[Ramona M. Faunce]

Since purchasing our chickens this past spring, I noticed that I will be buying feed for them. But what if the shtf? How will I be able to afford feed, if high inflation hits? How will I feed the rabbits I plan on getting?

I don't plan on larger animals, because I do not have the pasture for them. There are others in our valley with that kind of property lay-out.

So,I turn to my "The Encyclopedia Of Country Living" by Carla Emery. She has a really good section on animal feed. This is a good book with a multitude of information about almost everything. If you haven't seen this book, stop by the library (if you still have one) and look at a copy.

There are several web sites that give further information on how to free range/pasture large and small homestead animals.

I feed my chickens scraps from the kitchen. But I do chop them up into small pieces to make it easier for them to eat. I've noticed that they will eat almost anything that is clean and fresh.

I have a chicken tractor that I am using right now. So the area that they have been on will be seeded with clover come fall and hopefully give them substitute food (along with the bees) for next spring/summer. But I will have to figure out what I will be doing during the winter months. I do not want or have the room to store a couple of years worth of chicken feed. So, I was thinking of drying chopped up vegetation then rehydrating it when it is time to feed my chickens.

How do your guys feel about this idea? Do you have another Idea?

God bless and keep on prepping.

 

[rncmomx2]

My chickies have been on their own since they were a few weeks old....we stopped feeding them bought feed when we let them out on the ground (right around 10-12 weeks old) and they are fat and happy....they stay around the house on a small piece of property (about 1/2 acre at most) even though we have a few acres....they are fat and happy (this goes for winter too as they can find there own food even in snow)


We never feed the chickens once they get old enough to roam free....we have coyotes and other predators but hasn't seem to bothered the chickens-since they were raised to be free roaming they react when chased or scared by running and hiding instead of waiting for their impending death :thumb:


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❤❤ Someones out there loves me as much as I love them ❤❤

 

[MaKettle]

Chickens eat grass and such naturally but when they eat it they are tearing it off the grass in the perfect sizes. When they eat it already chopped up they eat clumps of it or odd shaped that plug up their crops and cause problems. Chickens can eat grass that's growing but mowed grass will cause problems. So chopping stuff into bits is not a great idea unless you're scattering it so they peck it 1 by 1 and not several bits at the same time.

That said I feed mine dry corn, oats, dried veggies, whole meal bread crumbs, scrambled eggs, suet, dried herbs, and corn meal mash cubes in the winter. I don't rehydrate them. Corn meal mash cubes are simply corn meal mash in a dish with grease poured over it and allowed to harden back up into a cool whip bowl shaped block. Suet is the same except with seeds/oats/cracked corn. The rest is served dry either in a feeder that doesn't allow them to get large amounts at 1 bite or scattered on their straw.

 

[Meat Guy]

APPPA (American Pastured Poultry Produrcers Ass'n) is a source of information. Dairy quality alfalfa is a good high protein feed for them. The higher quality of pasture, the less they need to be fed. They love meat scraps and fat.

 

[rncmomx2]

They love meat scraps and fat.

When we clean a dear or chicken or rabbit they fight each other for the spare pieces lol....the chicken games is what the kiddos call it lol.


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❤❤ Someones out there loves me as much as I love them ❤❤

 

[FLSurvivor]

Other foodstuffs for thought can include duckweed and hibiscus. Both of these water plants grow like crazy and can easily be maintained by just, well, letting them grow in water. I could see just pulling our a few scoops of the plant and ploping them within range of your chickens or other feed animals. Green Deane talks about their food usage to animals and to humas. hmm... Hibiscus pork rines, no, seriously.

Anyhow, one major thing to consider as a con is both plants will absorb heavy metals and so the water quality of where these plants are growing should be monitored.

 

[swink]

if you have a garden you could just grow extra corn the dry it, grind it and store it, you can also raise BSF larva then freeze/dry it till winter

 

[nicktide]

Sounds like chickens are pretty well covered. Look up raising black soldier fly larvae. Also, during the depression, people used road kill to add protein.

for rabbits, dandylion, plantains and clover are all easily identified (even for a child) weeds. I figure colecting these may even be a way for a child to "earn" their keep (chickens enjoy these as well, especially in winter).
I also raise sunchoke. its a perenial potatoe like tuber and the 6-10 ft stalks are a high protein hay. Comfrey seems to be a favorite of chickens and ducks. my rabbits like it as well. I have a small alfalfa patch.

Also, if you ever need to reseed your lawn, mix about 1/3 clover in it. it will give you a healthier lawn and give you clover for protein.

 

[mooseracing]

Free range and any scraps the dogs won't eat or I don't want to give them goes to the chickens/guineas. I also have a window in the coop with a electric fence wire, so they have to fly up to get in and out, keeps the 4 legged killers at bay.

Winter I don't have a choice but to buy feed for them as there is too much snow. If I was worried I would grow some field corn, sunflowers, etc. Something that would compare to the scratch grains we buy.