Saving Money on Chicken Feed : Feeding them Shredded Microsoft Manuals& they Like It

[gunDriller]

As far as what food they LOVE, bugs are at the top of the list.

I don't know what kind of bug this is. I found 2 of them in a puddle of rainwater on a tarp.

http://s403998394.onlinehome.us/DSCN5225-bugs.jpg

So I feed it to the chickens. Once one of them gets it, it inspires the Chicken version of the Indy 500 -

http://s403998394.onlinehome.us/DSCN5228-chicken-indy500.jpg

The chicken WITH the bug is chased frantically by the other chickens, until one of them steals the bug away, and then the other chickens chase that chicken.

Unless the bug breaks into 2 parts, in which case Tranquility & Serenity return.


But, bird feed has gotten expensive. 1 1/2 years ago a 50 pound bag was $10. Now, it's $14.

My eggs were getting MIGHTY expensive so I started experimenting with 'alternative feed'.

I put all the food scraps - and some Shredded Paper - in the feed bucket -

http://s403998394.onlinehome.us/DSCN5187-cheap-chicken-food2.jpg

I had a few reams of Legal Size paper from a garage sale. I used that up mostly. Next up is a Microsoft Office 2000 manual. That's about a 700 page manual. Should provide for the birds for 2 or 3 months -

http://s403998394.onlinehome.us/DSCN5221-paper-shredder.jpg

As far as I know, paper is similar to cellulose. I'm trying to figure out what, exactly. Of course, the ink adds some chemicals too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071021162313AAuS8t2

"There is no formula for paper, but it's mostly cellulose, a long chain polysaccharide, with mixed lignans and phenolics. The higher the percentage of cellulose, the better the paper."

"mostly cellulose and clay"


So what do you think - is it good or bad to feed the chickens paper ? It seems to have no ill effects, they are laying real regularly.

[k-os]

I love the idea, and the story of feeding the bugs to your chickens. Chicken Indy 500. Love it. Love it. Love it.

As for the paper, it's kinda strange. I does not seem natural in any way. Not even considering the chemicals that are involved, if you were to break it down to it's most "natural" element, paper would be wood. I don't see too many animals eating wood for nutrition. Yes, some animals gnaw on it, but for sustenance? I don't think so.

On the other hand, they're not displaying any ill effects, and are still laying, which is a sign of a happy chicken. They're your chickens, and you've found a really inexpensive way to feed them and keep them happy enough to provide you with eggs.

Also . . . it's entirely possible that the big factory chicken farms and egg farms are feeding the chickens far worse things.

[Glass]

The big farms probably are feeding worse as k-os points out. I'd be concerned about the chemicals used to bleach the paper white. I was wondering about cardboard. I don't think the brown stuff is bleached. Maybe not bleached as much. Might be worth checking out before trying.

talks mostly about industrial but might be something useful. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellulose

[Dogman]

Be sorta cool to have sunny side up eggs that you can read!

3870

[gunDriller]

Be sorta cool to have sunny side up eggs that you can read!

i'll be concerned if i start seeing the Sunday comics in their droppings ! Thanks for the replies :)


as soon as i let them out of the coop in the morning, they start eating blades of grass. Like an early morning salad or something. Basically, cellulose - similar chemically to the paper.

They spend a good part of the day "scratching" - they scratch the surface layer of dirt and leaves, and then pluck away at the now-doomed worms and bugs that lie beneath. The chickens also pluck at the ground. As far as I can tell, they eat a small quantity of dirt and small rocks. For their gizzard or something, I guess.

The paper that goes into the feed bucket along with food scraps & frying pan juices, that paper soaks up bacon fat, water, misc. juices. As far as I can tell, even if I slightly burn the onions or other food, they like their feed bucket. When I call them to come & get their bucket, and to put them in the coop for the night, they literally come running. Towards the end of the day they often sit outside the house making crying sounds, like they want their feed bucket. Maybe they get tired of scratching for bugs, or maybe I'm spoiling them, or both.


I think there might be some variation in paper that is relevant to my 'quest' for cheap & healthy food sources. e.g. National Geographic, full of ink and kaolin/ clay, that shiny magazine paper type paper ... I don't think that would be good for them.

It may be that "Kraft" paper (the brown paper shopping bags are made of) or some other kind are the closest chemically to the grass & cellulose that they eat.

When I need to keep them in the coop, like if I'm not going to be there, I like to keep them well-fed so that they don't eat the eggs and are generally happy. But I was spending so much money on chicken feed - even at 28 cents a pound - that it was coming to about 75 cents an egg.


The mix that I make for them when they are coop-bound is -
mashed potatoes
shredded paper
cut-up raw or cooked beef from the cow I butchered earlier this year, lesser cuts that I won't be eating
miscellanous - rotten apples, stale bread, anything that "mushes up" well and that they seem to like. Some egg-shells if I'm feeling generous.

When I give them food that they like, they start Hoovering it down and making contented clucking sounds.


One other food that gets them to compete is egg-shells. They do the same thing as with a bug, it's like "Chicken Tag" or "Chicken Rugby". I have saved up a bunch of egg-shells, partially to have a stock handy for when a pet-sitter needs an inducement to get the hens back to the coop.

I was thinking about video-taping one of their "Indy 500/ Chicken Rugby" sessions. I have to be careful when I am holding the egg, they fly up, snatch it out of my hand, and run off into the bushes, with the other chickens in hot pursuit. Which is very entertaining except I am usually trying to lead them back to the coop.

They are also funny because they are not the smartest. If I put out a plate with 2 big bugs, once one of them grabs one of the bugs, the other chickens ignor the remaining bug. They run after the chicken that has the bug. I am not sure how this qualifies as a survival skill, but it is fun to watch.

I figure in terms of "pet-ness", 3 chickens adds up to about 1 dog.

[woodman]

Maybe a little formaldehyde? Maybe not. In any case, I don't think they'd be getting any nutrution from it. Other wise you could just chop a few trees down and feed them all winter.

[zap]

I think they are potato bugs, http://www.potatobugs.com/pix/index.html

[gunDriller]

this year, the deer beat the potato bugs to my potatoes.

came out and saw a bunch of stalks with the leaves stripped. hoof-prints in the soft dirt on the ground.

i built the potato box on top of a compost pile. worked out pretty good. the chickens ate worms out of the compost pile until the potato part was in danger of falling on their heads.