Chicken Feed 101

mmmm, kitchen scraps

Yes, chickens like to eat, even more than their 7 months pregnant owner (though I do believe they hold the weight in their slender legs better than I). From a previous post we talked about the few things chickens should not eat, other than that, kitchen scraps are king!

When I visit my old stompin grounds in Athens we like to eat at The Grit. The Grit keeps all their kitchen scraps from their lovely vegetarian creations; they will give them to customers interested in composting. This is a good free way to add nutrition to your hens diets. They will thank you with a smile (do chickens smile?) or better yet, an egg with a nice orange yolk.

a fairly full gullet

From my understanding, chickens, unlike ruminants (sheep and cows) need to have some supplemental feed. People claim they raise their chickens on 100% grass without any grain, but they must have more potent grass than I do. The fescue in the backyard has gone to seed and the girls eat that, but they are still hungry after foraging. How do I know? If I am outside they are following me around asking for food. They do not seem happy and content. Also, you can feel their gullet (chest area by the neck). If it has a bulge they are well fed. If it seems to not bulge, the bird is hungry.

Chicks eat a special formula that is often called chick starter feed (or some version of that). They eat chick feed for about 16 weeks. I start a laying feed after than, and keep my hens on that for years. Some people only feed chick feed for 6 weeks, then move to a grower/maintenance feed, and then start a layer feed when the birds are 5 months or so.

In cold weather especially, the hens like some scratch, which is just corn pieces. They eat it like it is candy. It can make them gain too much weight so go easy in the warmer months.

Oyster shells can also be added to the feed. Chickens don't have teeth so they need gritty things to help their food to be ground up. If the chickens are outside they should have enough grit. However, oyster shells also add calcium for strong egg shells. They are pretty inexpensive as well. 

Chicken Chat with The Social Goat

Wizened Magnolia trees receive us as we meander up the driveway to the 112 year old Victorian house converted into a bed and breakfast. Kristy and Paul, the owners, greet us and show us to the backyard/farmyard.  It is as if we have moved through a time machine and entered a world that is more quiet and less demanding than from where we came. It is hard to believe that we are in the middle of the city in historic Grant Park. Here on ¾ of an acre we find a thriving backyard farm with 2 social goats, 3 turkeys, 11 chickens and 1 rooster (to keep everyone in line). 

The Bed and Breakfast aspect started as more of a neighborhood venture where relatives of residents would rent out a room in the huge house for out-of-town visitors. The Social Goat has expanded in the past 9 months to include people from all over including International visitors.

My children were wildly entertained by hand feeding the strutting turkey, as well as peeking into the barn to see the newly hatched chicken chick being raised by a turkey mother. 

The farm illustrates a microcosm of life in Grant Park where sometimes two seemingly dissimilar things, like farm and city life, come together to make something special. This eclectic group of people have gathered to live and work creating a vibrant area of creativity. Each year in September the neighborhood hosts the Grant Park Tour of Homes where chickens, beehives, gardens, old cars and everything in between are showcased. I don’t want to miss the beehive discussion, and of course, the lecture on backyard chickens will be a highlight.

As I flip through my notebook trying to decipher the part that has been eaten by a goat, I am impressed by the way the city farm functions to create something that works. Neighborhood children pass through the yard and feed the goats a plum branch. Visitors to the B&B are greeted in the morning with eggs fresh from the farm. Something is created by this interaction that sanctifies life. 

Chicken Pie

...Because we happened to have old pie

...And it happens to be their birthday 

They look like hungry hungry hippos.

The girls enjoyed their party, but they did not love the pie. It got their beaks dirty; they did not like that. I don't think they loved the sugar either. Their favorite foods are pasta, oatmeal, cheese--pretty much anything we eat they like. I do not get a chance to make much compost because my chickens get the kitchen scraps before anything can become of them!

There are a few things chickens should not eat (and from my experience they will not eat).

• avocados (birds in general cannot eat them because of a chemical called Persin)
• raw potato
• dried beans
• caffeine
• chocolate
• tomato leaves (as well as most nightshades)
• raw meat
• McDonald's french fries (you shouldn't eat them either:)

This is not a definitive list. If I find out more I will let you know.

Meet the Girls, Silver Speckled Hamburg

Meet Babette! 


She is a Silver Speckled Hamburg. The origin of this breed goes back, according to Murray McMurray, "beyond the memory of man in both England and Holland and they were such prolific layers of white eggs that a common name for them was "the Dutch Everyday Layer."


The smell of flowers fills the air as Babette walks by in all her elegance. She roams the yard looking for bugs; a fine lady searching the city for the perfect gem. She is a dainty bird with a fan tail, white ear lobes and blue stockinged legs that match her black and white speckled coat of feathers. Babette lives a life of luxury; the coop is far beneath her. She prefers to spend her nights roosting in trees, before she started laying eggs she could fly at least 10 foot into a tree. She is cheerful, sweet and utterly spoiled. Nestled under the hydrangea flowers, Babette is a lady of leisure. She lays a lovely little white egg everyday after she dines on the finest organic feed from her silver platter. She daintily wipes her polished beak in the grass as if it were a lace hankie. The comb atop her head is like a princesses crown. Babette is a Cinderella story that includes the "ugly step-sisters." The other hens would like nothing better than to pull out Babette's tail and spread the feathers over the yard as the sisters did with poor Cinderella's dress and beads in the much loved fairy tale. Even though her sisters treat her unkindly, Babette still loves them and try's not to make them too jealous of her beauty. 

Babette adds charm and grace to our little flock.

On Holiday

The second most common question (besides the rooster question) is:

So I would like to have chickens, but what do I do if I need to go out of town?


Remember how you are supposed to be on good terms with your neighbors? Well, this is a circumstance when this is helpful. I would leave my hens alone for a night, but two nights is pushing it without someone checking on them. Chickens are worse than your 2 year old at spilling. They spill so they can scratch. Until someone invents the chicken version of a sippy-cup, they need to be checked on. Buffet style is not for chickens, their appetite knows no limits. They will not self-regulate, but eagerly chow down on the additions to the feeder.

My babysitter becomes my petsitter when children are not in the equation (I am sure her role becomes confusing when my children act more like animals). Since I have multiple pets, a large garden, and mail to bring in I find it easier to hire someone. My babysitter has chickens and goats so she is pretty competent in the small farm department.

My chickens free-range at least every evening. As Barbara Kilarski says in her book, Keep Chickens, "I let them romp freely for about a half hour before dusk" this makes it easier to get them back to the coop because chickens will instinctively go to their shelter as it gets dark.

When I go out of town I feel bad for keeping the girls, ahem, cooped up. As I was researching the topic I came across a Back Yard Chickens Forum where people said they would leave treats for the chickens while they were gone. Putting a log or something new for them to jump on keeps them busy. Also, try giving them a pumpkin, watermelon, ears of corn or something they can sink their (figurative) teeth into. It takes then a bit longer to plow through these foods.

http://thelittleredhen.typepad.com/my_weblog/photography/page/2/

This solar powered automatic chicken door from My Pet Chicken is pretty neat if you are so inclined.
Read more about "Flying the Coop: Vacation Care for Your Flock" in Backyard Poultry!


http://www.everywheremag.com/news/2011/01/
http://trainwithchelsea.blogspot.com/2009_10_01_archive.html

The Farm

Visiting a favorite 60 acre farm in Tennessee this weekend.



Don't you think this outbuilding would make a perfect henhouse?

We think so!

Chicken Chat with Fowlanguage

Each week I plan to chicken chat with someone in the community that keeps backyard chickens. I am so happy to have had the opportunity to talk to Laura Saunders, owner of Inman Park Pet Works. 

Inman Park Pet Works, home of Fowlanguage, is a haven of all things natural and organic for your pet. The owner, Laura Saunders is a resident of Inman Park where she raises her own urban chickens. 


Laura’s creative side comes out not only in her store where she promotes and gives audience to local artists, but also in her chicken flock where she raises Bantam Cochins, Silkies, Silkie Seramas, Ameraucanas, and Rhode Island Reds. Laura’s flock of chickens came as a surprise from her handy man after she had mentioned to him that she would like to have chickens someday. She didn’t realize someday would mean 2 days later when he returned with a box of 11 chicks. 


Laura has a coop for her hens (which will be featured in September for the Atlanta Urban Chicken Coop Tour) where they have shelter at night, but she prefers to allow her chicks (and a rooster) free-range of her yard. Laura gives her animals a good life with plenty of fresh fruits and veggies as well as a sprinkling of kelp on their dinner for added minerals. Laura told me about a product, Diatomaceous Earth that can be used in the coop to keep flies down. It is safe for chickens (and humans) to eat, and acts as an intestinal dewormer. Sounds good, especially for the summer. It is easy to become a familiar face at this thriving local spot, which is one of the few venues in the ATL to find organic chicken feed. 

Don’t forget to treat yourself to a King of Pops popsicle—my favorite is the Arnold Palmer.

Love it!