15 Ways to Save Money on Chicken Feed

It’s a heartbreaking moment…

When you first realize your homegrown eggs are costing you more than what you’d pay for eggs at the store…

The current state of mass food production has duped us into believing things like milk, eggs, and grains cost much less than they actually do or should.

For example: Even though we have our own milk cow, our milk technically costs me MORE than it would to simply buy a gallon at the grocery store.

The good news? Saving money isn’t the primary reason we’ve chosen to own a cow. For us, it’s really about the quality of the product; our milk is fresh, beyond organic, and wonderfully raw. Not to mention owning a cow just plain makes me happy, so it’s a quality of life thing for us as well.

Chickens and eggs fall into the same category. While it depends on feed prices in your area, I’m still going to venture to say if you are looking for “frugal” eggs, you’ll probably be better off to buy eggs from the store. But, that’s not the reason most of us keep chickens, right? We love the bright yellow yolks, the satisfaction of watching the hens peck around the yard, and all that comes with chicken-ownership.

However, if you experienced sticker-shock the last time you walked into the feed store, take heart! There are plenty of ways to save money on chicken feed, AND boost your flock’s nutrition in the process. This list will help you get started—>

15 Ways to Save Money on Chicken Feed

1. Shop around. When I started calling different feed mills, I was surprised at the huge difference in prices. Just remember– cheaper isn’t always better, and if you are feeding an ultra low-quality feed, it can be very hard on your birds. Never sacrifice your chickens’ health just to save a buck.

2. Mix your own feed. I say this with a wee bit of hesitation, since depending on your situation, it may actually be MORE expensive to mix your own feed… However, I do suggest finding a recipe you like (all my homemade chicken feed recipes are in my Natural Homestead book), and then shopping around with local feed stores to see how much it would cost for them to mix it for you. Also, don’t forget to check with the local farmers in your area. Sometimes they’ll have older grains sitting around that aren’t fit for human use, but would be fabulous for your flock.

3. Buy feed in bulk. I buy everything in bulk, including my chicken feed. Often feed stores will give you a cut if you purchase a pallet of feed, rather than just a bag or two. Another trick is to split a large order with a friend. My one caveat is this: chicken feed which has been ground/processed/cracked, rapidly looses nutrition as it sits. It’s probably not a good idea to purchase a year’s supply at a time, unless you are using a recipe that calls for whole grains–they are much more shelf-stable.

4. Ferment your chicken feed. Fermenting your chicken feed greatly increases nutrition, and decreases the amount they eat. The same goes for sprouting.

5. Stop feeding free-choice. This is actually a topic with a bit of debate surrounding it… (Have you noticed everything causes a debate these days?) While I like the thought of allowing my flock to self-regulate, it can be a problem if you have lots of rodents. Rats and mice think free-choice chicken feeding is the best thing ever, and if you struggle with rodent problems in your coop, it’s likely your all-you-can-eat grain buffet is to blame. This problem can be avoided by only feeding as much as your chickens can eat in one day.


6. Free range as much as possible. I realize this isn’t possible for everyone, but if you can, allow your chickens to roam around your yard. Not only will this greatly supplement their diet, it can also help to control bug populations, and keeps them from becoming bored. Plus, there is something so soothing about watching chickens scratch around your front porch.

7. Bring the yard to the flock, if the flock can’t roam the yard. When my hens must stay confined to their pen in the summer months (usually because they are destroying my almost-ripe tomatoes), I like to pick large handfuls of weeds or grass and toss them over the chicken-run fence. The girls definitely enjoy rummaging around in the green matter. I also like to take a bucket to the garden with me when I weed, and I collect all the weeds in the bucket and transport them to the flock as well. (Although I don’t have near as many weeds as I used to, thanks to my deep-mulching adventures!)

8. Ask for leftover vegetable and fruit scraps at the grocery store. Not all stores will allow this, but ask if you can have the wilted lettuce, squishy tomatoes, and bruised apples. Some folks also collect stale bread items from bakeries, but I personally avoid this. Many of the bread items sold in stores like donuts, breads, rolls, or muffins are made with heavily processed ingredients and additives. They might be okay for the occasional treat, but they aren’t something I’d recommend feeding on a regular basis– just as humans shouldn’t eat them as the bulk of their diet.

9. Grow your own feedstuffs. Grains, cover crops, greens, sunflowers, and various veggies are good places to start.

10. Grow duckweed. I haven’t tried growing my own duckweed yet, but I’m totally intrigued! Duckweed is a high protein plant that can be fed to a variety of animals, including chickens. If you’re a duckweed grower, please leave a comment and share your wisdom!

11. Raise soldier grubs. As tough as I like to think I am, I must confess I’m still not quite ready to tackle the whole concept of raising grubs/larvae for my birds. Do I think it’s incredibly smart? YES. Do I think it’s a fabulous way to create low-cost, high-protein feed? YES. Do I want to get up-close-and personal with maggots? Eh, not quite yet. If you’re braver than me, my chicken-keeping idol, Harvey Ussery, has a chapter in his book (affiliate link) devoted entirely to cultivating soldier grubs.

12. Offer leftover milk and whey. If you own dairy goats, cows, or sheep, you are familiar with the feeling of drowning in milk. When you’re floating in milk and have made all the homemade yogurt and mozzarella cheese you can handle, consider sharing your excess with your chickens. Leftover milk and whey are full of protein and most flocks will enjoy the treat. For an extra boost of probiotic nutrition, clabber your raw milk by allowing it to sit out at room temperature for several days until it begins to thicken. (Don’t attempt this with pasteurized milk– you will not have the same results.)

13. Save kitchen scraps for your flock. I keep a small bucket on my kitchen counter at all times and continually toss in bits of leftover bread, celery ends, carrot peelings, watermelon rinds, and more. It’s a feeding frenzy when I show up at the coop. My chickens have even been known to chase me down in the yard when they see me carrying any sort of white bucket. It’s insanely satisfying to watch your birds turn kitchen waste into orange-yolked eggs.

14. Sell eggs. Yeah, I know this isn’t exactly a way to save money on feed, but selling excess eggs is a wonderful way to offset feed costs, and make your chickens pay for themselves. Plus, there is always someone wanting farm-fresh eggs!

15.  Cull non-productive members of the flock. I know many of you keep chickens as pets, and that’s great. But if you are truly trying to cut costs, it may be time to turn non-producing hens into nourishing chicken soup. I know this thought might cause some of you to recoil in horror, but keep in mind this is exactly what great-grandma would have done.

More Chicken Resources

• Natural Homestead– my latest eBook that’ll help you mix your own chicken feeds, create herbal supplements, fight garden pests naturally, and lots more.

 By Jill Winger http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2015/01/save-money-chicken-feed.html
(This is not a paid endorsement or affiliate arrangement - we just like what she has to say on her blog )

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Homemade Suet Cakes

Homemade Suet Cakes

October is one of my favorite months of the year. I love that the hustle and bustle of August and September have started to slow. Harvest time is finishing up, my garden is dormant and school routines have been established. The leaves are changing to beautiful yellows, oranges and reds. All around is a picture perfect view of nature.

At my home, we have had two nights in a row that temperatures dropped to freezing levels. Frost and ice have covered both the grass and my car’s windshield. Winter is on the horizon and this backyard chicken keeper is starting to get into the routine of preparing for the cold weather to come.

One of the ways that I help my Ladies get through the long Michigan winter is by preparing homemade suet blocks. The extra calories help the hens to stay warm. Beef tallow, suet,  is a great binder to hold together extra goodies such as cracked corn, sunflower seeds and millet.  These provide not only extra calories, but have nutritious value without any preservatives or added chemicals. The rendered beef tallow,  alone,  can be kept in a sealed mason jar in your basement, pantry or canning cupboard for up to a year, longer if kept in the refrigerator. The mixed up suet cakes can be kept in your refrigerator for up to a year before going rancid. If at any time, a rancid smell develops, please err on the side of caution and do not consume or feed it to any animal, dispose of the product immediately.

Things you will need:

Glass Jar (for holding the tallow)   

stock pot

1 Pound Beef Fat/Suet

¼  Cup of Black Oil Sunflowers

¼  Cup of Cracked Corn

¼ Cup of Corn Meal

½   Cup of Millet Bird Seed

Fine Mesh or Cheesecloth for straining

molds for the shape of suet cake you would like to make

Steps:

1. Begin by chopping your beef fat into small chunks. This makes rendering the fat quicker.
2. As your fat is rendered to liquid, scoop out any large pieces of crispy bits or cracklin as we call them.
3. While the fat is rendered, prepare your jars by sterilizing them in boiling water.
4. Pour into the warm, sterilized, jar using a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth to catch any left behind bits.
5. Allow the Tallow to cool. Mixing your hot tallow with your seeds would cook the the ingredients.
6. Once the tallow has cooled to room temperature, before it solidifies, mix your ingredients together.
7. Place in molds and allow to cool and harden. The corn meal and cooled tallow will begin to thicken quickly, but to get fully hard I let them set overnight. You can place them into the refrigerator to cool more quickly.
8. To serve to your birds, place in a suet cage or serve in a feed bowl. Store the remaining cakes in the refrigerator, wrapped in wax paper and placed inside a storage baggie.

 This is a basic recipe for making beef tallow as well as homemade suet for your birds to enjoy. I use these during Fall Molts and through out the winter to give my Ladies a booster of calories. Once you are comfortable working with tallow, you can add different things to your suet cakes. 

Peanut butter, dried fruits, are all appreciated additions that your flock is sure to love. I feed these during the day and remove them from the chicken area at night. I have had good luck so far with night time predators, but do not like to encourage them by leaving food out at night.
 
 
http://www.communitychickens.com/homemade-suet-cakes/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=CC%20eNews&utm_campaign=2014.10.14%20CC%20eNews

 

Winter is just around the corner - Prepair For Proper Diets Now

How to Enrich Your Chickens’ Diet This Winter

Grow supplemental winter treats to keep your chickens happy and healthy when they can’t free-range.

By Rachel Hurd Anger

Chickens are omnivores with strong instincts to forage for vitamins, minerals, protein and oils found in the living grasses and insects they eat, to sustain life and to produce healthy eggs for would-be offspring. But, despite winter’s wonder, the season lacks fresh, living foods.

While grain-based feed is balanced for optimal nutrition as a main food source, feeding only commercial feed denies chickens some of their natural behaviors. Chickens can become bored during the winter months, and when they have nothing to peck but feed, they can start pecking each other instead.

Encourage natural behaviors during winter and decrease seasonal stress by offering sprouts and fodder grown in your kitchen. The fresh tastes of spring will boost the flock’s winter activity levels, keeping them warm and occupied during the coldest months. In the warmer months, forage can be sown directly in the run for in-coop enrichment all year-round.

Sprouts and Fodder

In Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Tina Gabel breeds, shows and sells Silkies and Nankins, in addition to keeping a few large layers. Her interest in healthful and holistic foods led her to try sprouting for her flock.
"The satisfaction of growing sprouts and fodder doesn’t end after the first jar,” Gabel says. "It becomes a nice hobby of sorts.”

She prefers sprouting soft, white wheat through fall, winter and early spring, and recommends the simple jar method of sprouting. "It’s so easy and fast, and the supplies are available at local stores.”

To sprout seeds in a jar, add 1/2 cup clover seeds, alfalfa seeds, wheat berries or even lentils into a quart-sized canning jar. Secure a double layer of cheesecloth over the jar’s mouth with the band. Soak the seeds overnight, then rinse through the cheesecloth at least twice a day for two to four days, draining upside down between rinsing. Gabel drains hers slightly tipped in a dish drainer, but if you’re short on space, place the jar upside down in a small dish. Slow the growth process by storing finished sprouts in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use them, continuing to rinse occasionally.



Sprouting seeds packaged for human consumption are usually labeled Certified Organic, while conventional seeds might be treated with chemicals that make their sprouts inedible. Even if you don’t feed your chickens organic feed, sprouting organic seeds ensures they are appropriate for human consumption and safe for your flock.

To grow fodder, simply grow your sprouts longer. After three or four days of sprouting, transfer the sprouts to another container, such as a colander or a bowl. Continue gently rinsing the fodder at least twice a day, and drain well. Within a few more days, the roots will intertwine to form a thick mat topped with lush greens resembling sod. Once the mat forms, flip it onto your hand to rinse the bottom, let it drain and return the fodder to its container. To serve to chickens, tear off a small section at a time, trim greens from the top or present the entire mat for the flock to peck at their leisure.

"We harvest fodder for the bantams by cutting 1/2-inch pieces for them so they don’t get impacted crops,” Gabel says. "The large fowl are given chunks of fodder, which they love to grab and carry around.”
Foraging for living foods in the winter keeps chickens happy and ensures that the eggs laid during the off-season are as healthy as possible.

"By supplementing the diet with soft wheat sprouts, hard wheat fodder and fresh vegetables and fruit, along with some seeds and supplements, we can help fill any possible nutritional gaps,” Gabel says.
While she grows her sprouts and fodder, daughter Lindsey makes a supplement "pizza” for the flock year-round, with layered poultry conditioner, black oil sunflower seeds and a sprinkle of probiotics to help keep the show birds in tip-top shape.

Once she discovered the ease of growing treats hydroponically, without a greenhouse and soil, growing sprouts and fodder became a hobby that Gabel shares with other chicken owners.

Coop-Side Forages

For chicken keepers raising their broods in cities or areas where flocks are more vulnerable to predators, free-ranging for forage can be inadvisable or impossible. For these chickens, the lack of living foods isn’t only a seasonal problem, but one that plagues the coop environment the entire year.
Sherry Fischer can’t let her flock of Silkies forage in her yard in Fort Bragg, Calif., so she decided to bring the yard into the run.

"I became interested in enrichment in the coop and run when I found myself envious of people who were able to free-range their chickens,” she says. "I expressed concerns with a friend about the flock’s mental and physical well-being while kept in a pen.”

Fischer began hanging pots of edible nasturtiums inside the run and planting strawberries out alongside the run where her Silkies can help themselves to the forage that grows within a beak’s reach. She even grows forage right inside the run. Her grazing frame, a shallow raised bed topped with framed chicken wire, allows her lightweight Silkies to munch on the clover and mixed grasses growing through. For large layers, a grazing frame requires hardware cloth to support their weight over the forage.

Through her diverse social media network, Fischer encourages other chicken keepers to grow supplemental foods and forage inside their coops and runs, or to grow it elsewhere and serve it in a natural way. One of Fischer’s foraging tricks is stuffing freeze-dried mealworms into cracks in logs and around rocks for the chickens to find.

She assures that providing some enrichment in any coop is easy and beneficial. "It’s not hard to be kind and caring, and to provide a stimulating environment for chickens,” she says. "It can be easy.” During the winter months, Fischer sometimes even bakes for her flock. "Veggie-filled corn muffins topped with mealworms—yum!”

High-quality nutrition and a pleasant coop environment are important to many modern chicken-keepers. As Gabel treats her chickens to sprouts and fodder while they wait for spring, and Fischer’s flock enjoys foraging inside the run, each chicken keeper creates a superior quality of life for her livestock. What it takes, Fischer says, is "just seeing to it that they have the opportunity to find and work for some of their own food, access fresh greenery and function as a flock within a combined area.” Offering living foods, such as sprouts, fodder and purposeful forage, is a simple gesture to increase a flock’s quality of life. The once-offbeat hobby of chicken keeping continues to evolve against the grain.

Learn more about chicken diets and winter chicken-keeping:

• 6 Winter Tips for Your Flock
  
• 6 Coop Winterizing Chores
  
• Frostbite in Chickens
  
• 7 Chicken Treats for Better-Quality Eggs
  
• 5 Herbs Your Chickens Will Love 

About the Author: Rachel Hurd Anger, a freelance writer living in Louisville, Ky., sprouts lentils and grows alfalfa and clover fodder for her small flock of hens throughout the year. During Kentucky’s unpredictable winters, she scatters sprouts for forage and serves warm oatmeal breakfasts. Follow her chicken-keeping adventures on UrbanFarmOnline.com'sg Chicken Quarters.

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5 Steps to Get the Best Eggs Possible

Treating your layer hens to a little TLC will mean delicious, golden-yolked eggs for your morning breakfast.

Back in the days before my layer flock came to enliven life on our farm, I would have picked the egg for sure—or maybe the egg carton. After all, the runny, pale-yolked eggs I cooked came from cartons sold at the grocery store, not from any chickens that I could see. My perspective changed, however, when I brought home our first fuzzy chicks, watched them grow into gawky pullets and waited—and waited—with bated breath for our first farm-fresh eggs to magically appear.

I eventually learned that not only did you first need chickens to have eggs (obviously), but to start getting eggs, you also needed your pullets to reach about 20 weeks of age. And to get an ongoing supply of good eggs, your chickens needed the right food, clean nest boxes, sufficient daylight and more. In other words, because an egg’s quality reflects the care and management the hen receives, getting good eggs takes some work—and not just on the chicken’s part. Take it from anyone who has ever kept a layer flock, the delicious results are well worth the effort.

If you think fun chickens giving delectable eggs every day sounds like a recipe for hobby-farm happiness, our guide to getting good eggs will help you collect the right ingredients.

Courtesy Wavebreak Media/Thinkstock

What’s In an Egg?
Before we look at what should go into a laying chicken, let’s talk about what comes out. That amazing chicken egg has a protective, external, porous shell consisting mainly of calcium carbonate covered with an invisible protein barrier called the cuticle that shields the interior from bacterial contamination.
These structures, along with an inner membrane, surround a cushiony, cloudy albumen (the white), composed mostly of water and protein. The albumen in turn envelopes the nutrient-packed yolk, the egg’s main nucleus of protein, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. On average, a chicken egg contains about six grams of protein and six grams of fat.
 
Provide the Basics: Food, Water, & Coop

Food
To keep its body functioning and to produce one of these self-contained, nutrient-rich units each day, it’s essential a laying hen receive a balanced diet with adequate levels of protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins and minerals.

For laying flocks older than 16 to 20 weeks, experts generally recommend a balanced layer ration containing 16- to 18-percent protein and approximately 3½-percent calcium to promote strong eggshells.
Many raisers also offer free-choice oyster shell for extra calcium in case their feed falls short of this important mineral. Calcium deficiency can result in thin-shelled eggs and leg problems. You may need to offer your birds the higher-protein feed during periods of peak egg production and when hot weather causes birds to eat less.

If you keep your flock confined, don’t forget to provide them with a source of insoluble grit to assist in grinding the feed in their gizzards. You’ll find oyster shell, grit, formulated layer rations and various types of feeders at your local feed store. Some even carry balanced, organic layer diets, if you prefer your flock dine on food free of antibiotics and grown in a sustainable fashion.

Chickens allowed to free-range pastures, orchards, gardens or other outdoor areas will consume a nutritious and diverse mix of insects, grains, berries, seeds and plants in addition to their formulated fare. Many chicken keepers treat their flocks to other goodies, too, from bread to surplus cow’s milk. However, a number of poultry experts advise against this practice.

"A lot of farmers try to save money by feeding scratch grains and household food scraps,” says Jacquie Jacob, PhD, poultry extension associate at the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. "This dilutes the nutrition of the laying feed and can result in shell weakness or cessation of production altogether.”

Water
Laying chickens also require a constant supply of fresh, clean water. Not only does a chicken’s body use this life-sustaining liquid for numerous physiological functions, but water also comprises more than half of an egg’s volume. You must ensure your birds have a reliable water source during both hot and dry periods and freezing weather or their egg production will suffer.

Coop (The 5 Steps)
Along with a balanced diet and ample water, your chickens need protection from the elements, predators and disease to stay alive and healthy—and thus keep laying eggs. A cold, wet chicken, for example, will be forced to spend its energy reserves trying to stay warm rather than on egg production. A sick or stressed chicken will often reduce its egg output or completely quit laying. And it goes without saying that a bird killed by fowl cholera or a coyote will not be giving you any more eggs—ever.

1) A Proper Coop
A snug, secure, well-built and properly ventilated chicken coop will offer your flock shelter from inclement weather, give your birds a predator-safe spot to roost at night, and discourage the presence of disease-carrying rodents and wild birds.

Outdoor access into a covered coop or pen gives the chickens a protected place to dust bathe, scratch for bugs and preen in the sunshine. However, not all raisers keep their birds cooped round-the-clock; many allow their flocks to free-range around the farm during the day, while others utilize pasture-based systems that incorporate mobile chicken tractors or moveable poultry netting.

Both confinement and free-range systems have their pros and cons, Jacob says. Free-ranging birds may have more room and increased opportunities to behave like chickens and forage for a varied, natural diet, but outdoor living does pose definite risks.

"Many people think that having chickens romping around a pasture is idyllic, but they can’t imagine all the threats the birds are exposed to, such as diseases and predators,” says Francine Bradley, PhD, an extension poultry specialist with the Department of Animal Sciences at the University of California, who recommends confining layer flocks. "If your birds are enclosed, you’ll also be able to quickly find the eggs. You can supply a clean nest box so the chicken lays there instead of hiding its nest somewhere or laying its eggs in a mud puddle. This increases your chances of getting clean eggs.”

2) Keep the Coop Clean
Whichever raising system you use, avoid crowding your chickens and keep their environment as clean and dry as possible.

Regularly layering fresh litter in houses, preventing mud formation in pens and raking up droppings will help prevent your birds from tracking feces and mud into their nest boxes and onto their eggs. Hygienic conditions promote healthier hens, as will paying attention to biosecurity issues, such as quarantine periods for new fowl and limiting visits to your farm from other chicken raisers.

"If a visit is necessary, the farmers should have showered before coming to the farm and should not wear clothing, including baseball caps, shoes and boots that they’ve worn anywhere near their own birds,” Jacob stresses.

3) Provide Nest Boxes
To get eggs—especially nice, clean, intact ones—you’ll need to persuade your chickens to lay where you want them to lay, not in some poopy corner of their coop or hidden in tall grass somewhere out in the back 40.

Bradley stresses providing plenty of covered nest boxes for your flock; one for every four hens. You can purchase easy-to-clean nest boxes from poultry supply companies or build your own from wood. Install the boxes about 2 feet off the floor and deeply layer each with clean, soft litter, such as non-toxic wood shavings, to provide cushioning for the eggs and to absorb droppings.

"You might want to tack a little cloth over part of the opening to make it secluded and dark. Chickens like this and it will help prevent egg eating,” Bradley says. "You’ll want to put a plastic or rubber egg in the box first to attract the chickens to the nest box.”

For birds allowed outside, Jacob suggests keeping them inside until later in the day so you won’t have to embark on an Easter egg hunt every morning.

Most chickens finish their egg-laying by 10 a.m. or so. Knowing exactly where your birds deposit their eggs will enable you to find and gather the eggs promptly, making it less likely for them to become broken and attract a hungry chicken’s attention.

"Egg eating is a very bad vice and one chicken can teach the others this habit,” Bradley says. "It’s best not to let the habit start to begin with.”

4) Set Up Lights
Light is another important factor that affects egg production and a good many neophyte chicken keepers have been left scratching their heads and wondering why their chickens quit laying as winter set in. (Note: Hens will also cease laying during molting periods.)

"Hens come into production with increasing hours of light per day and go out of production with decreasing hours of light per day,” Jacob explains. "A minimum of 14 hours of light per day is necessary to maintain egg production. Timers can be used so that the [artificial] lights don’t have to be on all day; they can come on before sunrise and/or stay on after sunset in order to maintain the required number of hours of light per day.”

5) Clean Eggs Well
Frequent egg collection coupled with clean, dry, uncrowded nest boxes and coops will go a long way toward keeping your flock’s eggs clean. Not only is a pristine, freshly laid egg a thing of beauty, but it can go right into a carton and into your fridge, no scrubbing required.

"If eggs are found clean, there’s no need to wash them since it would remove the bloom, or cuticle, which is the invisible, protective layer naturally found on eggs,” Jacob says.
But despite our best efforts, sometimes dirty eggs happen. With a small amount of dirt or droppings, you can:

• Dry clean the egg by buffing it off with some fine-grit sandpaper.
  
• Wet washing, although the normal procedure in commercial operations, can result in bacteria being sucked into the egg if done improperly (for example, in a cold bucket of water).
  
• Got some really filthy eggs? Toss them out to be on the safe side.
  
• As soon as you collect them, stash your fresh eggs small-side down in a dated egg carton in the refrigerator. Don’t store them with or near odorous foods like onions or fish. When cooking with raw eggs, be careful you don’t cross-contaminate other foods and always cook eggs thoroughly. Wash your hands well afterward with warm water and soap.

Once you figure out the right ingredients, getting good eggs from a small layer flock actually doesn’t take that much time and effort on a daily basis.

In fact, it’s a wonder more people don’t keep chickens, given that fresh-from-the-coop eggs look and taste so much better than store-bought. As Golson has discovered, the straightforward recipe for optimal egg production has changed little over the years.

"I have a favorite book, first published in 1895, called The Biggle Poultry Book, which gives advice for the ‘urban hennery,’” she says. "It used to be that most everyone had a few hens in their backyard to provide eggs for the table. The advice that worked then is just as good now: Provide a secure shelter, access to a yard and sunlight, good food, and keep it clean. That’s it!”

Get more egg and chicken-keeping help from HobbyFarms.com:
About the Author: Cherie Langlois is a former zookeeper and a freelance writer who has kept a variety of chicken breeds—and enjoyed dozens of fresh eggs!—on her Washington farm for over 17 years.


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5 Herbs Your Chickens Will Love

Use both fresh and dried, these herbs will help boost your flock’s health and keep them laying happily.

By Lisa Steele

Just as they do for humans, most culinary herbs have wonderful and varied health benefits for your chickens.

Whether you scatter herbs in your coop and nesting boxes to help repel insects and parasites, feed them fresh to your chickens, or dry them to add to feed, you can greatly enhance your flock’s health by incorporating a few herbs into their living environment and diet. Like grass and weeds, herbs are considered green treats and can be fed free-choice. Each hen will eat as much or as little as it wants or needs.

Herbs are easy to grow, and many are perennials in much of the country. They generally aren’t very picky about soil conditions and don’t need a lot of water or babying to thrive. I grow a variety of herbs for my chickens, but these five are my favorites

1. Lavender 

Lavender leaves and flowers are my favorite herb to use in nesting boxes. An aromatic stress reliever, lavender also increases blood circulation and acts as an insecticide, so it’s beneficial to your laying and setting hens. The leaves and flowers can be harvested as needed and scattered in your nesting boxes to keep them fragrant.

Lavender loves dry soil and full sun. Flowers, buds and leaves all can be air-dried and used through the winter
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2. Mint 

Mint comes in many varieties, including spearmint, peppermint, chocolate mint and orange mint. Lemon balm, catmint and catnip are also part of the mint family. Extremely aromatic, mint is an excellent rodent repellent, and as such, I love adding it fresh to nesting boxes. Mint also helps to naturally lower body temperature in humans and animals, so adding some crushed fresh mint leaves to ice water in the summer helps your chickens cool down.

Mint is very easy to grow and will spread rapidly, so it’s a wonderful herb to plant around the perimeter of your coop or run as a natural mouse barrier. Plant it in full sun in fairly well-drained soil. Air-dry the leaves for use through winter
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3. Parsley 

Parsley is a favorite of my chickens. They will eat the stems and leaves fresh from the garden. A nutritional powerhouse, parsley contains vitamins A, B, C, E and K, as well as calcium, iron, magnesium, selenium and zinc. It aids in blood-vessel development and also stimulate egg-laying. Air-dry the leaves and add them, crushed, to layer feed.

Parsley is happiest in fairly rich soil in full or partial sun, but it can also thrive on a windowsill. Take care not to overwater it, and trim or harvest as needed.

4. Oregano 

Oregano is being studied by the poultry industry for its natural antibiotic properties. It’s thought to combat coccidiosis, salmonella, infectious bronchitis, avian flu and E. coli. Is this herb too good to be true? Possibly, but what is known is that oregano is a healthy addition to a chicken’s diet, and they love it.

Oregano is packed with vitamins, including E and K, plus calcium and antioxidants. It also supports immune-system and respiratory health. I feed fresh-cut oregano leaves to our flock free-choice, as well as mix the dried herb into their feed.

Grow oregano in full sun and well-drained soil, cutting the leaves back as needed.

5. Sage 

Sage is another herb that I like to add to my chickens’ layer feed. It’s rich in antioxidants and vitamins and is purported to combat salmonella and other diseases. I feed fresh sage leaves free-choice to my hens, as well as add dried sage to their feed.

Sage, like most other Mediterranean herbs, grows best in well-drained soil in full or partial sun.

Get more chicken-keeping help from HobbyFarms.com:

• 9 Natural De-worming Plants for Your Backyard Flock
  
• Protect Your Chicks Naturally from 7 Common Illnesses
  
• 7 Design Details to Build Into Your Coop
  
• 7 Chickens to Raise for Colorful Eggs
  
• 5 Steps to Get the Best Eggs Possible

About the Author: Lisa Steele is the author of Fresh Eggs Daily: Raising Happy, Healthy Chickens...Naturally (St. Lynn’s Press, 2013). She lives on a small farm in Virginia with her husband and a variety of chickens, ducks, dogs, horses and a barn cat. She's a frequent contributor to various chicken keeping publications, as well as her blog, www.fresh-eggs-daily.com, and is an avid gardener, crafter, baker and knitter in her free time.

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Human Food That's Safe to Feed to Chickens

Human Food That's Safe to Feed to Chickens And Some That's Not!

Letting chickens run free around the place is great, especially if you've rescued some commercially bred hens. It's a wonderful feeling as you watch them and a  cockerel or two busy themselves around the backyard or garden. They can be very efficient at keeping a lawn down too.

However, you need to keep an eye on just what your flock might be tucking into and this is especially true when the summer really gets going because there are a few plants which can be deadly to chickens. But then the same can be said of the colder winter months when there's not so much around for chickens to eat. The winter months are when you need to feed a few treats to your birds as a way to supplement their daily diet and help to reduce any boredom that might set in.

With this said, just as with dogs and chocolate, there are certain foods which are taboo for chickens and this includes onions and anything citrus. There are some people who will not feed potato peelings to their chickens either whereas other people do. Chickens get a lot of the nutrients and goodness they need from the specially formulated chicken food that commercially produced but they do love a special treat every now and again.

Most people who own a few hens and a cockerel or two, like to give them any left overs from the kitchen and this is a great idea. You get rid of leftovers in the best way possible by recycling them to your poultry.

However, you need to feed these “goodies” in moderation to your chickens, because just like with humans, too much of a good thing can prove bad for your birds! A few goodies offered on a daily basis will be much appreciated by your flock and you know they will always be your best friend when you scatter a few kitchen scraps around the yard for them – they'll be pecking at your heels!

Below is a list of “safe foods” that people eat that you can feed to chickens

OK  Vegetables found in the average kitchen

• Asparagus
• Beets~ green tops too
• Beans, must be cooked never raw
• Broccoli
• Brussel Sprouts
• Cauliflower
• Cabbage~entire head
• Carrots~green tops too
• Corn
• Cucumbers
• Eggplant
• Garlic- adding raw cloves to drinking water will help boost immune system
• Peas
• Bell Peppers
• Popped Popcorn
• Potatoes~cooked avoid peels (see below)
• Pumpkins
• Squash
• Tomatoes
• Turnips~cooked
• Sprouts
  

OK  Fruits normally found around the average home

• Apples including the seeds
• Bananas without the peel
• Berries - Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries
• Cherries
• Grapes - seedless
• Melons -Canteloupe, Watermelon, Honey Dew
• Peaches
• Raisins

OK  Breads and grains usually found in the average kitchen

• Rice - cooked
• Breads - all kinds
• Sugar free cereal
• Oatmeal - raw or cooked
• Pasta – cooked

OK  Dairy produce usually found in the average kitchen

• All cheeses including Cottage Cheese
• Plain yogurt

NO!  However, there are things that chickens must not be given to eat and this includes the types of food listed below

• Avocado - skin, fruit and stone are toxic to poultry
• Rhubarb - poisonous
• Citrus -  some people say it can cause feather pecking due to increased levels of Vitamin C whereas other people think it can interfere with Calcium absorption
• Onions - causes Heinz anemia in poultry
• Uncooked beans – because they contain hemaglutin which is poisonous to birds
• Raw potato skins – because they contain Solanine poisonous to bird
• Sugar
• Salt

Some people like to feed meat to their chickens too although there are those who think it makes birds more aggressive. With this said, lots of hens will steal a pussy cats food if they are given the chance and still remain quite placid – it's normally the cat that's gets a bit annoyed!

Unfortunately, there's a ton of toxic plants out there that are really bad for poultry to eat. But there are certain plants which you can have around a garden or back yard that are really safe for chickens to eat. The bad news is your hens will devour them in no time at all, if you let them.

Top 10 Plants That Are Safe For Chickens to Eat

Nasturtiums – this lovely plant not only looks lovely in a garden, but the flowers can be used in salads too. If your hens don't get to them fist that is!

Beet greens – chickens love these and it's a great way of using them up – however, only a few at a time should be given to your hens

Broccoli greens – chickens love the leaves and the tougher stems of broccoli – again these should be fed to the birds as a treat making sure they have plenty of access to grit

Clover – poultry love clover which can be found in some lawns – it's great for bees too!

Dandelions – poultry really do like dandelions and will really like it if you occasionally dig up a root for them to tuck into

Carrot tops – the tops of carrots will go down a treat during the winter months when the grass is thin on the ground

Fruits – this includes strawberries, blackberries and red/black currents which chickens really adore – but if you let your chickens have access to where you have planted your bushes or plants – beware they will eat the lot! It's better to just give a few berries to your hens as a treat and save a few for yourself!

Sunflowers – they look gorgeous in a garden and chickens adore the seeds and flower heads – the best part is you can store some away for those winter days and know the seeds are full of protein which is really good for your chickens when fed in small amounts!

All greens  - this includes kale, cabbage and chard are packed with all the right vitamins and should be fed in small amounts to chickens.

Original Post By:  http://www.pets4homes.co.uk/pet-advice/human-food-thats-safe-to-feed-to-chickens.html

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Quotes, Chickens and Famous People

Happy Friday everyone!  As Winter and the holidays approach, the days get busier and seem shorter.  I thought that I would share some famous quotes about chickens.  I hope these bring a smile to your day.  If you have any other favorites to share, please feel free to leave a comment.  Enjoy!

Regard it just as desireable to build a chicken house as it is to build a cathedral.
--Frank Lloyd Wright


The difference between involvement and commitment is like an egg and ham breakfast:  the chicken was involved, the pig was committed.
--Unknown

Business is never so healthy as when, like a chicken, it must do a certain amount of scratching for what it gets.
--Henry Ford


An overcrowed chicken farm produces fewer eggs.
--Chinese Proverb


Don't count your chickens before they hatch.
--Aesop


Is this chicken what I have or fish?  I know it's tuna but it says chicken of the sea.
--Jessica Simpson


A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg.
--Samuel Butler


The more excited a rooster gets, the higher his voice goes, he's got a little bit of a Barney Fife quality to him.
--Jeff Foxworthy


The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it.
--Unknown


I'll change you from a rooster to a hen with one shot!
--Dolly Parton's character in 9 to 5 movie


Ain't nobody here but us chickens.
--Song lyrics, Louis Jordan


Boys, I may not know much, but I know chicken poop from chicken salad.
--Lyndon B. Johnson


A chicken in every pot
--1928 Republican Party campaign slogan

Don't have a pot to put it in
--1928 Democratic Party response slogan


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