Commercial feed can be expensive and unsustainable, especially for a family that is trying to reduce its dependence on modern conveniences.
There are a couple of options for cheap, free, or pre-existing feed that many families could take advantage of to:
- slash their feed bills,
- reduce their dependence on outside sources of feed,
- and raise their birds in a more natural, sustainable way.
One thing I must mention before we begin is that chickens do require a diet rich in protein. This is what makes them tricky when it comes to feeding them 100% naturally from the land; insects, small animals & their eggs, nuts, some seeds, soybeans, and a few other crops are high in protein.
6 Sustainable Chicken Feed Sources In Your Own
Homestead’s Backyard!
Most new homesteaders are floored to find out about all of the nutritious chicken food that has been right in front of their birds the entire time. Some of it can even be preserved, storing it away for a cold winter’s day.
If you have tried or are planning to try any of these feed sources, feel welcome to leave your thoughts, tips, or general questions. We’ve left out a few great contenders (such as locusts, crane flies, and even tiny prey animals), but this is a great list to hang on to; feel free to bookmark this post, share it, or print it!
Compost & Excess Food from the Garden or Livestock
If you’re raising animals and growing your own food, chances are you have a compost pile. Compost piles serve two purposes: they allow you to recycle food and biodegradable waste rather than sending it to a landfill, and they produce rich, fertile compost to feed your garden with. However, they have one big benefit that many people don’t take advantage of: they are teeming with insects!
Compost produces an abundances of worms, beetles, larvae (such as maggots), grubs, and so much more. You’ll even find mice, voles, lizards, and other small critters frequenting the compost. Chickens see all of these critters as a delicious snack, most of which providing rich amounts of protein. The food within the compost is an added bonus, too; chickens can eat the bugs for their protein, while nibbling on other kitchen scraps for some additional vitamins, calories, and minerals.
Soldier Fly Larvae
I did mention insects within compost, which includes soldier flies. However, raising soldier flies with your food waste is an even more convenient option for homesteaders who have chickens! During my research, I believe I discovered that for every 5 pounds of food that you feed to your soldier fly bins, you’ll receive 1 pound of soldier fly larvae. While this might not seem like much, it is when you consider how much food waste you compost! You can increase or decrease the size of your soldier fly operation as needed, giving you more or less larvae for your chickens.
If you find yourself with too many larvae, you can try dehydrating them or freezing them; or, you can freeze dehydrated larvae so that they will keep for a longer period.
Clover, Dandelions, & Chickweed
These “weeds”, among many others, are commonly found on most homesteads in the US. Some of these are available in many areas around the world, too (along with other beneficial “weeds” we may not have in our area). They are a great way to green up your chickens’ diet, while reducing feed costs and keeping it organic. Each of these plants provides different benefits for birds, whether it be an elusive mineral or an excellent protein content.
The star of the show (in my opinion) is clover, which can offer your birds an incredible amount of protein- especially when dried! Try drying these plants in small batches on window screens to save for winter months. They’ll be a welcomed site when all of the other greenery is gone.
Tomato Hornworms
The tomato hornworm: one of the greatest enemies of gardeners throughout the world. They will sabotage your tomato plants, but you can most definitely use these pests to your advantage. These large caterpillars will give your birds a boost of protein in the form of a delightful, live insect. If you happen across very small hornworms, I would go as far as recommending that you grow them out to a larger size, without compromising the health of your plants.
To do this, use a screened glass aquarium or a netted butterfly house to house your hornworms. Add the prunings from your tomato plants daily to keep them well fed and growing. Once the caterpillars reach a large size, feed them to your birds or preserve them for winter. You could either freeze or dehydrate them; the best method would be to dehydrate them to save space, then store them in a freezer bag or mason jar in the freezer to keep them through the winter. The chickens will love them!
Offal Bucket Feeders
If you dispatch animals on your homestead, hunt, or fish, or if you just have meat waste after trimming the fat from your steak, you could create a bucket feeder for your chickens. This process is much like raising soldier fly larvae, but it’s a smaller scale system that is self-serve for the birds; it also won’t allow you to save bugs for winter feeding.
In this system, you drill holes along the side of the bucket, 1” from the bottom and up, about 1/8” in size. You place the bucket so that it dangles from a tripod, similar to what you would build for your beans. The supports keep the bucket suspended and out of the chickens’ reach. Once you add the offal (you can place anything, from ear to hoof, in this bucket), the flies will come and lay their eggs, and they will begin the natural cycle of decomposition. As the larvae come close to the pupae stage, they will leave the bucket through the holes; rather than pupating, the larvae will drop into the beaks of hungry, patient birds! This system will not smell very pleasant, so I do not recommend keeping this setup close to your home or frequented areas (such as a sitting garden). In the heat of summer, the flies will take care of the waste very, very quickly; especially if you’re adding waste to an already populated bucket.
Ponds, Creeks, & Minnows
Many homesteads have a natural source of water nearby, whether that be a lake, pond, river, stream, or creek. If you have this on your property, you likely have an abundant supply of minnows. Use these minnows as nutritious snacks for your hens, as they pack quite a lot of protein. Minnows are the little fish that you commonly see just beneath the water’s surface, in even the smallest, driest of creeks.
Go easy on them during dry seasons (when the creek, if applicable, is at its lowest) and during spawning. They’re far more likely to fall prey during these times to local wildlife, and you don’t want to have a detrimental effect on their population numbers. This won’t be much of a concern for a large body of water, but you must pay more attention to smaller, fragile populations.
Minnows are especially helpful during the winter, if you can locate them. They are one of the few food sources that you’ll find available during the cold months, but they will be hard to locate. Fish are not as active during cold weather, and ice or snow may hinder your efforts to locate them.
Below, I’ve linked a video I found of chickens enjoying minnows; they go absolutely crazy for them!