Feeding chickens
Now that winter’s about over and I’ve muddled through it with chickens I have several questions. These chickens are free range but much less is available in the winter. (They also said there was no way they were coming out of the coop with that funny white stuff on the ground!) We give them our food scraps but we don’t leave many. What would be a basic grain mix to feed in the winter? What can I substitute for the lack of bugs? What about chopped organ meats usually discarded at slaughter time? Are there things I can grow for them besides corn? I believe you keep your flock in the orchard. Do you bush hog it to keep the growth down? Whew, enough questions. The hens are laying like mad now that the weather is warmer. I hope you have a great spring and all your seeds germinate.
Carol Bandy
Hightown, Virginia
Thanks Carol. Our seeds are popping up like mad and the chickens are cranking out plenty of eggs. I’m even selling some in town, which pays for their feed.
A basic mix is cracked corn, wheat, and soybean meal. We feed a locally mixed 18% poultry ration fed free choice. But to keep the girls happy and cut costs I also feed a whole lot of home-grown feeds in the winter such as pumpkins and squash, and veggie scraps such as potato peels, carrot scraps, etc. Yes, you can feed raw, chopped organ or other meat to the chickens. Just make sure it stays fresh. We keep our chickens in our orchard where they scratch and eat bugs and any fallen fruit. There is clover and grass between the trees and they never keep it down. So I run our riding lawnmower over the orchard any time it gets out of control. The cut grass and clover helps feed the plants and fruit trees as well as the tractor bucket load of rotted manure we spread around each tree in the spring. By fall it’s gone! It just sinks into the ground and is scattered about by the chickens. You can grow extra garden crops such as pumpkins, squash, or sunflowers or grow a chicken garden with millet, which they love. Many homesteaders have two chicken runs and till and plant one in the spring, putting in millet, turnips, and greens. At about 8 weeks, the planted run is a jungle and they turn their birds in that and plant the old run. By early fall, the second planting is ready and the birds love cleaning it up before snowfall. Lots of options with chickens! — Jackie
Canner rack
This is not a question, but a suggestion. Jackie had a question about a new rack for a water bath canner. I find them at yard sales and antique shops for $5.00 all the time. If I needed more than two I would buy them, but I see no need for 5,6, etc. so I haven’t purchased any more. Saw one in Rome, Ga Sunday for $5.00 . I love Jackie, she is my mentor and hero.
Ruth Ledford
Lafayette, Georgia
Very good idea Ruth! I don’t do many yard sales so this slipped my mind. Thank you for sharing! — Jackie
Canning milk
Last fall, I canned 1%, 2%, and whole milk, following the directions exactly. All of the milk has separated, looking like curds & whey. My question: Is it usable? Are the curds like a cheese? I hate to throw it out but it looks disgusting.
Alice Clapper
New Castle, Pennsylvania
Yes, that’s kind of normal. As I’ve always said, canned milk is not for drinking! But if it smells okay (if it smells spoiled then something went wrong), just whip it up and use in baking or cooking as normal. — Jackie
