Our chickens are in training, real food training that is. This is what they used to eat…
Not only does it look like cigar butts, but it is filled with GMO’s, and many things that are made in a lab and not a kitchen. It grossed me out. We even tried the totally organic version and once again, if you are looking for a laboratory science project it is great, but to put in your body via eggs, not so much. It amazes me that ALL grocery store eggs, even the organic ones, are produced from this kind of scratch(unless they are fully pastured hens and cost 7$ at whole foods).
The crazy thing is that the chickens loved it. I would throw out spinach and apples and they would go for the pellets first! I think it was just because it was easier for them to eat, no work, no real pecking needed. So, to boot camp they went!
Thankfully it didn’t take very long to ween them off of the yuck and start them on a whole food diet. We tried a few different combinations and have landed on a great recipe that is corn and soy free! Our goal is for this feed to be a supplement only necessary when what is growing in the garden is limited. Right now we don’t have anything growing as we are preparing our ground for the spring via loads and loads of wood chips. So these days they get a 5 gallon bucket of live greens via our weeds, this new real food feed, and all the yummy organic fruit and veggie scraps from the kitchen. We also are hoping to get a chicken tractor built soon so that we can get them on some pasture too, but one thing at a time!
Our science project in school this week was allowing the kids to make up the large bin of feed which they have named chicky trail mix.
It is a hearty mix of ancient grains and seeds- oats, spelt, barley, red and white wheat, flax seed, sunflower seeds, millet, split peas, lentils, and oyster shells. We spread it all over the yard (along with some grit for digestion) so they can forage for it as they would out in the wild.
Since we have changed the feed their egg production has skyrocketed from about 6-8 eggs a day to 10-14 eggs a day. They are happy healthy girls (and Rocket the rooster of course) and I feel better that all the mouths on this farm are getting fed nutritious whole food.
Blessings to you from the farm!
