In times of economic austerity, poultry herd can contribute to food safety-if you are not entirely dependent on purchasing poultry feed to maintain production. Family flocks that make you more independent of food are flocks that are fed at least in part by your homeland’s own resources. Fortunately, the natural feed you can produce in the backyard is what chickens eat in the wild: green plants, wild seeds, and animal food such as earthworms and insects-all of which are fresher and more fresh than anything in a bag. Nutritious.

Think of feeding as a range: at one end is a completely enclosed flock, eating only what we provide to them. Strict "scientific balance" feed is necessary because birds cannot make up for any deficiencies on their own. At the other end of the spectrum is a group that only eats what it finds on its own in a completely natural environment-feed that naturally balances its dietary needs. Of course, few of us own the land and time resources to provide our sheep with natural food sufficient to fully sustain them. Therefore, your feeding plan is likely to be in the middle of the range.

Free-range poultry may be able to support themselves if they can reach enough biodiversity and protect them from predators. My grandmother’s herd is self-sufficient and free to move on the 100-acre farm. After a few months of age, geese can survive entirely on good grass. If turkeys are allowed to collect ticks, wild persimmons and acorns from the forest, they will collect feed themselves.

Grazing our sheep during the growing season is the closest way most of us can come to complete free-range breeding. Grazing flocks help pasture management: grazing turf means we cut grass; eating wild seeds limits the "seed bank" of weeds; and potentially destructive leaf-eating animals, such as grasshoppers, have no chance to reproduce. In addition, bird droppings can improve soil fertility. Before you conclude that grazing is not for you, remember that many young sheep owners graze on their lawns.

Most grains (corn, beans, and small grains such as wheat, rye, oats, and barley) in commercial feeds for poultry are easy to grow for homesteaders. I grow "Hickory King", which is a kind of lively large ear fodder corn. After the ears on the stem are dry, I peel them and store them in a large trash bin, and manually peel them every day in winter.

You can use sand (because chickens don't have teeth, you need to grind the feed with sand or pebbles, because chickens don't have teeth) there is no problem when processing whole corn. I doubt whether any actual difference in feed efficiency is worth the extra expense and effort to grind native corn. If you grind corn, feed it within a few days, because once the seed coat breaks, the more perishable nutrients will begin to break down. Whole corn is not suitable for chicks.

Other seed crops that are easy to grow include millet, sorghum and sunflower. Just throw the entire seed head to your chicken.

Many common garden cover crops-alfalfa, clover, annual rye, kale (and its close relatives canola), radishes, mustard greens, buckwheat and corn grass-provide abundant feed for poultry. All can be cut and shipped to chickens, or chickens can eat these crops.

The biggest challenge for traditional feed grains is not growing them, but harvesting and threshing (which is labor-intensive), and finding space to store them. You can eliminate these problems by growing grains as cover crops and allowing them to mature before being fed to the chickens. Cowpea and buckwheat are similar double cover crops, providing nutritious seeds for chickens.

While eating these high-quality feeds, chickens will grow in cover crops and use plant residues and their manure to improve the soil.

Electrified mesh fences (available through Premier 1 and Kencove) and natural feeding strategies intersect in gardens and pastures. A net can surround the butternut squash patch and attach some Guinea to 100% control pumpkin bugs. Fencing chickens (and/or ducks) in the garden before the planting season largely eliminates slug populations for months. "Weeding" geese remove weeds from certain crops (corn, grapes, onions, potatoes, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and asparagus).

If you want to selectively target smaller garden areas, park the chicken tractor on a separate bed. The adjacent beds are protected from chickens.

The regulations governing certified organic production require a 120-day waiting period from the application of raw manure to the harvest of crops in contact with the soil—for tall crops such as corn and lattice beans, there is a 90-day waiting period. There is no direct soil contact with the harvested part. I personally think that the feces of well-managed poultry are unlikely to be carriers of pathogens. My standard practice is to replant the bed immediately after the chicken is working, and harvest the resulting crop without considering any waiting periods.

Comfrey is rich in protein and minerals. It is a sturdy perennial plant that can be cut and fed to birds, or a movable fence can be rotated on the comfrey bushes so that the birds can harvest the plants themselves. Geese and ducks especially like comfrey. Because of the alkaloids in comfrey, people have questioned the possibility of long-term liver toxicity. If you want to explore this topic further, please search online for "pyrrolizidine". My research has convinced me that the whole comfrey leaf does not pose a health risk to livestock.

Certain "human food" crops can also be used as poultry feed: potatoes, pumpkins, winter melon, sweet potatoes, and beets or fodder beets. All these crops can be stored well under proper conditions.

The dandelion and yellow dock stay green until winter. As long as I can push my shovel into the ground, I will dig out these nutritious plants and throw them bucket by bucket to my winter sheep. Geese especially like wild chicory. How do you think chickweed got its name?

Poultry in the orchard consume a lot of protein because they help control harmful insects. They also help control diseases by cleaning up fallen fruits. The goose is particularly diligent in collecting fallen apples and pears.

Historically, farmers allowed groups of turkeys to move in the forest to harvest windfalls of acorns, beech and persimmon. After smashing the nuts on the rocks with a hammer, I feed my flock of wild pecans and black walnuts.

The mulberry trees on the pasture provide shade and are full of fruits. Chestnut trees provide shade for chickens. Chickens obtain protein by eating chestnut weevil at different stages of development, breaking the life cycle of weevils and protecting trees.

A typical static chicken farm-without a green cover and scattered with manure-should be disgusting for everyone who is concerned about the health of the flock and avoiding runoff pollution. I recommend using a thick organic cotton cloth when running to absorb feces, prevent runoff and maintain the fertility of the garden application. Autumn leaves, grass clippings, sawdust, old hay or straw are great bedding for running. As this organic debris field becomes more biologically active, it will multiply with the chicken's feed: insects, earthworms, fungal chains, and health-promoting microbial metabolites.

This strategy works both in winter and summer. In winter, grazing is usually impossible because the dormant turf will be destroyed by chickens. It is much better to release the sheep in a thickly covered winter yard than to confine it. If the mulch is heavy enough, the ground will not freeze and chickens will be able to eat live animal food (worms, slugs, and pill bugs). In the summer, those who cannot graze will find that pastures covered with deep mixed organic matter are the best alternative to bare chicken pastures.

Organic waste can be transformed into resources through the use of decomposing organisms, which I like to call "reorganizers". Trash bins for raising bloodworms convert kitchen waste, garden residues, and manure into valuable soil amendments (earworm manure), which you can harvest as feed for your flock.

The Heishui Fly, native to District 6 and warmer regions of the United States, is a particularly fascinating ally. Last year, I started to manage a group of slugs (the larval stage of this insect), feeding them with dense and juicy waste such as food scraps, manure, and culled fruits and vegetables. The feed value of these grubs is very high (42% protein and 35% fat, dry weight). Chickens and ducks like them.

Most of the eliminated fruits and vegetables are good feed for chickens. Those who have extra space in the greenhouse can grow re-pruned grasses, canola, turnips, and other fodder crops for winter sheep. If I have a large number of Japanese beetles, I will shake them (in the cool morning and evening when they are not easy to fly) into a 5-gallon bucket with a gallon of water? . Imagine the feeding frenzy when I gave them to the chickens!

Sprouting the seeds you feed (purchased or self-produced) can increase the nutritional value (enzymes, vitamins and protein). In winter when fresh food is scarce, germination is a particularly useful strategy.

Excess milk and dairy by-products, such as skimmed milk and whey, are excellent feed for chickens. Fermented milk with live bacteria such as kefir makes it more beneficial.

If you have them, cracked or dirty eggs are a good feed, especially for growing birds that require higher protein. Just boil the eggs, crush them with your hands, and feed them-shells and everything. Feeding eggs in this way will not encourage your chickens to eat raw eggs.

Finally, one of the best strategies to achieve greater independence from commercial feed may be to reduce the size of the flock. The fewer birds you support, the greater the share of feed resources for each bird you can provide. As I use family resources more and more seriously, I try to find the ideal between reducing the chicken flock to a more supportable scale and producing the eggs, cooked poultry, broth and refined cooking fat we need. A compromise solution.

If given the opportunity, most chickens want to forage natural feed. But how do you know if your hens are full, and how much commercial feed or feed you prepare yourself? If your flock is located in an area with plenty of natural foraging opportunities, don't be afraid to "push" your birds to maximize foraging, and be a bit stingy with the prepared feed you provide.

Have you tried the method of producing more flock feed from your own resources? Do you have any ideas to share? If so, please comment below. If you are advocating the cultivation of specific household feed crops, please indicate the type (for example, single-head sunflower with large seeds, or multi-head sunflower with small seeds) and/or varieties you have used.

Certain strategies are so obvious and commonly used (feeding kitchen waste to the sheep), there is no need to mention them. But your unique perspective on these ideas may be useful, for example: "I have arranged a sandwich shop nearby to save me their food scraps."

Remember to include your location and (if you know) your climate (cold resistance of plants) area.

For more information on raising poultry, see other Harvey Ussery articles: Anyone can raise chickens and incredible homestead chickens.

Using some PVC, fluorescent shop lights, some chains, and some other materials, you can create a low-cost growth light setup for starting seedlings indoors or growing plants throughout the year.

Understand the docile temperament of traditional American guinea pigs, understand their foraging habits, and help protect them by raising breed awareness.

Author and poultry breeder Gail Damerow shares how to protect your flock from predators large and small in your area.

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