Feeding chickens during times of scarcity

[Ponder_MD]

I have just stood up my coop of 6 hens. They will begin laying sometime in September.

I know that chickens can and will eat kitchen scraps such as strawberry hats, peppers, lettuce and stuff, which can supplement store-bought feed. In case corn feed becomes scarce or stupidly expensive, what other alternatives are there?

Thanks.

 

[dieselfarmboy]

Pretty much any veggie scrap except onions or garlic. If you free range them they will eat bugs and grass. Worst case bread, chips and the likes. They might not lay as many but they will stay alive at least. Sadly other then having good quality eggs with the prices of feed you might not be saving any money.

 

[Joseph]

They will eat anything. Vegetables, meats, pasta, rice.. anything. Just chop it up for them to make it easier.
I would avoid sugary sweets.

 

[rondon600]

The bigger problem is not what they eat. It’s what eats them. One night 1 fox = no more chickens. That’s how mine ended. We survived a raccoon. Lost one to a neighbors dog and then a miscommunication with my son and the fox got them all.

 

[Todd S]

Mine tend to lay more, when I can free range them. We didn't let them out of the run Friday and Saturday. We were averaging 8 eggs per day. We averaged 5 per day from Friday- Sunday.

 

[remodeler1]

My hens love pork tenderloin & steak but won't eat fish. I give them just about any table scraps.

 

[Archeryrob]

Think compost pile. Anything and everything would would throw in it, they can eat. Some people put on in the run and they turn it for you. There is also more work as they spread it out for you.

When we had them I tossed a doe carcass in there and they avoided it like the plague mostly. Small stuff they shred though.

 

[newmuzzleloader]

They will eat anything. Vegetables, meats, pasta, rice.. anything. Just chop it up for them to make it easier.
I would avoid sugary sweets.

Yep, mine eat everything, including leftover chicken.
OP, you can rig up a portable coop and move around the lawn every few days and they will eat the grass under them. If you just turn them loose to free range prepare to stand armed watch over them or plan on losing them to aerial and terrestrial predators.

 

[Joseph]

Yep, mine eat everything, including leftover chicken.
OP, you can rig up a portable coop and move around the lawn every few days and they will eat the grass under them. If you just turn them loose to free range prepare to stand armed watch over them or plan on losing them to aerial and terrestrial predators.

Or get a dog that is good with live stock. I haven’t had any incursions from aerial or terrestrial predators since getting my Maremma. I do have to make sure I lock up the hens at night though.

 

[Ponder_MD]

Ok, good to know that they have a wide tolerance for food.

I didn't really start the coop to save money, I did it because I *love* eggs and also to introduce a measure of independence. We have a fairly large veg garden as well. I started potatoes this year for the first time. They're going gangbusters. I fee like Matt Damon in "The Martian." You can trade eggs and veg for lots of things.

I built a decent sized enclosed run for them. We may free range them in the yard but only under close human supervision.

 

[newmuzzleloader]

Or get a dog that is good with live stock. I haven’t had any incursions from aerial or terrestrial predators since getting my Maremma. I do have to make sure I lock up the hens at night though.

I never had dogs that would lay beside the birds. My wife thought it was a good idea to buy a duck squeaky toy for a lab pup one year. . That didn't end well for a few hens.

 

[babalou]

The bigger problem is not what they eat. It’s what eats them. One night 1 fox = no more chickens. That’s how mine ended. We survived a raccoon. Lost one to a neighbors dog and then a miscommunication with my son and the fox got them all.

that happened to my sister. She lives in Wheaton MD right off Veirs Mill and Randolph in the neighborhood behind the old Ames. She has a nice back yard. A fox did get in. She has replacements and they do free range in the back yard until night night time. They get lots of bugs due to the many trees in the neighborhood. Eggs are awesome

 

[steves1911]

Chickens will eat just about anything. We give ours all kinds of table scraps including meat. I always throw deer and fish carcasses in with mine too even if they wont eat it the flies and bugs it draws will have the chickens feasting. When the cicadas were going crazy everywhere mine didnt touch layer pellets for several weeks.

 

[Ponder_MD]

Ah, damn clever to throw fish guts in for the insects. Thanks for that tip.

 

[Bertfish]

No potato skins. Too hard to digest.

 

[SummitCnty]

We would cook whole chickens and pull the meat off and then throw the carcass in the coop. They would pick it clean.

 

[GunBum]

Damned chickens will eat left over KFC chicken. Stressing over what chickens will/won’t eat is a waste of time. They will eat damned near anything. Sure there is stuff that will have them laying better/more eggs, but keeping them alive is easy.

 

[epps1919]

Mine loved leftover Chinese food especially the spicy stuff


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[lazarus]

Pretty much any veggie scrap except onions or garlic. If you free range them they will eat bugs and grass. Worst case bread, chips and the likes. They might not lay as many but they will stay alive at least. Sadly other then having good quality eggs with the prices of feed you might not be saving any money.

And NO citrus.

Garlic is actually great for chickens digestive systems. It is just onions you have to avoid. A small amount in some other scraps is fine, but don’t give them
Onion greens or bulbs.

Also no potato greens. Most stuff that is poisonous to humans is poisonous to chickens (see potatoes greens).

You can feed them meat scraps (love it) and most table scraps (but again, not something with a bunch of citrus or onion in it).

Also feed them weeds and grass clippings. They’ll eat it.

Avoid giving them a lot of dry bread. If you have a bunch of bread scraps, soak it in some water first (like ducks, it’ll swell in their stomachs causing some problems if they eat much dry).

You can let them forage if you have the space. They WILL tear up garden beds (which is great in the off season to let them turn over the beds in crap in there a bunch) and eat anything you have growing. They’ll also rip up a pawn if you leave them in one spot too long (don’t let them forage in the same patch for more than a day basically, and you’ll want at least 50sq-ft a bird, or else see above. They’ll eat and rip up all of the grass).

You can feed them stuff like feed corn, but it’s not good for them as its hard for them to crack it. So you’d really want cracked corn if feeding straight corn. If you typically just toss gut piles, you can let your chickens eat it. They’ll pretty much eat all of the organs and entrails from a deer. Or toss a dead squirrel in there and they’ll munch it. They aren’t super picky. I’d cut it open first though.

They don’t really eat gourds much unless you’ve broken them open. Then mostly just the seeds out of them, not the flesh of a gourd.

 

[pbharvey]

Does anyone here ferment their chicken feed?