Page 76 - Summer2008

As the size of a ock increases, so does the veloped a wonderful soy-free chicken feed recipe

percentage of protein needed. So on the small she has graciously allowed me to share with you

family farm that has ve to 25 chickens, protein (see page 71). She also augments the girls’ feed
needs should be met through foraging, scraps and with organic alfalfa to scratch through during the
the small amount of feed provided. But raising winter so they are getting greens year round.
more chickens than the number that can naturally Another tip she suggests is offering the girls
sustain themselves on a particular plot of land raw or cultured milk daily (they love it) and add-
calls for higher protein percentages through feed ing a dash of apple cider vinegar to their water
rations. (just about one tablespoon per gallon). The vin-
Katherine Czapp remembers how her chick- egar helps keep their pH in balance and improves
ens were raised on her family’s farm. “We used nutrient absorption. It also deters algae growth
to have about 18 chickens when I was growing in their water.
up (including a few roosters) and they only got Truly, everything else you can easily learn
corn, spelts and oats that we grew and ground for from researching on the internet or books. Here
them, oyster shell, and then all sorts of meat-type are the resources that have been most useful to
goodies they found (like insect larva in cow pats, me:
and even the occasional calf placenta!) and pans www.thecitychicken.com
of warm milk we set out for them and the 18 cats www.backyardpoultrymag.com
twice a day at milking time. Every day my grand- www.themodernhomestead.us
father would take his sickle and gather plants he www.backyardchickens.com
knew they loved, (I found out later that nettles
are up to 40 percent protein) and then they got all The last web resource includes a forum to
kinds of mixed scraps from two family kitchens ask questions of those more experienced and pas-
and two very large vegetable gardens. They for- turePoultry@yahoogroups.com is a chat group
aged all over the place. Eighteen chickens could on Yahoo.com where you can ask questions and
Never in meet their protein needs on the scale and variety read posts.
my wildest of our farm. If we had had hundreds of chickens Two important books on backyard chickens

dreams did I or more (as many farmers do today) they couldn’t are Keep Chickens! Tending Small Flocks in Cit-
ies, Suburbs, and Other Small Spaces by Barbara
get what they needed at our scale.”
think I would My resourceful friend and part-time Kilarski and Story’s Guide to Raising Chickens
have an egg homesteader, Vicki Hunnicut, passed on a few by Gail Damerow.
The staff at local farm supply stores and mail
surplus. invaluable chicken-raising nuggets to me when order hatcheries (such as McMurray Hatchery)

she helped me start my backyard ock. She de-

A barred rock hen struts around the pen
while Rhode Island reds contemplate entering the henhouse.

74 Wise Traditions SUMMER 2008