup a larger compost area with a depth of a couple feet. It needs to be protected from coverage by lots of snow. Mix some grains into into it. Biological activity, if properly formulated, will provide heat to keep production of invertebrate eats going except during spells of intense cold. Still do your greens bit and the alfalfa suggestion is good too.

 

[GC-Raptor]

Last winter I bought a compressed bale of Alfalfa to use as bedding. It was lousy as bedding by itself. So a couple of times a week I would toss a flake in their pen to consume.
So now I have been buying a combination compressed bale of Alfalfa hay, Orchard grass. It's better for bedding than straight Alfalfa, but much better when mixed with Pine shavings.
It has some fines of Alfalfa that the chickens love.
I mix it with Pine shavings for the floor of coop and nests.
I change the bedding weekly or biweekly depending on the time of year. .
I buy it at TSC. . GC

 

[Northern Flights]

Perhaps a better choice of hay for some may be Timothy, or phleum pratense. It's an excellent, all critter feed hay that a lot of you equine types likely know intimately. Up here on the drifting pack ice we can get a good late season cut of Timothy and stock up on it every winter. Much less prone to fungus/rot, superb bedding hay and keeps fresh way longer than even local hay. My hens love it.