Let’s chat a bit about how and what you feed your chickens.
There are many schools of thought about what you should or should not be feeding your flock. Some are very technical and strict. Today, we are going to share with you how we are keeping our birds fed and happy in a simple way. You maybe thinking…
…There are so many chicken feed options! How am I supposed to choose the right one?
Now let’s take it easy. It is really only as complicated as you make it. First and foremost, we believe most feed found at your local big box store is CRAP! More power to those that choose the expensive crumble feed found at Tractor Supply, but we choose not to for specific reasons. One being…
…Read the Label!
I cannot stress this enough. If you are not reading food labels whether it be food for your family or pets, START NOW!
“Why? Who cares about what some label has to say!”
You better check yo’self with that mindset smarty pants. Start reading the labels and educating yourself with what is in your, and your animals’ food. Our choice is Organic Soy Free Feed. Our store bought feed is merely a base layer to supplement our ladies during the transition period of our flock’s food source. We hope to eventually feed our ladies for free using various techniques and systems but, until then we will remain purchasing feed.
Table of Contents
- How to Feed Your Chickens:
- Ferment Your Chickens Feed!
- Feed Your Chickens, Garden Waste.
- Feed Your Chickens, Kitchen Scraps.
How to Feed Your Chickens:
Ferment Your Chickens Feed!
We discovered fermenting chicken feed awhile back and we have experienced a noticeable change not only in the health of the flock, but the amount of money we were spending feeding dry feed. Have you ever noticed the powder left behind in the feeder when your chickens have finished eating? What a waste!
When you ferment the feed, you will no longer see that waste that is full of nutrients left behind.
Chickens are more interested in whole grains rather than powder left at the bottom of the feeder. Fermented feed also offers health benefits. Just like when us humans introduce fermented foods into our diets. You will also no longer need chicken feeders, as you can simply spread out the feed in the chicken yard or right on top of your compost heap.
If you are able to free range your birds good for you.
If you are free ranging and do not have some sort of compost system set up, then you are wasting precious real estate space in your chicken yard, as well as an extra food source for your flock. Because, there are tons of tiny crawling insects in that compost heap ready to provide the birds with high quality protein. Read more about how chickens are multipurpose here.
Feed Your Chickens, Garden Waste.
I will not automatically assume that everyone that has chickens has a garden, but usually, the two go hand in hand. So, take that afternoon, stroll through the garden with a margarita in hand and show that garden some love. Pruning is a great way to promote new growth, remove disease, and put a big smile on that plant’s “face”. Weeding is also a great way to make your plants and soil happy.
“So, now what! Should I just throw it all away? ”
If you are guilty of throwing away your garden waste, HOW DARE YOU! Your chickens will praise you for giving them the garden waste. This provides free food and nutrition for the flock. But, I like to just give my birds store bought food. It is much healthier and has everything they need!
WRONG!
Don’t just stop at store bought food. Think about it this way, feed natural things from the earth that are free first, THEN use store bought feed as a supplement.
Feed Your Chickens, Kitchen Scraps.
Just as it sounds. Save all those scraps from the kitchen and give it to your birds. We have a small compost bin we keep on the kitchen counter. We put all scraps in the bin and take it out to the gals and gents every morning.
There are various tales on what you should and should not give your chickens.
When we first started with chickens, we followed all the “rules”. However, now we give them just about everything. Plus, following rules is for squares. In our opinion, chickens will eat what they want, and the remainder will break down to feed the compost. So, stop throwing kitchen waste down the drain or in the trash and do your flock a solid by giving it to them.
Happy fed chickens and fuel for the compost right from the kitchen.
That’s it, in a nutshell, of how we go about feeding our flock. There are many schools of thought surrounding this subject, but after a lot of trial and error and lots of learning about this amazing bird, we have come to an efficient way to feed our birds.
Feeding this way while incorporating compost piles, exercises the chicken’s natural instincts while also providing a healthy diet leading to a happy flock.
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