Feeding chickens during times of scarcity

[Ponder_MD]

My garden is exploding. Every morning I harvest radishes and lettuce to make a big salad for my work lunch.

The early heat caused some of my lettuce to run away so this morning I made a pinata out of radish greens and lettuce for them. Last time I checked the camera they were beating the hell out of it. I gave them some chilled, cut up grapes for a cool treat yesterday afternoon.

 

[2ndCharter]

Black Soldier Fly (BSF) larvae

 

[geda]

Put a japanese beetle pheromone trap in the chicken run. You want the beetles to hit the plastic part, fall and hit the ground. Depending on the design you either run without the bag or with the bottom cut out. The same trick works great over fish ponds.

 

[lazarus]

Put a japanese beetle pheromone trap in the chicken run. You want the beetles to hit the plastic part, fall and hit the ground. Depending on the design you either run without the bag or with the bottom cut out. The same trick works great over fish ponds.

Oh that's a really good idea! I usually empty my traps into the coop once they start filling up. Of course then some number usually get away.

 

[John from MD]

Get a Chinese Goose or two. They will become part of the herd and God help anything that threatens it.

 

[remrug]

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

I did that with a neighbor's chickens and they tore it up. Just getting near their pen they would get all worked up thinking I had more.

Tried to show my cousin the same thing with his chickens,and they totally ignored the carcass.

 

[pbharvey]

Black Soldier Fly (BSF) larvae

I've been reading about that recently.
Anyone here done it?

 

[steves1911]

Never heard of the soldier fly before. Planning to grow mealworms this fall in prep for winter.

 

[MigraineMan]

Common plaintain (the "weed," not the banana) grows just about everywhere, and is surprisingly nutritious and medicinal. Chickens love the things, and they're a good forage plant for the birds. I cooked some recently (with onions in bacon grease) - would characterize it as industrial-grade spinach. Not my favorite, but certainly edible. Chix inhaled the leftovers.

They'll eat anything we can, other than avocados - avocado is neuro-toxin to birds. Also, avoid citrus in large quantities - the citric acid inhibits calcium deposition in eggshells. Try not to overload them on protein.

 

[geda]

The black soldier flys have been colonizing my compost bin in the summer for the past few years. I have not fed them to chickens, but they seem pretty hardy, low effort(zero for me) and make good pan fish bait.

 

[Burt Hammersmith]

I honestly don’t believe the chickens would be around long in a true time of famine or hardship.

If its issues getting typical laying feed due to a supply issue, that’s one thing. They can free range and eat human scraps like they did 100 years ago before there was a TSC in every town. A properly managed flock can typically survive eating what is naturally available, until winter then nature thins the flock out. Not talking about a backyard coop. Not going to last long on Scott’s turf builder lawn, looks nice tho…

Things get skinny and you won’t be focused on feeding them as much as you will be focused on keeping them from being someone’s feed. Same goes with your family pets, then family if things get that bad. People will destroy you just for a meal. Savages.

I find it amusing when people say they will shoot deer and squirrels if things get skinny… wait till everyone else is as well, game will be on short supply.

 

[Blacksmith101]

I honestly don’t believe the chickens would be around long in a true time of famine or hardship.

If its issues getting typical laying feed due to a supply issue, that’s one thing. They can free range and eat human scraps like they did 100 years ago before there was a TSC in every town. A properly managed flock can typically survive eating what is naturally available, until winter then nature thins the flock out. Not talking about a backyard coop. Not going to last long on Scott’s turf builder lawn, looks nice tho…

Things get skinny and you won’t be focused on feeding them as much as you will be focused on keeping them from being someone’s feed. Same goes with your family pets, then family if things get that bad. People will destroy you just for a meal. Savages.

I find it amusing when people say they will shoot deer and squirrels if things get skinny… wait till everyone else is as well, game will be on short supply.

Most people don't know how to hunt or fish, process game, or cook over an open fire even if they could start one. The first problem will be water (three days without water) they don't know where to find it or how to purify it so there will be a lot of water born diseases with no medicine and the initial die off will be epic.

Then will come the food (three weeks without food) those who know how to hunt will consider those who don't poachers and deal with them accordingly and those with livestock will defend their property.

It will not be pretty.

 

[teratos]

Most people don't know how to hunt or fish, process game, or cook over an open fire even if they could start one. The first problem will be water (three days without water) they don't know where to find it or how to purify it so there will be a lot of water born diseases with no medicine and the initial die off will be epic.

Then will come the food (three weeks without food) those who know how to hunt will consider those who don't poachers and deal with them accordingly and those with livestock will defend their property.

It will not be pretty.

It’s been said people are 9 skipped meals away from cannibalism.

 

[Burt Hammersmith]

Realistically, it will be shortages in food and available supplies. Peoples pets will go first.
Then livestock little by little.

There will be so many pets running around from the owners not being able to feed them, people are soft and look at their pet dog as apart of the family, instead of dispatching them early and supplementing the food they have, they will release it thinking it will find its own food.

Anyone with livestock of any magnitude wouldn’t be able to support it for long without all the support from our current farming industry systems. Even a large flock of chickens would have to be thin out, let alone a heard of cattle more than a few. If you can’t get enough feed to tend all the birds, you have to free range them on the property you have. I have a few acres and had to thin mine out to 9 hens and a rooster. That’s with a feed store down the road. They just eat too much!

The average chicken owner in MD doesn’t have much property and couldn’t support more then a few chickens without feed. They would be forced to free range, and watch how fast critters and hungry people snatch up those birds.

To think someone can’t build a fire and kill and eat something is naive.

 

[teratos]

Realistically, it will be shortages in food and available supplies. Peoples pets will go first.
Then livestock little by little.

There will be so many pets running around from the owners not being able to feed them, people are soft and look at their pet dog as apart of the family, instead of dispatching them early and supplementing the food they have, they will release it thinking it will find its own food.

Anyone with livestock of any magnitude wouldn’t be able to support it for long without all the support from our current farming industry systems. Even a large flock of chickens would have to be thin out, let alone a heard of cattle more than a few. If you can’t get enough feed to tend all the birds, you have to free range them on the property you have. I have a few acres and had to thin mine out to 9 hens and a rooster. That’s with a feed store down the road. They just eat too much!

The average chicken owner in MD doesn’t have much property and couldn’t support more then a few chickens without feed. They would be forced to free range, and watch how fast critters and hungry people snatch up those birds.

To think someone can’t build a fire and kill and eat something is naive.

I’ll be keeping my dog. He’s a great early warning system and defends my wife and kids. I might eat him if he were a worthless breed.

 

[Burt Hammersmith]

I’ll be keeping my dog. He’s a great early warning system and defends my wife and kids. I might eat him if he were a worthless breed.

Until you have to make a decision to feed him or your kids. Then he gets hungry and turns and rends you or the kids.

 

[teratos]

Until you have to make a decision to feed him or your kids. Then he gets hungry and turns and rends you or the kids.

We'll feed him the neighbors. The kids, too. If things are that bad, there will be plenty of non-traditional food sources around. I have no problem rationalizing the use of protein and fat that will otherwise go to waste.

 

[Burt Hammersmith]

We'll feed him the neighbors. The kids, too. If things are that bad, there will be plenty of non-traditional food sources around. I have no problem rationalizing the use of protein and fat that will otherwise go to waste.

Mines getting dispatched and cooked on the smoker the minute I can’t easily buy dog food. One less hassle to worry about. Make me some homemade Chinese food

 

[teratos]

Mines getting dispatched and cooked on the smoker the minute I can’t easily buy dog food. One less hassle to worry about. Make me some homemade Chinese food

You lose an amazing resource. Of course, it depends on your dog.

 

[Blacksmith101]

I have cats and a horse they all can fend for themselves pretty well especially with some help when the hunting is good. They will all earn their keep the cats doing rodent control and the horse when the gas is gone.