Learning is the only way to ever get smarter!  If you think you KNOW something, then challenge yourself by learning MORE if for no other reason than to confirm you are right.

I’ve been so busy lately studying up on genetics and chicken nutrition or poultry nutrition in general.  Throughout the avian world, different birds have different needs; a fact I was very surprised to learn.  I figured a bird is a bird is a bird, but no, afraid not.  Depending on their function, their diet, their size, their heritage, they all have varying needs albeit with many similarities.   Take Lysine for instance, if you remember in Jurrasic Park (the first one) there was a brief discussion about the “Lysine Contingency” which simply referred to the fact that without the provided Lysine by the park operators, all the dinosaurs would die off slowly but surely.  Chickens are the same way!  Without their Lysine, they have very little ability to absorb protein, without protein.. well you know how important THAT is, what with our hens popping out little hard shelled protein balls almost daily.

Anyway, the nutritional study came about because of my birds molting.  I wanted to make sure that I was providing all the correct nutrition, to be sure they not only progressed well but didn’t dawdle while doing so.  What I learned is, that my chickens, while healthy and beautiful looking, aren’t getting a very nice diet.  Since I started I have come to the following analogy to help others understand…   SURE, you can eat Special K Cereal 4 times a day for every meal and a snack, it’s packed FULL of all the vitamins and minerals you’ll need and with a 1/2 cup of milk you’ll also receive much needed protein to round out your diet, HOWEVER, how long before your tired of Special K?  A week?  A month?  A Day?  Seriously, day in, day out, same old cereal.  And then what if you have a craving for something salty?  So you eat Special K, because that is all you have.. but it doesn’t really do it for you.  What about something savory.. nope.. Special K isn’t going to cover that either.  So you’ll just keep eating the cereal but never really be satsified, not to mention being completely bored with your food!  And all the while eating a ton of calories they didn’t really want or need in the first place…  sound familiar?

There are literally dozens of ideas for feeding plans out there.  The trick I think is to assimilate the purpose of each method, at least the ones that make sense to you, and then attempt to provide whatever you can based on availability or budget to provide balance & variety.  That is why I’m in the process of converting our feeding systems to accommodate a variety of options for all of my chickens.  Now, don’t panic, I’m not saying that YOU SHOULD do this too!  But since it’s my blog, it’s only right to keep you in the loop.

Starting this week, we are going to a 5 feeder system.  Yes 5.  Seriously… I know… sounds like a TON of work, but 5 is the magic number as far as I can tell from my own notes.  Of course with practice comes more experience & learning so I’ll be sure to keep you apprised of our progress.  Here is how the 5 feeder system breaks down:

1.  Granite Grit – To help grind up any non pelleted feed stuffs
2.  Oyster Shell – For shell production
3.  Balanced Pellet Ration – Layer ration or Flock Raiser
4.  Whole & Cracked Grains – Wheat, Oat, Corn, Safflower, Sunflower Seeds, Flax, etc
5.  Greens & Sprouts – Garden greens/weeds, kitchen scraps, alfalfa, clover or plant pellets & sprouted beans & grains like peas, lupins, sunflower seeds, wheat, corn, etc.

Feeders #1 & #2 are usually typical in a coop but not something I’ve needed to have yet.  #3 is the standard feed ration most of us give our chickens. # 4 is more like what chickens would find if they were foraging through decent pastures, same with #5 really, greens that should be available year round.  Now, if your chickens range everyday or get a good deal of time with a nice variety of forage, then you have nothing to worry about.  However, on THIS mini/micro farm, we have only our own front yard and a little downhill for them to roam, most of which is weeds or in-edibles.    But getting out of the coop is ALSO about exercise, so even if you have little forage like we do, it’s still a great idea to get everyone out & running around.

The new system is going to require a few more minutes work each day, but all in all, I expect it to be well worth the trouble.  What really broke my heart while researching is when I read that if you feed pelletized feed, a complete ration, and your chickens need more calcium, they have to eat more pellets.  If they want more corn, again more pellets.  If they want some grains, more pellets… the problem is, they are consuming all those extra calories eating the whole pellet when they only want a small portion of what is IN the pellet.   Not to mention that apparently chickens, like humans, are VERY intuitive and know what they need nutritionally.  That if given a choice, they will consume what their body is needing or lacking to round out the balance.

How could I walk away from that information, and just continue to toss some pellets into their pens everyday?  I can’t, so I’m not going to.  I’m going to set it up so that they have the choice to eat what they feel they want, and leave it at that.

Also, since I’ve done all this studying, speaking with lots of long time chicken breeders, my local feed store lady & I have come up with a few supplemental rations that I am going to work on packaging & selling for a little side money.   I’ve been feeding my chickens these snack rations for a few weeks now, and they LOVE it.  More on that coming next week, as I get all of my supplies in and a few formulas ready to go.