Organic Chicken Raising! Discussions here!

[Quail_Antwerp]

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?

Not dense at all, Dace!

Yes, the kind you would get at the grocery store. But, buying a bunch of Quaker Oats up could get expensive A lot of feedstores carry Rolled Oats in 50 pound bags. My feedstore charges $20 a 50# bag of rolled oats.

No, I don't cook them first. I mix it in with their BOSS and flock raiser. About 1 cup of oats per feeder.

 

[Puck-Puck]

I'm here too from BYC. I'm also not Officially Organic or Fully Self Sufficient by a long shot, but am trying to point my feet in that direction. I have thirteen Red Sussex Cross pullets in a coop, with a Not Quite Officially Big Enough run which I swear I will enlarge as soon as my intermittent day work slows down. Meanwhile, they're still getting used to the idea of going outdoors in the first place, so it's not a big emergency as far as they're concerned. Coop or run, they are healthy, active, inquisitive and friendly.

"Town" is a four-hour round trip for me that I make once a month, but the feed store there does stock organic feed, bless them. It's expensive, but I reckon I can break even on my expenses and still have free eggs for myself, if I sell large brown eggs from happy hens, almost organic, comparably priced to the free range eggs from the store, but fresher--the affluent summer cottager types around here seem interested in supporting local enterprise.

I don't grow grain here, as this is a small town-sized lot, though the thought of tractoring on my absent neighbour's overgrown yard is tempting. Or maybe I could harvest the seed heads of all his grass. I do have a vegetable garden for my own benefit, and tons of volunteer dandelions and lambs' quarters, pineapple weed and rose shoots, all of which go down well with the ladies, who are now teaching themselves to shred things into beak-sized pieces.

Next year I'm planning on raising meat birds for the freezer (yes, I know they don't breed true, so are not sustainable per se) and the following year, I'd like to try some straight run Rhode Island Reds; hoping for half for meat (cockerels), and the other half (pullets) to replace the retiring Red Sussex hens. Then I will have a sustainable flock, if I keep a roo. Yes, it would be nice if everything was sustainable and self-sufficient immediately, but I'm thinking five-year plans, etc. Rome wasn't built in a day, and it'll take more than a day to unbuild Rome, as well.

 

[Puck-Puck]

Quail Antwerp, here's another "dense" question for you. Those rolled oats at the feed store--can you eat them yourself, for breakfast? Or are there certain, um, inclusions that can be expected in the sack, that would make this unappetizing? I also notice they sell whole wheat (unground) far cheaper than whole wheat flour is sold at the store (a shocking price). I'm wondering if it would be worth getting my wheat at the feed store and grinding it myself, as I go through lots. Same question as for oats: unwanted "extras"?

 

[hennypenny9]

Well, since I have no chickens. I'll just have to comment on how my parents feed theirs. Basically, not organic feed. But when I move back there I'm going to talk to the feed store, which is a small family business, about possibilities. Maybe they can order some for us? Also, we feed all kitchen scraps except a bit that goes to the compost. All weeds (and there are MANY) and all grass clippings. We haven't used fertilizer in years. Oh boy is the pen quiet when we dump the grass bag into the pen. We've never had a need to put them on meds. We only keep a few. No more than 10 chickens, and sometimes a couple ducks.

Isn't it funny that it's hard to come by organic chicken feed? You'd think it would be in demand (especially where I live!) because of all the people who sell organic free-range eggs at the farmer's markets. 'Course I live in hippie-central, so I may be a bit spoiled.

 

[Gwen]

I am able to buy organic feed, but I'm sure it's expensive. Right now they're on organic starter. They're 4 weeks. I'm interested in learning more about what I can feed them on my own. If they free range, how do I know how much they eat? Will they just naturally eat less of any store-bought feed I put in the coop?

Re oatmeal, we buy steel cut oats. I'll have to assume I can feed that to the chickens, uncooked or cooked. I tried giving the chickies yogurt but they weren't interested. Maybe they were too young.

We feed out dogs the bones and raw food diet and give them a lot of scraps. Boy, the lab is not going to like seeing the chickies get some of her food!

Cannot wait to give the chicks some of the many dandelions that grow here. Unfortunately the huge dandelion patch is not in their 1-acre free range area. I'm considering getting a moveable fence so I can let the chickens into various parts of the yard from time to time, to help with the weeding.

I am really into gardening and am interested in using my chickens (and ducks and geese which I hope to add next spring) to help with the weeding, tilling, and fertilizing. Along those lines, I'm planning to put 2-3 chickens in a run that goes around the vegie garden and also using a tractor to go up and down the paths in that area. But I have many other areas that could use some weeding.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

Quail Antwerp, here's another "dense" question for you. Those rolled oats at the feed store--can you eat them yourself, for breakfast? Or are there certain, um, inclusions that can be expected in the sack, that would make this unappetizing? I also notice they sell whole wheat (unground) far cheaper than whole wheat flour is sold at the store (a shocking price). I'm wondering if it would be worth getting my wheat at the feed store and grinding it myself, as I go through lots. Same question as for oats: unwanted "extras"?

Puck-Puck, I honestly don't know!

 

[keljonma]

Quail Antwerp, here's another "dense" question for you. Those rolled oats at the feed store--can you eat them yourself, for breakfast? Or are there certain, um, inclusions that can be expected in the sack, that would make this unappetizing? I also notice they sell whole wheat (unground) far cheaper than whole wheat flour is sold at the store (a shocking price). I'm wondering if it would be worth getting my wheat at the feed store and grinding it myself, as I go through lots. Same question as for oats: unwanted "extras"?

Puck-Puck, I honestly don't know!

The answer is yes, we eat the steamed rolled oats from the farm co-op store too! But we keep ours out in the barn, so I don't. We can get organic oats from the food co-op through the church - a 50# bag cost about $28 last spring. I haven't bought one since because I'm on self-imposed budget restrictions this summer.

I haven't ever purchased whole wheat from our farm co-op, so I don't know about that.

 

[keljonma]

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.

Good point about the yogurt and cayenne, BBH. I make 6 quarts of yogurt at a time and it lasts about 1 week for our flock of 15 large fowl chickens. Cayenne pepper is reputed to be a natural wormer, and it has antioxidant properties. It is also supposed to help with cocci, but I haven't had that problem here.

 

[Gwen]

I need to learn how to make yogurt. Can someone who is knowledgeable start a thread on that?!?!?

 

[big brown horse]

I need to learn how to make yogurt. Can someone who is knowledgeable start a thread on that?!?!?

Hi Gwen,

We make lots of yogurt on SS. Try to "search" for a recipe..I think there are many to choose from.