My mother was bitting up a bakery back in the late 50's/early 60's for their throw away bread products for the hundreds of birds we had. She would toss them in a screened box to prevent bugs from laying eggs in them and put it out in the sun for it all to dry up/toast. Once dried she would store in 50 gallon drums, also gotten free, to keep away from mice. All the chickens, ducks and geese were given lots of garden waste plus dried bread. If bread is dried it can have a substantial shelf life plus you don't have to worry about whether that is a benefit ial or harmful mold.
You can also use basic grains like wheat or oats and soak those, like fermenting, and that'll help cut your cost on feeds as well. Add in your red pepper flakes, herbs, DE, even crush up shells and so forth. Mix well and whallah. Porage/moderately thick oatmeal consistency is perfect.
So amazing that these shenanigan only prompt people to look for alternatives and eliminate the potential of shenanigans altogether. Somebody's losing business and they don't seem to realize what's causing it. Thank you, Billy!
@@Joan-ej7wv YES HE does! We only follow a SMALL handful of Homestead Content Creators & What do ya know.....They all hang out and Learn and Share from each other! ALL KEEPING IT REAL & RELEVANT!
My gals get all the kitchen scraps from 2 families which is quite a bit every day. I add red pepper flakes occasionally. DE is a standard addition as well but I haven’t tried the rosemary.. thanks for the information!
This system works it’s bulletproof! You can tweak it to work for you and your situation. How can you go wrong eggs meat and compost that equals even more food . I can’t thank Billy William and Michelle enough .
Sorghum (Feterita), Groundnut Cake (GC), Sesame Cake (SC) and Wheat Bran (WB) are considered the main poultry feed ingredients in Sudan. Because the nutrient values of these ingredients are reported in the form of fixed figures in local standard tables, a study was undertaken to know if it is necessary to make analyses for feed ingredients before formulating the diets. Samples of the feed components were brought from local markets of Khartoum. Each sample was analyzed for proximate composition, minerals and amino acid contents. Considerable variations were observed between samples and the local standard table’s values. Crude protein of sorghum (Feterita) was 16.65%, whereas Metabolizable Energy (ME) was 14.25 MJ/kg. Values for fat, fibre and ash were 3.86, 1.97 and 1.81%, respectively. Total concentrations of critical Amino Acids (AA) were: methionine, 0.2925%; lysine, 0.3501% and threonine, 0.4822%. Levels of Calcium (Ca) and Phosphorus (P) were 0.03 and 0.41%, respectively. Crude protein of GC was 53.44%, whereas calculated ME was 11.80 MJ/kg. Values for fat, fibre and ash were 7.47, 8.55 and 5.27%, respectively. Total concentrations of critical AA for groundnut cake were: methionine, 0.4868%; lysine, 1.8185% and threonine, 1.4230%. The GC levels of Ca and P were 0.08 and 0.65%, respectively. Crude protein of SC was 44.42%, whereas calculated ME was 11.53 MJ/kg. Values for fat, fibre and ash were 13.11, 8.75 and 14.15%, respectively. Total concentrations of critical AA for SC were: methionine, 1.2852%; lysine, 1.0943% and threonine, 1.5449%. Levels of Ca and P were 1.93 and 1.17%, respectively. Crude protein of WB was 18.69%, whereas ME was 12.43 MJ/kg. Values for fat, fibre and ash were 4.88, 8.75 and 5.66%, respectively. Total concentrations of critical AA for WB were: methionine, 0.2676%; lysine, 0.8136% and threonine, 0.6036%. Levels of Ca and P for WB were 0.08 and 1.36%, respectively. The variation observed between samples and tables values strongly indicates that confirmatory analyses should be conducted prior to use of sample for formulating the poultry diets especially in the field of research. This is way cheaper once you have got the ingredients, I am so impressed with the health of my birds & quality of eggs, I have a 14 year old bantam she is like a spring chicken
Fantastic video Billy! We went in on a beef cow this past fall with a neighbor. He did not want all the fat scraps from the butcher. (will be cutting our own next time) After rendering all the fat there was a bunch of little bits of meat left over that had the bottom of the pan fat as well. I mixed it with wild rice bits, raisins, and one other thing (brain fart) and made suet bars. The woodpeckers LOVE it! I ended up with 36 bars of suet.
Down south we keep the rendering leftover bits, known as "cracklins' ". They go great in cornbread mix, added to scrambled eggs, and even pancakes (kinda like Chilli & cinnamon rolls). Have even added it to sausage before stuffing.
@@maryarcher8484 Hi Mary! Thank you for your response! I did render the tallow, as stated above. I do plan to try some in pie crusts, etc. I have been using lard (from a pig) for general cooking and baking and look forward to seeing the differences in the results between the lard and tallow. My primary plan for the tallow though is homemade bar soap. 😁 I have heard it is great for the skin.
@@carfvallrightsreservedwith6649 HI! thank you for your response! Very familiar with cracklings after rendering lard from a pig. I LOVE cooking with them and for just a crispy treat as well. The little bits of meat leftover after rendering the tallow from a cow were quite a bit different than the crispy bits I am used to seeing after the rendering of a pig. Could this is also be called cracklings as well?
Love the phrase "STAY ALERT" "STAY ALIVE" Heard the phrase often on during my life. Then it was drilled into me when I joined the army. Some folks think that we take it to the extreme. They just don't realize how important it really is; even before it got this bad.
I believe that moldy bread can be toxic to chickens, and is most commonly associated with mycotoxicosis. To fix the problem, dry the bread out so it doesn't sit moist and molding.
I've fed my cows horses chickens every thing being raised on farm. Heck one time ground pa was feeding his work mule out of the corn crib he nee better but he didn't have his hand flat and the Mule ate his first finger of his right had off Didn't hurt that mule any but pops sure through a fit? I was little when that happened but I remember as like yesterday and I just turned 70. It was on my Dad's farm. I don't think they went into Dr , Grandma' but Alum like the used to use in pickles to make crispy can still ny it will had drawing affect and poured raw honey on it and wrapped it up with with white changed every day. Don't believe it worked quit right after that but could still use it some!
I have an agreement with a restaurant who I provide empty buckets and they fill them. It's mostly french fries and lots of 'american' food. I purchased a pork puller mixer type blade that I put on my drill and it literally blends the food into a mash. Then I put it out on the compost bed. Whatever the chickens don't eat.. the worms do.
I work at a food pantry. Every week, there is some produce that is a little wilted or overripe and some bread that's outdated. There is a pig farmer that picks it up. That would be a good place to source some goodies for the farm. Thanks for this great video!
friend of mine has a deal with the local AYCE buffet. she leaves several buckets out back for them and they fill them up with food that would otherwise be thrown out and she picks it up. problem is someone else - probably someone who works there - started cutting in, taking her scraps home and bringing back dirty buckets or watered down slop. i kinda liked that chicken guy justin rhodes interviewed who fed his birds off cow manure. they pick through it and eat all the undigested stuff and little bugs. another thing i wish people would remember is..... don't get too many birds. just get what you can sustain. i am so sick and tired of seeing overcrowded animals and barren ground because it's been picked clean. that's how diseases and parasitic infestations start. it doesn't matter what it is.... chickens, goats, pigs whatever. people overwhelm themselves and end up killing animals through illness and never get to eat the first one.. or it's so scrawny you can't eat it. and they bleed money trying to feed starving animals and bleed more money trying to heal malnourished animals. if they'd just kept the operation small they would be ahead.
You have plenty of space to grow Rosemary. I'm in NC and it kept growing and growing and taking over till I trimmed it back. It loves the sun but also do's well in the winter.
Billy - thank you so much. We love our flock - our turken, petri- who can spot hawks a mile away and kicks the feral suburban roosters/hens butts when they try to interlope, our blue cochin, Serenity, Reba - our whitings green, Wynona our gold laced Wyandotte, and a regular interloper from a neighbor - Penelope - a dark brown bantam that can fly like a band tailed dove and has evoked more swearing than I'd like to admit when she roosts in my garage and leaves her gifts in my workshop - still need to screen some of the eaves but there is sooo much to do with a 2 hour commute each way and 9 hour days away from the garden. Not an excuse, just a challenge to tackle. You are such a resource and I hope to be picking the brain laid out in your videos for years to come. Thanks again. R.P.
Hint - it isn't Tractor supply. I heard, someone said, etc, etc....... I'm getting reports of Custom feeders and even Free Range Chickens egg production being down. *Winter months are generally lower production anyway - Short daylight hours.
There are a lot of new chicken owners these days that don't understand this. There is a definite seasonality to laying eggs. Many don't stop to consider why the chicken lays eggs in the first place. They are producing babies, or at least trying to. They no better than to try to hatch a clutch of eggs in the winter months because they wouldn't survive. So naturally when there is less day light they know it's not the time to produce babies.
I fed chickens slop for decades. We had a garden so there was a lot of fruit and veggies and pumpkins and squash stored for winter and oatmeal when slop was low or go catch some bullheads and trout take fillets for dinner and give them the rest. You can give them deer, coyote, rats, any varmint you shoot and even salmon carcasses and seaweed from the beach. We only bought commercial feed when we locked them in the coop run for a week while we were at hunt camp. They are whole foods scraps and so did our dogs.
Integrating a compost pile into your chicken run is probably the best solution if you dont have pasture. Table scraps, Garden clippings yard waste, if you have a neighbor threw a couple spoonfuls of cow pies in there mix in a Fleck of straw or hay is better. Then put a half a cup of oats and a half a cup of corn in that pile cover it for a few days then uncover it and let those chickens go to work each day throw a little bit of the regular feed into the pile or some corn and every type of kitchen scrap you can think of along with any Garden clippings or yard waste and once a week out a little bit more straw. This one eliminate all of your regular chicken feed, but it will help your ladies produce eggs
Billy all those pumpkin's people throw out after Halloween make good feed. They keep for months if stored in a cool dry place. Just crushed up one today,the chickens love them. When I was a young kid my dad would go around and buy them for pennies and some stores would give them away just to get rid of them. My grandma's hogs would have a field day.
Do you have crushed oyster shells or ground up egg shells available for calcium? In the winter in Maine, we can't really do a fermented grain because it will freeze and I dont have a warmer for feed. However, I do use crumble available all day, every day. They perfer what I call my homemade scratch in addition to the feed which makes the feed last longer. In winter when we have temperatures below the freezing poin, I put in the following with what I already have; crimped oats, cracked corn, black oil sunflower seeds, split peas when I have them, table scraps, usually cooked rice, sometimes popped corn crushed up or animal Crackers crushed up (their favorite) as well as the following herbs; turmeric powder, dried thyme, dried oregano, powdered cayenne pepper, powdered cinnamon and once a week I add some garlic. My 9 hens and one rooster survive on this if I run out of crumble feed. I get my feed from a local farmer, non -gmo and no sprays used. My 9 hens and one rooster also get gravel and crushed up egg shells (dried and sterilized in oven then crushed in blender), free choice, gone in a couple of days
We're looking to sell produce to schools. I'm also planning to do a program with at least one of the two small schools in town to pick up their food waste to feed my chickens. Great way to save on food waste in the landfill, and show kids how a problem can be turned into a solution.
I meant to say I buy all my ingredients strait from the mills where it is grown, stock well up, seal in airtight vaccume packed bags keeps well for 3 plus years depending how fresh it is when you get it. I have no idea how to put a photo of my girls on here but wish you could see them.
Moldy bread is just fine for chickens and pigs my grandpa been doing it for years and they were just fine none of them died from it just just grew healthy and we ate very good 😊
Hi 👋 It was nice to meet you last night at the creator event . We popped over to your channel and subbed. We have a question. The rice , beans and pork, did you get these from a restaurant and if you did is this organic made food? Just curious if it’s not organic product coming from the restaurant does that mean the chickens aren’t organically fed? Here to learn. Fantastic information will be checking more videos .
Hi Billy. People should grow extra greens for the chickens. Oh by the way. The comfrey is doing great. Can I dry it and make tea for human consumption. I don’t recall the variety
Really appreciate you Danny. Because of you I have more compost than I ever imagined in mid winter. Because of you I discovered the rabbit carcasses will be a tremendous food source for the chickens in winter .and make my life on this city lot a whole lot cleaner. They clean up! We’re growing grains now. Getting lotsa eggs!
Great videos. We are thinking of adding chickens to the mix of what we have around here so your videos are being rewatched. Hopefully, our version of the "big they" in our area won't outlaw them.
Off subject a little bit, but I saw the video about horseradish. We finally found a root and I have got it started in water and it is making more roots. I hope this works, my husband loves horseradish!
Such a valuable video as are all your videos Billy you're such a blessing to the community and your knowledge and experience truly help so many I'm so proud to call you a friend keep up the great work absolutely love it 🤜💥🤛
Hey I just found your channel , I subscribed it's always good to see how others do their chores. I sometimes get ideas for my own place. PS: I rarely feed my girls the get tables scraps and then they feed themselves. Been doing this for not quite 50 years.
When I was younger working at a pizza joint we would throw away our unused dough and instead of tossing it in the trash we would set it beside the dumpster cause the local pig farmer was picking it up. Basically so he wouldn't have to dig thru the trash to get it.
Pretty easy to look at your eggs and your chickens (and your hogs) and see that your feeding program is working great! If everyone that had the ability to raise chickens and/or hogs would use human food waste for feed, just think about how many millions of tons wouldn't end up in landfills! And anybody that thinks chickens need a "vegetarian diet" doesn't know anything about chickens!
Appreciate this video sooo very much!! I’m originally from the islands and grew up with farm animals. Our chickens were free range and they’d eat everything that gets thrown out. I’ve been researching to start my own laying hens. Trying to get a pre fab coop to start but have to figure ways to protect them from predators at nights since they’ll be near the bushes/trees
@@PermaPasturesFarm21 I went and made my mix of additives yesterday. I don’t have rosemary ATM but I have DT and kelp. I’m going to add some rock dust too. I give my hens cider vinegar in their water 1 a week. Garlic the same and aloe Vera 1 a month. And with that? I’m not adding anything else.
Great video Billy. What’s your class topic and which day at growers school. Don’t want to miss your class. Can you believe the first time I attended Growers School it was at BRCC and we had a whopping 35 in attendance! It’s grown a bit since then and I’m a lot older!
Wouldn't work in northern Alberta. 6 months of hard winter. -20c to -40c most of the time with alot of snow. Everything is frozen. Any feed with moisture will freeze in minutes.
Are you familiar with fermenting chicken feed? I think I fermented way too much feed. If I keep it submerged in the fermenting water, how long will it last? Can I refrigerate it to make it last longer? Or could I freeze some of it to make it last longer? I'm heartsick if I have to dump and waste all of this. Please help.
I love the girl at the end pecking on your bucket and then going into the Bucket to help herself they must love it to do that lol thank you for the rosemary tip I’m gonna get me some 👍
I heard about the tractor supply/purina/Dumor no egg stuff and thought it was bull. So as a test I cut out my fermented scratch and radishes ect. Not a single egg. Don’t give purina your money. If you buy, get it from small businesses.
Thanks for this great information. Do the scraps need to be refrigerated? Down in the South, it get's pretty hot and the scraps could go bad. How do you handle that?
I'm down to make some local friends for free food lol recently processed some quail and they tore up the gut and spines! Stole the wings but ended up composting the remains. Good to know about old bread and rice!
I do the same thing i feed 5 gallon buckets of food from the hospital to my chickens and pigs, but I don’t ask what’s in the buckets… I figure it’s fine food i get is cooked .
Love how you keep it simple.. people like to complicate things too much.. this is the system we use and have always gotten eggs even when there is tons of snow and below zero. No lights no heat ever
Watching this latest video makes me think meat protein is the issue with transitioning my birds over to. Saw a massive decline in eggs from heritage and hybrid layers on my 3-month trial. Must not have been getting enough bugs from compost and they suffered. Do you ensure they are getting real meat vs plant-based proteins every day to maintain egg supple? love your cannel's content all the way from Australia.
My 2 yr old flock of Dominiques molted and haven't started back laying yet but my Wyandotte is laying faithfully (she's only a yr old) I toss a little dry cat food out in the run every day !
We feed of 16 babys corn , table scraps, and they free range. The best eggs ever. Chickens are very healthy. Remember, whatever you feed your birds, you feed yourself as well!
My mother was bitting up a bakery back in the late 50's/early 60's for their throw away bread products for the hundreds of birds we had. She would toss them in a screened box to prevent bugs from laying eggs in them and put it out in the sun for it all to dry up/toast. Once dried she would store in 50 gallon drums, also gotten free, to keep away from mice.
All the chickens, ducks and geese were given lots of garden waste plus dried bread.
If bread is dried it can have a substantial shelf life plus you don't have to worry about whether that is a benefit ial or harmful mold.
Thank you for not being a fear monger, but a beacon of hope and a guide to a better life.
Great to hear from you Robert!
Always amazing timely information! Thank you again! I began cooking rice and beans for my hens, but this is next level!
Try to get those rice and beans from some restaurants, my friend!
@@PermaPasturesFarm21 I thought about that AFTER seeing your video! Y'all are SMART!
You can also use basic grains like wheat or oats and soak those, like fermenting, and that'll help cut your cost on feeds as well. Add in your red pepper flakes, herbs, DE, even crush up shells and so forth. Mix well and whallah. Porage/moderately thick oatmeal consistency is perfect.
Those are definitely excellent solutions, my friend!
@@PermaPasturesFarm21 how about Brewers yeast..
Does that improve egg production?
So amazing that these shenanigan only prompt people to look for alternatives and eliminate the potential of shenanigans altogether. Somebody's losing business and they don't seem to realize what's causing it. Thank you, Billy!
Thank you so much, Lana!
Craft breweries are a great place to get spent brewing grains. It’s wet too. Chickens and cattle love it.
That’s what I’m talking about!
@alanee1065 how to you get alcohol out the grains?
@@mefolse the grain is removed after the initial boil and before fermentation begins. Therefore there is no alcohol in the grain.
Thank you Billy. Showing how it is done is what really helps us stay free.
Thank you so much, Victoria!
Brother your videos are keeping it REAL for those of us SERIOUS about doing this life of Homesteading....THANK YOU
He sure does. He brings the reality of this to you.
@@Joan-ej7wv YES HE does! We only follow a SMALL handful of Homestead Content Creators & What do ya know.....They all hang out and Learn and Share from each other! ALL KEEPING IT REAL & RELEVANT!
I can’t begin to tell you how good it feels to hear that sort of thing Missie. Thank you so much!
My gals get all the kitchen scraps from 2 families which is quite a bit every day. I add red pepper flakes occasionally. DE is a standard addition as well but I haven’t tried the rosemary.. thanks for the information!
Ours love their Rosemary! We feed ours scraps every day, too. It works!!
Sounds like you’re doing wonderful things Whitefeather!
My small flock gets all our scraps from the kitchen but what a game changer to not have to buy any feed great info again! Thanks Billy
Glad it was helpful!
This system works it’s bulletproof! You can tweak it to work for you and your situation. How can you go wrong eggs meat and compost that equals even more food . I can’t thank Billy William and Michelle enough .
Thank you so much for the kind endorsement Richard. Best of luck, my friend!
Sorghum (Feterita), Groundnut Cake (GC), Sesame Cake (SC) and Wheat Bran (WB) are considered the main poultry feed ingredients in Sudan. Because the nutrient values of these ingredients are reported in the form of fixed figures in local standard tables, a study was undertaken to know if it is necessary to make analyses for feed ingredients before formulating the diets. Samples of the feed components were brought from local markets of Khartoum. Each sample was analyzed for proximate composition, minerals and amino acid contents. Considerable variations were observed between samples and the local standard table’s values. Crude protein of sorghum (Feterita) was 16.65%, whereas Metabolizable Energy (ME) was 14.25 MJ/kg. Values for fat, fibre and ash were 3.86, 1.97 and 1.81%, respectively. Total concentrations of critical Amino Acids (AA) were: methionine, 0.2925%; lysine, 0.3501% and threonine, 0.4822%. Levels of Calcium (Ca) and Phosphorus (P) were 0.03 and 0.41%, respectively. Crude protein of GC was 53.44%, whereas calculated ME was 11.80 MJ/kg. Values for fat, fibre and ash were 7.47, 8.55 and 5.27%, respectively. Total concentrations of critical AA for groundnut cake were: methionine, 0.4868%; lysine, 1.8185% and threonine, 1.4230%. The GC levels of Ca and P were 0.08 and 0.65%, respectively. Crude protein of SC was 44.42%, whereas calculated ME was 11.53 MJ/kg. Values for fat, fibre and ash were 13.11, 8.75 and 14.15%, respectively. Total concentrations of critical AA for SC were: methionine, 1.2852%; lysine, 1.0943% and threonine, 1.5449%. Levels of Ca and P were 1.93 and 1.17%, respectively. Crude protein of WB was 18.69%, whereas ME was 12.43 MJ/kg. Values for fat, fibre and ash were 4.88, 8.75 and 5.66%, respectively. Total concentrations of critical AA for WB were: methionine, 0.2676%; lysine, 0.8136% and threonine, 0.6036%. Levels of Ca and P for WB were 0.08 and 1.36%, respectively. The variation observed between samples and tables values strongly indicates that confirmatory analyses should be conducted prior to use of sample for formulating the poultry diets especially in the field of research.
This is way cheaper once you have got the ingredients, I am so impressed with the health of my birds & quality of eggs, I have a 14 year old bantam she is like a spring chicken
Legendary cut & paste
Definitely dropped tractor supply all together, stopped shopping there for good. Thanks for sharing this info. 👍🏻
You and me both!
After a lifetime of shopping TSC I dropped them like a hot potato after the story came out about them sponsoring transgender drag shows for children.
Fantastic video Billy! We went in on a beef cow this past fall with a neighbor. He did not want all the fat scraps from the butcher. (will be cutting our own next time) After rendering all the fat there was a bunch of little bits of meat left over that had the bottom of the pan fat as well. I mixed it with wild rice bits, raisins, and one other thing (brain fart) and made suet bars. The woodpeckers LOVE it! I ended up with 36 bars of suet.
Sounds like a winner to me!
@@PermaPasturesFarm21 I would have rendered the beef tallow. Great for pastry crust! Course the wood pecker thanked you also!
Down south we keep the rendering leftover bits, known as "cracklins' ".
They go great in cornbread mix, added to scrambled eggs, and even pancakes (kinda like Chilli & cinnamon rolls). Have even added it to sausage before stuffing.
@@maryarcher8484 Hi Mary! Thank you for your response! I did render the tallow, as stated above. I do plan to try some in pie crusts, etc. I have been using lard (from a pig) for general cooking and baking and look forward to seeing the differences in the results between the lard and tallow. My primary plan for the tallow though is homemade bar soap. 😁 I have heard it is great for the skin.
@@carfvallrightsreservedwith6649 HI! thank you for your response! Very familiar with cracklings after rendering lard from a pig. I LOVE cooking with them and for just a crispy treat as well. The little bits of meat leftover after rendering the tallow from a cow were quite a bit different than the crispy bits I am used to seeing after the rendering of a pig. Could this is also be called cracklings as well?
Love the phrase
"STAY ALERT"
"STAY ALIVE"
Heard the phrase often on during my life. Then it was drilled into me when I joined the army. Some folks think that we take it to the extreme. They just don't realize how important it really is; even before it got this bad.
I believe that moldy bread can be toxic to chickens, and is most commonly associated with mycotoxicosis. To fix the problem, dry the bread out so it doesn't sit moist and molding.
I’ve never had a problem with it. In truth, are use the bread to attract the crows crows protect my birds from birds of prey.
Your right about mold.
Toast it! Somethings are just overthunk,!😁
I've fed my cows horses chickens every thing being raised on farm. Heck one time ground pa was feeding his work mule out of the corn crib he nee better but he didn't have his hand flat and the Mule ate his first finger of his right had off Didn't hurt that mule any but pops sure through a fit? I was little when that happened but I remember as like yesterday and I just turned 70. It was on my Dad's farm. I don't think they went into Dr , Grandma' but Alum like the used to use in pickles to make crispy can still ny it will had drawing affect and poured raw honey on it and wrapped it up with with white changed every day. Don't believe it worked quit right after that but could still use it some!
Is it moldy bread just penicillin?
I have an agreement with a restaurant who I provide empty buckets and they fill them. It's mostly french fries and lots of 'american' food. I purchased a pork puller mixer type blade that I put on my drill and it literally blends the food into a mash. Then I put it out on the compost bed. Whatever the chickens don't eat.. the worms do.
That’s what I’m talking about, my friend!
At 4:53 in your video, I didn't quite hear what you said was in the red solo cup
Sorry about that. It’s thorvin kelp.
I work at a food pantry. Every week, there is some produce that is a little wilted or overripe and some bread that's outdated. There is a pig farmer that picks it up. That would be a good place to source some goodies for the farm. Thanks for this great video!
That’s what I’m talking about!
friend of mine has a deal with the local AYCE buffet. she leaves several buckets out back for them and they fill them up with food that would otherwise be thrown out and she picks it up. problem is someone else - probably someone who works there - started cutting in, taking her scraps home and bringing back dirty buckets or watered down slop.
i kinda liked that chicken guy justin rhodes interviewed who fed his birds off cow manure. they pick through it and eat all the undigested stuff and little bugs.
another thing i wish people would remember is..... don't get too many birds. just get what you can sustain. i am so sick and tired of seeing overcrowded animals and barren ground because it's been picked clean. that's how diseases and parasitic infestations start. it doesn't matter what it is.... chickens, goats, pigs whatever. people overwhelm themselves and end up killing animals through illness and never get to eat the first one.. or it's so scrawny you can't eat it. and they bleed money trying to feed starving animals and bleed more money trying to heal malnourished animals. if they'd just kept the operation small they would be ahead.
Thank you so much for the kind thoughts, Emily!
You have plenty of space to grow Rosemary. I'm in NC and it kept growing and growing and taking over till I trimmed it back. It loves the sun but also do's well in the winter.
Billy - thank you so much. We love our flock - our turken, petri- who can spot hawks a mile away and kicks the feral suburban roosters/hens butts when they try to interlope, our blue cochin, Serenity, Reba - our whitings green, Wynona our gold laced Wyandotte, and a regular interloper from a neighbor - Penelope - a dark brown bantam that can fly like a band tailed dove and has evoked more swearing than I'd like to admit when she roosts in my garage and leaves her gifts in my workshop - still need to screen some of the eaves but there is sooo much to do with a 2 hour commute each way and 9 hour days away from the garden. Not an excuse, just a challenge to tackle.
You are such a resource and I hope to be picking the brain laid out in your videos for years to come.
Thanks again.
R.P.
Appreciate it my friend. Thanks for watching!
Have you planted winter grass at your farm? You can buy winter grasses.
Glad you said that about the bowl. I was wondering. It’s a very good-looking bowl!
Thank you so much, Sandra!
Hint - it isn't Tractor supply. I heard, someone said, etc, etc....... I'm getting reports of Custom feeders and even Free Range Chickens egg production being down.
*Winter months are generally lower production anyway - Short daylight hours.
There are a lot of new chicken owners these days that don't understand this. There is a definite seasonality to laying eggs. Many don't stop to consider why the chicken lays eggs in the first place. They are producing babies, or at least trying to. They no better than to try to hatch a clutch of eggs in the winter months because they wouldn't survive. So naturally when there is less day light they know it's not the time to produce babies.
Great advice Billy,
I will get to work on talking with our local businesses and start creating relationships.
That’s what I’m talking about Nate!
Also get expired greens from the supermarket and this makes orange yokes.
I fed chickens slop for decades. We had a garden so there was a lot of fruit and veggies and pumpkins and squash stored for winter and oatmeal when slop was low or go catch some bullheads and trout take fillets for dinner and give them the rest. You can give them deer, coyote, rats, any varmint you shoot and even salmon carcasses and seaweed from the beach. We only bought commercial feed when we locked them in the coop run for a week while we were at hunt camp. They are whole foods scraps and so did our dogs.
That’s what I’m talking about!
Integrating a compost pile into your chicken run is probably the best solution if you dont have pasture.
Table scraps, Garden clippings yard waste, if you have a neighbor threw a couple spoonfuls of cow pies in there mix in a Fleck of straw or hay is better. Then put a half a cup of oats and a half a cup of corn in that pile cover it for a few days then uncover it and let those chickens go to work each day throw a little bit of the regular feed into the pile or some corn and every type of kitchen scrap you can think of along with any Garden clippings or yard waste and once a week out a little bit more straw. This one eliminate all of your regular chicken feed, but it will help your ladies produce eggs
Billy all those pumpkin's people throw out after Halloween make good feed. They keep for months if stored in a cool dry place. Just crushed up one today,the chickens love them. When I was a young kid my dad would go around and buy them for pennies and some stores would give them away just to get rid of them. My grandma's hogs would have a field day.
Where do the same exact thing, my friend!
The seeds also help them deworm, besides being food.
Do you have crushed oyster shells or ground up egg shells available for calcium?
In the winter in Maine, we can't really do a fermented grain because it will freeze and I dont have a warmer for feed. However, I do use crumble available all day, every day. They perfer what I call my homemade scratch in addition to the feed which makes the feed last longer. In winter when we have temperatures below the freezing poin, I put in the following with what I already have; crimped oats, cracked corn, black oil sunflower seeds, split peas when I have them, table scraps, usually cooked rice, sometimes popped corn crushed up or animal Crackers crushed up (their favorite) as well as the following herbs; turmeric powder, dried thyme, dried oregano, powdered cayenne pepper, powdered cinnamon and once a week I add some garlic. My 9 hens and one rooster survive on this if I run out of crumble feed. I get my feed from a local farmer, non -gmo and no sprays used. My 9 hens and one rooster also get gravel and crushed up egg shells (dried and sterilized in oven then crushed in blender), free choice, gone in a couple of days
We have oyster shell on demand.
Great info! I appreciate the encouragement. I can do this.... I am tired of spending too much money on feed for too many years!
you can absolutely do it, Donna!
We're looking to sell produce to schools. I'm also planning to do a program with at least one of the two small schools in town to pick up their food waste to feed my chickens. Great way to save on food waste in the landfill, and show kids how a problem can be turned into a solution.
That’s what I’m talking about Rachel
I meant to say I buy all my ingredients strait from the mills where it is grown, stock well up, seal in airtight vaccume packed bags keeps well for 3 plus years depending how fresh it is when you get it. I have no idea how to put a photo of my girls on here but wish you could see them.
Moldy bread is just fine for chickens and pigs my grandpa been doing it for years and they were just fine none of them died from it just just grew healthy and we ate very good 😊
I’m right there with you, Frank!
Hi 👋 It was nice to meet you last night at the creator event . We popped over to your channel and subbed. We have a question. The rice , beans and pork, did you get these from a restaurant and if you did is this organic made food? Just curious if it’s not organic product coming from the restaurant does that mean the chickens aren’t organically fed? Here to learn. Fantastic information will be checking more videos .
Very valuable video thank you Billy! I will be getting chickens soon 1st timer here
So awesome to hear that. Melissa! You can do it.
Hi Billy. People should grow extra greens for the chickens. Oh by the way. The comfrey is doing great. Can I dry it and make tea for human consumption. I don’t recall the variety
We definitely make tea out of it, but we use bocking #4 comfrey. It tastes better than other varieties.
I looove this! Thanks for the ideas amd please give us more!
Really appreciate you Danny. Because of you I have more compost than I ever imagined in mid winter. Because of you I discovered the rabbit carcasses will be a tremendous food source for the chickens in winter .and make my life on this city lot a whole lot cleaner. They clean up! We’re growing grains now. Getting lotsa eggs!
That sounds awesome Bonnie!
He's Billy
Link for that dope Permaculture Preparedness hoodie please 🙏
You can get them at Eric Seider’s TH-cam channel.
Great videos. We are thinking of adding chickens to the mix of what we have around here so your videos are being rewatched. Hopefully, our version of the "big they" in our area won't outlaw them.
Just tell them that your chickens identify the dogs.
How do you keep the hens inside that 3 foot high fence? Some of my hens can flat foot a 12 foot fence without even touching it.
We clip their wings every six months or so.
thanks Billy - yard birds and in my opinion some of the best layers
Thank you for sharing this, ya'll are awesome
Thank you for the kind response Andrea!
I’ve been supplementing my chicken feed with pinto beans and rice. The hens started laying immediately even though winter had started.
Love watching the Ladies eat! They definitely are enjoying themselves!
They are indeed!
Oh, Billy! That chicken stole the show X. :)
Ain’t that the truth!
Off subject a little bit, but I saw the video about horseradish. We finally found a root and I have got it started in water and it is making more roots. I hope this works, my husband loves horseradish!
Where you store the cooked big container? Thank you!
Sounds great if you live close to several places that you could partner with. We have very few places near our home that might have food waste.
Public schools can be a good resource!
Those are some beautiful chickens!❤
Wow! What a concept, showing solutions with problems!👍👍
Thanks a lot
That chicken looked like it was sizing you up. 😂
I sure hope not. I would hate for that bird to graduate to the cookpot.
What does the diatomaceous earth do? I know it kills bugs but what's it do for your chicken?
Helps to prevent worm issues.
I've noticed a difference in my chickens with the DuMore feed.
What difference?
How so!
@@PermaPasturesFarm21 My chickens aren’t laying nearly what they should… maybe 1-2 eggs a week since Oct/Nov.
I really enjoy your informative videos. I have learned a lot from you and your family on this channel. Thank you!
Thank you so much, Misti!
Thanks Billy. You ore very encouraging. Thanks.
Thank you so very much Joan!
Chicken Evangelism! Love it. God bless you and your family brother.
Thank you and blessings to you and yours, Bruce!
Thank you Billy
Thank you so much, my friend
Such a valuable video as are all your videos Billy you're such a blessing to the community and your knowledge and experience truly help so many I'm so proud to call you a friend keep up the great work absolutely love it 🤜💥🤛
Thank you so much, my friend!
Hey I just found your channel , I subscribed it's always good to see how others do their chores. I sometimes get ideas for my own place.
PS: I rarely feed my girls the get tables scraps and then they feed themselves. Been doing this for not quite 50 years.
Thank you so much for checking us out, Deb!
When I was younger working at a pizza joint we would throw away our unused dough and instead of tossing it in the trash we would set it beside the dumpster cause the local pig farmer was picking it up. Basically so he wouldn't have to dig thru the trash to get it.
That is definitely another option.
Pretty easy to look at your eggs and your chickens (and your hogs) and see that your feeding program is working great! If everyone that had the ability to raise chickens and/or hogs would use human food waste for feed, just think about how many millions of tons wouldn't end up in landfills! And anybody that thinks chickens need a "vegetarian diet" doesn't know anything about chickens!
Amen to all of that Jim!
Appreciate this video sooo very much!! I’m originally from the islands and grew up with farm animals. Our chickens were free range and they’d eat everything that gets thrown out. I’ve been researching to start my own laying hens. Trying to get a pre fab coop to start but have to figure ways to protect them from predators at nights since they’ll be near the bushes/trees
I’m so glad this video helped my friend!
When will you have Comfrey back in stock.
We should have some available again by the end of March.
Rosemary
Kelp
Diatomaceous earth
Additives to the beans, rice scraps mixture.
I’m making notes for myself.
New subscriber!
Thanks for subbing! blessings to you and yours, Catherine!
@@PermaPasturesFarm21 I went and made my mix of additives yesterday. I don’t have rosemary ATM but I have DT and kelp. I’m going to add some rock dust too.
I give my hens cider vinegar in their water 1 a week. Garlic the same and aloe Vera 1 a month.
And with that? I’m not adding anything else.
Loved it Billy as it is very informative as always- Great Video thanks. Cheers Denise- Australia
Always great to hear from you, Denise !
This fancy man is feeding his chickens chipotle burrito bowls. :)
I really like your videos and knowledge you share with us. Keep it up!
Glad you like the video my friend. Thanks so much!
Thanks man. Appreciate the heads up.
Any time!
Great video Billy. What’s your class topic and which day at growers school. Don’t want to miss your class. Can you believe the first time I attended Growers School it was at BRCC and we had a whopping 35 in attendance! It’s grown a bit since then and I’m a lot older!
I will be discussing how to feed your animals for free but I’m not sure about what times. I’m supposed to be speaking both days.
Thank you for sharing this.
Thank you for taking time, if your day to watch and respond Scott!
Thank you so much for your informative and practical videos!
Thank you so much for taking time to watch and respond Sare.
Wouldn't work in northern Alberta. 6 months of hard winter. -20c to -40c most of the time with alot of snow. Everything is frozen. Any feed with moisture will freeze in minutes.
Is the meat you put in the feed freeze dried?
It’s raw
Thank u Billy
Thank you very much for watching and responding Tambra!
Are you familiar with fermenting chicken feed? I think I fermented way too much feed. If I keep it submerged in the fermenting water, how long will it last? Can I refrigerate it to make it last longer? Or could I freeze some of it to make it last longer? I'm heartsick if I have to dump and waste all of this. Please help.
Can you tell me where you by the dimatashia earth in bulk?
it "diatomaceous earth" . curiouz on this too
@@clothescircuit i knew I spelled it wrong 🤣
I hear of people putting this in their garden soil too.
Tractor supply or farm supply. Amazon has small bags.
You can get it it just about any farm store.
I love the girl at the end pecking on your bucket and then going into the Bucket to help herself they must love it to do that lol thank you for the rosemary tip I’m gonna get me some 👍
So glad this video helped Christina!
I haven’t had any issues with my birds laying eggs on TSC feed. 🤷🏽♀️
A number of other people haven’t either. If anyone is, this is definitely the way around it.
I heard about the tractor supply/purina/Dumor no egg stuff and thought it was bull. So as a test I cut out my fermented scratch and radishes ect. Not a single egg. Don’t give purina your money. If you buy, get it from small businesses.
Thanks for this great information. Do the scraps need to be refrigerated? Down in the South, it get's pretty hot and the scraps could go bad. How do you handle that?
We’ve never require refrigeration, even when we were doing it in Texas.
Are those eggs cleaned beginningof vid?? They look so clean lol
It might’ve been but I can’t say for sure. My wife picked them up.
#QUESTION: What about chicks…recently hatched? What do you feed them? Same?
I look forward to the upcoming videos.
We basically feed them chick food for the first 4-6 weeks.
Purina 😢
I'm down to make some local friends for free food lol recently processed some quail and they tore up the gut and spines! Stole the wings but ended up composting the remains. Good to know about old bread and rice!
It works like a champ, my friend!
I want to be like you, I wish I had some land. Permaculture is the way.
Start getting some practice with gorilla guarding Kyle.
No chicken to chickens. No pork butt to pork. Got it.
That’s how we roll, brother!
Why not?
@@lindajustice2000 idk I just do what Billy tells me.
I do the same thing i feed 5 gallon buckets of food from the hospital to my chickens and pigs, but I don’t ask what’s in the buckets… I figure it’s fine food i get is cooked .
We give chicken to our chickens. They love it. 🤷🏽♀️
Love how you keep it simple.. people like to complicate things too much.. this is the system we use and have always gotten eggs even when there is tons of snow and below zero. No lights no heat ever
Thank you, thank you Billy! Solutions to the problem!
I think we’re going to need lots of those Kathy.
We appreciate ya brother
I also appreciate you, my friend!
William is so talented
If he wants to come to Texas ..he has a place to stay here
Can they have it cooked like left overs from dinner
The man is holding solid gold in his hands.
“A box, without hinges, key or lid, yet golden treasure inside is hid.“
Thanks for sharing
Watching this latest video makes me think meat protein is the issue with transitioning my birds over to. Saw a massive decline in eggs from heritage and hybrid layers on my 3-month trial. Must not have been getting enough bugs from compost and they suffered. Do you ensure they are getting real meat vs plant-based proteins every day to maintain egg supple? love your cannel's content all the way from Australia.
They are definitely getting real meat, Emma. Blessings to you and yours and Australia!
Have you tried breeding black soldier fly larvae for your birds?
Where is your rice patty? 😁
My 2 yr old flock of Dominiques molted and haven't started back laying yet but my Wyandotte is laying faithfully (she's only a yr old) I toss a little dry cat food out in the run every day !
Our have laid pretty consistently throughout the winter.
Any comfrey coming !
We hope to have it for sale again in March.
@@PermaPasturesFarm21 sweet thanks
We feed of 16 babys corn , table scraps, and they free range. The best eggs ever. Chickens are very healthy. Remember, whatever you feed your birds, you feed yourself as well!