Possible Grain Shortage?

[countrymom22]

Okay.  So it's almost spring again and those of us that use chicken math are eager to add to the flock.  I told hubby that I was in TSC the other day and they had chicks and that I was thinking of getting some but I want to wait until it's a little warmer outside.  He agreed at the time.  Then this morning he says maybe we shouldn't add any chickens this year in case it is hard to get chicken feed later in the year, which I do think may be a problem.  But on the other hand, you have the bird flu that will cause many flocks to be destroyed and eggs and chicken may become hard to come by.  So I don't know what to do.  My gut says get the chicks so I can feed my family.

What do you all think/plan to do?

[daisy]

I got the chickens. We're planning on adding a few rows of collards to our garden to help supplement feed. Also grass clippings are gold, feedsthem and any left over, they compost!

[Maura]

You can grow your own. Possibilities include corn, wheat, sunflowers. I think just about any grain or seed will feed them, along with their foraging for insects and greens.

I never lost one chicken to the bird flu. It is very unlikely that your chickens will get it. It is much more likely that chickens in an enclosed commercial place would die from it. I don't know of any commercial flocks in the U.S. that had losses from the bird flu in 2005. If you worry, keep them from other flocks and wild ducks.

[countrymom22]

I'm not worried about my flock getting the bird flu, just that eggs and chicken might become hard to come by or even more expensive. We not only supply our immediate family but our extended family with eggs as well. We eat a lot of eggs here! I always give my chickens grass clippings as well as let them free range as much as possible. I'll also be growing a patch of pumpkins to feed them as they keep well through the fall and early winter here. I just watched a You Tube video about fermenting their pellets to stretch the feed bill. I think I'll try that and see if we can cut down on any wasted feed as well. And of course, they always get kitchen and garden scraps here too.

[daisy]

Can we feed the chicks fermented food? Or should we wait until they start laying? countrymom22, do you follow Patara on Appalachia homestead!

[mogal]

Daisy, I've been watching a few of Patara's videos. As a southern woman, I have no difficulty understanding her (grin).

Just finished watching this video
www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5hBP52ttbs

on fermenting and sprouting feed for chickens from Mother Earth News and Friends, sponsored by Scratch & Peck feeds so take a bit of the info with a grain of salt. I appreciated their giving an amount of feed per bird per day to feed. There was also a link to an article on fermenting chicken feed that might address your question about feeding fermented feed to chicks since I haven't had time to read it yet.

www.communitychickens.com/why-and-how-to-ferment-your-feed/

There have been 3 more cases of bird flu here in Missouri. I had already seen and reported on the one in Stoddard County. Here's the link.

agriculture.mo.gov/avian-influenza.php

We're in central MO so these are still some distance from us.

[daisy]

Love Patara! Love her no nonsense approach! Thanks for the heads up on mother earth!

[countrymom22]

Yes! I'm a huge Patara fan! Always watch the Appalachia's Homestead. She just tells it like it is, and I appreciate that.

When I have day old chicks, I always bring them home and start them on crushed up hard boiled eggs in addition to the chick starter mash. This really gives them a boost and they recover from any shipping stress that they suffered very quickly. I can't even tell you how many chicks I've saved that were at death's door. Got that little tip from an old farmer years ago. I don't see any reason why they couldn't eat fermented feed, although I don't buy chicks in large enough quantities that I worry about the cost of their feed. As they get older and more wasteful, then I start looking for alternative ways to stretch my feed budget.

[daisy]

Thanks for the tips! I always appreciate it.

[mogal]

Yesterday, I mixed up some layer pellets, alfalfa meal, cracked corn, whole oats (not rolled oats) and something else I don't remember right now, got it good and wet and added a bit of my sourdough starter to help inoculate it. This morning it was bubbling nicely and really smelled good. I gave it to the hens this morning and they got right after it. After I'd fed the cats and goats, I went back by the chickens' hoop house and they were slowing down considerably but till interested. Shortly after I got back to the house, we had a 3 1/2 hr power outage where I was busy getting things ready if it had lasted longer. I opened the door onto the main garden and I can see a few hens pecking around where the snow from last Thursday has finally melted away.

Anybody else start their flock on fermented feed? I need to weed the other hoop house beds and give those greens to the hens as well. Anything to save on feed bills, right?

[daisy]

Great ideas mogal!

[mogal]

In addition to fermenting feed for chickens, I plan to go back to sprouting wheat for fodder for both chickens and goats IF I can get any when the harvest comes in late next month. Several years ago, I found some nice tubs from a restaurant supply outlet that are used to "bus tables." They are sturdy and dishwasher safe. I drilled holes in the bottoms of some, left others intact to catch drainage water. I soaked a quart of so of commercial wheat berries for a day, drained and rinsed them until I saw tiny root sprouts and then poured them into the trays. After another 2 days of rinsing and sprouting, I had nice wheat grass and placed them in better light to turn green. I fed this to both goats and chickens with good success.

There's lots of info on line about growing fodder. I have a bathroom tub we don't use where I can water the tubs with the hand-held sprayer and keep mess to a minimum. Wheat and barley seem to be the best grains for sprouting. Missouri grows a lot of wheat--there's a field across the road from our house--but barley isn't an option due to shipping expense.

[mogal]

Duh, MOgal!

This is something I do every summer whether I intend to or not. I have a bunch of water lilies that I keep in my heated water barrel in the hoop house over the winter. In summer, I move them to my "water feature" and it attracts frogs. I don't know where the frogs get them but that's the main way I think DUCKWEED gets into the water lily pool unless they might cling to birds' feet or there are a few on the water lilies as they do go dormant. Anyway, check out duckweed as a source of feed in summer. I have an old kitchen strainer that I dip across the pool to fill with duck weed then dump it into the chicken run. I've never had enough space to grow enough to allow to dry for winter but I'm thinking about doing just that.