Organic Chicken Raising! Discussions here!

[Quail_Antwerp]

Ok so several members on BYC would really like to discuss a place to raise their chickens using organic methods. Someone suggested that a thread be posted here for it....

So their wish is my command!

I love almost nothing more than discussing my chickens, and since I firmly believe they should be allowed to have a voice, I dedicate this thread to all of those BYC Organic Chicken owners!

Please, come and discuss your organic ways of raising chickens with us! I for one would be glad to learn a thing or two about organic chickening, and keeping my flock healthier the organic way.

I know many of us here have had light discussions about doing some things the organic way, but I'm sure there are other tips, facts, and ideas that others can share with us.

Now, I think we're all ears, so don't be chicken! Talk to us, please, about your organic ways and how your chickens are faring!!!

I am looking forward to this!

 

[freemotion]

I feed whole grains, as most of you know. OK, they are not organic, but they could be!!! Availability is an issue, though. It is hard to find whole grains here, since no one feeds them. I can get whole corn and oats, but the quality of the oats is dismal. So I load up when I go to Maine, oats, barley, and if I have room, corn.

My chickens, guineas, and turkeys are VERY healthy and productive.

If you sprout barley a little bit, the protein levels skyrocket. If you sprout oats and barley a lot, you get greens for the winter or confined birds.

I feed whatever veggies I can get my hands on in winter. Last winter it was pumpkins....I had about 75 small pumpkins stored in my basement. I tried feeding them raw, but not so much interest. I think they were too hard and then froze. So I would put a couple in a pot on the woodstove every other day and bring a half of a cooked pumpkin out with me every day, along with whatever else we had.....often it was acorn squash skins.

This winter I hope to experiment with adding acorns. There was no crop last fall, but I see lots of baby acorns on the white oak (lower tannins in the white oaks) that I scouted for close watching.

 

[Dace]

 

[ranchhand]

Howdy all, I made it from the BYC side.

I would like to feed organically, but there is no feed available here that is certified organic. I could travel a long way, but the cost is too high anyway.

So I still feed commercial lay pellets, but supplement with free ranging and kitchen scraps as often as possible.

Free ranging on our property is also a concern- the previous owners apparently didn't care much about Mother Earth. We have been slowly finding their debris and dead spots.

They were exceedingly chemical happy and buried glass rather than drive 3 miles to the dump to recycle it.

My main interest, I guess, is finding an affordable source of organic feed or growing it myself.

 

[Javamama]

Organic is great if you can manage it, but around here it would be next to impossible. There is no source of organic feed that wouldn't cost an arm and a leg and I am not about to get some kind of "official" approval. I prefer natural, but I can't allow myself to obsess over it. We don't use chemicals in the yard, we do buy Purina Flockraiser because it's what they do best on so far. We give the hens a huge area of yard to run in and they get all the scraps we have leftover plus whatever we grow around here - garden stuff and sunflower seeds, etc.
I was having a conversation about the rules regarding the organic terminology with DH's family (and they are a bunch of smarty pants) and his uncle jokingly said we should market our eggs as "not inorganic". So that's where I stand. I like my "not inorganic" chickens. It's about minimizing anything harmful and keeping a happy, healthy flock in a more natural way.

 

[keljonma]

If you have even a bit of land you could grow small quantities of grain in a 10' x 10' or 100' x 100' plot, if you wanted to harvest and then feed. But I think you could consider planting good forage in the yard - alfalfa, timothy, clovers, etc. There are also many "weeds" that make excellent forage, plantain, dandelions, and purslane are just three.

This site has some good ideas for mixing your own feed if you are interested in doing that - http://www.lionsgrip.com/chickens.html

The closest certified organic feed to me is a 5 hour round trip, so we don't use it often, so normally we feed Purina SunFresh FlockRaiser.

We haven't used antibiotics or medications ourselves for years (we're blessed with good health), and we don't use them on the flock either. We feed acv, garlic, oats, sunflower seeds, DE, and, in autumn, pumpkin seeds. Plus they get lots of veggies and fruit, have access to the herb garden, and to the compost.

While I have not seen any documentation that sunflower seeds are a helminth, I have not seen any worms yet, and our oldest birds are 3 years old. Of course, that could be contributed to the acv and garlic, as well. Sunflower seeds provide methionine, which is necessary for feather growth, and ime, help the flock get through molting in better condition. Their feathers are just beautiful in color, condition, and tone. If you plan to add sunflower seeds to your flock's diet, it has been recommended that it is no more than 1/3 of their feed because of the high levels of fat in the seed.

Verm-x is now available in the US as a preventative wormer. I haven't used it, but have read that, used properly as a preventative, it has been effective. I personally feel it is morally unethical to use a commercial worming product and then sell the eggs to unsuspecting clients. Even telling a client that you have wormed your birds will mean absolutely nothing to most folks, imo.

While mostly we practice a 'do no harm' philosophy, at the first sign of what appears may be a respiratory issue, I apply VetRx (or my homemade version). I also use Oxine AH in the warm-mist vaporizer when appropriate.

Making sure they have enough space, plenty of sunshine, fresh air and chance for foraging/exercise helps keep them healthy. It is rare for our birds to be ill, and all seem happy. So while we aren't organic by the ever-changing government standards, we feel we do a good job of caring for the birds and offering healthy safe eggs to our customers.

 

[Dace]

Kel, I want to start adding ACV to the girl's water. I read conflicting amounts thought...1 tsp to a gal and 1 Tbs to a gal. Can you tell me which is correct?

Also does it have to be raw ACV?

How do you give them garlic?

And what kind of oats are you giving them?

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

Rolled Oats, Dace, looks like oatmeal LOL

I put 1 tsp of ACV per gallon of water. Other people might do more or less.

I don't give my chickens garlic?

Mine get Black Oil Sunflower seeds, scraps from my garden, left over birthday cake, and this fall I hope to get them a pumpkin or two.

 

[big brown horse]

My birds are fed yogurt 4 times a week mixed with cayenne, raw pumpkin seeds, a dash of ACV and bulgar wheat. They also get ACV in their h2o daily. About 1 tbsp per gallon or so.

Then they get all of my garden scraps and greens to boot.

The cayenne and pumpkin seeds I was told helps keep worms at bay and they seem to like it.

The bulgar wheat is just some left over stuff I had on hand.

I pick up oyster shells on the shore (you have to sneak them here) and my daughter hammers them into bits on the cement dirveway. I also crush all the egg shells and re feed them to my chickens.


I am running into the same dilemma of finding organic feeds. But I think a friend of mine knows where to get it...but it is quite a drive.

I am so happy we have this thread to encourage each other!! THANK YOU!!!

 

[Dace]

Sorry to be dense, but the kind of oats you get at a grocery store or is it from a feed store? Also do you have to cook it first?