Anyone feed chickens a simple mix of whole grains?

[big brown horse]

we trying for cheaper also. and i like that i know whats in it. my birds free range a lot - especially in summer - so the whole grains to me is less processed stuff and more "hey you lazy bums get out there" and be natural chickens.

and nope havent seen any change in the poop. Harvey Ussery says you dont need to crack the corn for them but as Free says, make sure you transition to whole grains over the course of at least 3 weeks.

and last winter we only fed layer mix and we were completely overloaded with eggs. no pigs and just the two of us - it was nuts. people were running and hiding from us because they didnt want eggs anymore either.

this year we have more younger hens due to ..ahem.. attrition... and i didnt want to fire up the egg laying until we were into spring. i'm not sure if we are getting fewer eggs b/c of the age of our hens, the transition to whole grains, or because we arent giving them any extra light at all (last year we did).

OFG!! As usual, I almost peeed ma pants!!

 

[Marianne]

"I also give them the bones after making broth (using ACV), I crush the bones with a mortar and pestle I keep in the hen yard. "

Now, what? How do you make broth using ACV? or why? Does it do something to the bones?

 

[Wifezilla]

It leeches the minerals out of the bones and puts them in the broth. Really boosts the nutrition level

 

[Marianne]

How much ACV do you put in the water? Then you give the bone broth to the hens also?

Dang it, I got turkey bones already cooling in my stockpot now.

 

[Wifezilla]

Keep the bone broth for yourself and make soup. My last soup made from bone brother was Chicken Curry. Mmmmm!! Use bone broth as the base of whatever you decide to make.

I put between 2 tbsp - 1/4 cup in per large pot depending on my mood

http://eatlikebubba.blogspot.com/2009/09/chicken-bone-broth-nourishing.html

 

[freemotion]

The technical answer to your question is this....for a smaller pot, like a gallon or two, use one glug, and for a bigger pot, use two glugs. From the Latin glugicus.

 

[smurfette79]

Ok, I have seen this in many places yet I can't find out what it is. Or where to get it . What is BOSS feed?

I have chickens and we free range them in the summer and still give thim a small amount of grit/ layer crumbles/mash mix. They get a lot of bread scraps and shells . I was bringing scraps from the Inn I worked at and was feeding them the prep scraps. I don't work there anymore. j

I have tried sunflower seeds (we grow them year after year and save 2-3 heads for replanting. The chickens want nothing to do with them. They love when we section off parts of their "pasture" and the day we let them in the new field they are happy chickens....

They love worms, snakes, and any kinda bug they can get their beaks on. They love watermelon

Many things that once hit our compost have now headed to the coop to feed our 30 chickens. Lots of feed to keep them happy and laying in the winter!

 

[Wifezilla]

BOSS = Black Oil Sunflower Seeds

 

[Marianne]

Ah haaa, on the bone broth. I guess we just always called it 'making stock' and boiled away. Good stuff. From now on, I'll add a glug or so of vinegar. How funny.

So you guys also give the hens the bones to pick at? I was surprised to read about crushing the bones for the hens. I generally do the shells instead of buying oyster shell. Lots of sand around here for grit.
I had gobs of TALL wild sunflowers in and around the chicken run a couple years ago. The seeds are pretty small and the girls loved them...so much that we only had a few wild sunflowers last year! I'm going to get a bag of wild bird seed and see if I can get some different grazing ground going for them.

I did plant a small area of sunchokes last year. The hens weren't the least bit interested in them. I'm going to try grating some and see if that will help. My hens also wouldn't eat cabbage until I threw out the last bit of some coleslaw. Then they went hog wild. Don't know if it was the dressing that appealed to them or because the cabbage was cut in shreds.

 

[colowyo0809]

i'm not sure if we are getting fewer eggs b/c of the age of our hens, the transition to whole grains, or because we arent giving them any extra light at all (last year we did).

I experience this with the whole food diet and also using heritage breed hens. Don't worry. The floodgates will open in the spring. Remember that eggs stored in the fridge will keep for four months, so you can stock up for moulting season and then for winter if you'd like.

Or, you can sell like crazy during that time, and use that money to buy from trusted neighbors in the winter whose hens are laying