I live in zone 4 and it gets really cold here. I want to know what to feed my chickens in Winter. I let them free range in the Summer but I am afraid of predators being hungry in the Winter so I will keep them in the coop and chicken yard which is covered with netting. I have 6 Buff Orpingtons and 3 Cochin Bantams. I am sorry to say that today a hawk got one of my little Bantam hens.

This article made me chuckle. I was raised on a farm and I remember my grandfather scolding us kids for feeding the chickens way, way to much wild onion grass. The eggs tasted like they had onions in them. "You are what you eat."

We have predators coming out our ears. When we leave home the 6 "girls" need to be a bit safer, so we use the Balfour (spelling?) Method. I believe this is an old British farming method.

Connected to their fortess of a chicken coop is an 8' by 4' run completely surrounded by 2" by 4" welded wire. This includes the floor.

In this run we put everything that gets weeded from the garden, thinnings, some leaves, ears of corn that have been molested by raccoons, 3 day old grass clippings, kitchen wasted (of course) ...oh you get the idea.

After each layer, I skatter oyster shell.

They stay very entertained digging through their sometimes 3 foot deep pile of goodies. The worms and bugs come naturally. Although, for extra protein and entertainment we placed a japanese bettle lure on top of the run out of the chickens reach without the trap bag. Oh, those beetles were trapped all right...in my "girls" stomachs.

About once every month we transfer our new fertile soil to the regular compost pile. Our garden loves it. I love not stirring or messing with the compost pile.

Our yolks are school-bus orange-yellow and delicious.

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Hens who get a high protein diet (16% layer) lay more eggs. A low protein diet, in addition to other factors, causes them to stop laying eggs. In fact, if you want to get your hens to molt, feed them a lower protein diet in the fall. You don't want hens to lay through the winter without a break, because the poultry vets say that will reliably kill them. They need that break to grow new feathers, and build up their vitamin and calcium stores.

Eating green stuff and bugs is great for chickens. Mine eat plenty. However, if you want your chickens to produce lots of eggs, and not get reproductive issues, then you do need to feed them a good-quality layer feed as well as an extra calcium supplement, such as oyster shell, sold at any feedstore. Both should be fed free-choice. I chose a low-soy organic feed because the number 1 cause of death in hens 2+ years old in my state (according to my state lab) is reproductive cancer, and I suspected that the extra estrogen from soy or the herbicides/pesticides/GMOs might play a factor. You also don't want to modify the amount of light they get in the winter, as that has reliably shown in research studies to produce reproductive cancer. I don't want to eat eggs from chickens with reproductive cancer... I no longer have cancer in my flocks after making these changes, and feeding lots of fresh organic produce and low-soy feed with flax for omega 3.

If a hen runs low on calcium, she will rob her bones of it and could get osteoporosis. If she is low on calcium when she lays eggs, the shells get thinner and might break, causing an egg-eating habit, or if they break in side her, a reproductive infection. Also, hens who lay eggs while in a low calcium state will have more flaccid muscles where the egg comes out, which can cause the inside of the egg laying tract to touch the ground, allowing pathogens to gain access. So it's so important to make sure they always have that oyster shell available free choice. I have 8 year old hens in my flock who are still laying lots of eggs. They don't lay as many as they used to, but they are much larger, so I think it evens out. Plus, if I wanted new chicks, these hens are proven healthy and hardy, so I would much prefer hatching those.

Hens who get a high protein diet (16% layer) lay more eggs. A low protein diet, in addition to other factors, causes them to stop laying eggs. In fact, if you want to get your hens to m

We have raised chickens for the last couple of years. It's not as hard as some would make you believe. Our chickens have their own coop and a run that goes into a pen outside of the coop. The pen is fenced in so that the chickens can go outside but still be protected from predators. It is also fenced on top to keep away hawks. We use the pen when we aren't going to be home during the day and let them free-range when we are home.

We do feed them grain - small rations of corn which increase during the winter. We also feed them any scraps out of our kitchen - carrot peelings, potato peelings, lettuce ends, tomato rinds, apple cores, etc. This really helps with the feed bill. Our egg yolks are a deep yellow -practicaly orange.

During the winter, we keep a lot of straw in the bottom of the coop. We also keep their water container on top of a milk crate that has a light shining up on the bottom of the container. This will keep the water at least partially thawed even in the coldest of temps here in MO - single digits. We do provide the chickens a heat lamp when the temp is below 10 degrees Fahrenheit.

Sandra

I live outside of Goliad, Texas and have enclosed about 3/4 of an acre for my chicken pasture. We have problems with coyotes, possums, and foxes, so the pen is to keep the predators out and my dogs try to keep the varmints away from the fence. It works pretty good so far, only lost 1 chicken to a varmint lately and that was when I let them out to take care of the fire ants by the house (and quit paying attention to where they were - my mistake!)

When I want the chickens to "take care" of something - pillbugs under the steps, fire ant piles, garden pests etc., I call them to me with fresh greenbeans (they LOVE them) and then drop the beans and some scratch where I want them to work - usually an ant pile. They tear 'em up.

In their chicken pasture, they have plenty of brush to scratch around and grass to eat. I also feed them some "chicken scratch" from the local feed store - coarse ground corn, milo, and some crumbles. They really don't eat much of the scratch, though, preferring the pasture and all the bugs.

We have kept chickens for 8 years and let them free range around the yard with an occasional loss due to predators; racoons, foxes, hawks, fisher cats, weasels, coyotes, etc. Then a mother fox decided she would re-inhabit a woodchuck hole in our front yard less than 50 feet from our front door. No more free rangeing. So now I collect the bugs I find while gardening in a can or bucket and throw all of the preferred weeds harvested in the chicken yard. Did you know that chickweed (so named for it's beneficial properties) is also their favorite weed. They also love dandelions, lambs quarters, kale, lettuce and many other grassy type weeds. I also feed the wild birds and the chickens love wild bird seed with a high percentage of hulled sunflower seeds. This is all supplemented with an organic layer mash/pellet mix. They go crazy for fresh corn on the cob. Our eggs are very tasty.

Frances, thanks for the information. I have had various chickens/guineas for some years but never was sure what to feed them through the winter. You answered the question. I am in W. Ky. and we have hot/humid summers, but can have quite cold/snowy winters. I free range them most of the time, but have problems with stray dogs and raccoons.

Chickens evolved from Red Jungle Fowl, which are forest creatures, not plains creatures. They ate items they found in a forest or the edges, including fruit, greens, and insects. I keep my chickens in very secure covered runs with nontoxic trees growing inside to create an environment that they feel comfortable in. I feed them lots of fresh produce, and a low-soy organic feed with flax and extra calcium supplements. Hens need lots of protein, vitamins, and calcium to produce all those eggs. The produce makes the yolk rich and orange. My eggs are excellent. Further, pasture has to be managed correctly, because poisonous items can grow in it, like hemlock, and if it's too fibrous it can kill a bird with impacted crop. They aren't ruminants like cows; their digestive system isn't as good. They grind up their food with small stones they eat, about the size of peas, and you need to provide those as well.

That portable coop, which I think is absolutely horrible, does not protect birds from temperature extremes (many chickens die in the summer, or freeze their combs and feet in the winter), rain, or many predators. What's more, there are no instructions on how to secure the wire door at all: a critical feature. Predators do attack during the day -- I personally know people who lost chickens to raccoons, dogs, coyotes, and bobcats during the day, and if you have bears, you need something even more secure. Family dogs will have trouble protecting your chickens, as predators are faster and sneakier.

Please, add a chicken expert to your staff!

My grandfather raised chickens as a boy, and he swore the most delicious eggs on earth (still talks about them when we go out to breakfast) came from the eggs who at grasshoppers. He gets a light in his eyes when he remembers how good they were. Sounds worth a try!

I get my eggs from pastured hens, but will soon be moving to a home where I can have my own. The woman I purchase the eggs from asked me if I had any issues with snakes because they will steal the eggs - and yes I do. Will the eggs attract snakes?? If they do, are there any ways of keeping them away without hurting them?

Justin, you don't have to worry about cholesterol with eating eggs. The notion that eggs increase cholesterol came from a study from (I believe) the 60's that was done on powdered eggs which was sponsored by the Cereal Institute. In reality, eggs are a whole food and as such, they do not raise your cholesterol to an unhealthy level. Honestly, the whole cholesterol scare in itself is not entirely honest either. As long as you consume whole foods (unrefined, unprocessed), you will be fine!

Most producers who raise free-range or pastured hens do feed them some grain. Feeding corn, soy, wheat, or commercial chicken feed along with all the bugs, worms, and grass and weed leaves and seeds is what will produce the most nutritious eggs. The key is to use a production system that allows the birds a diverse diet, so that they can choose the mix of foods that they need. Even the technique described below, where the penned birds are fed grass clippings to supplement their grain, will improve the quality of the eggs. For local suppliers who raise free-range, pastured or grassfed eggs and other products, check out www.eatwild.com.

Hi,

I am in the Austin TX area and I have had a lot of difficulty locating chickens and eggs that are fully range free and fed only bugs. The ranchers I have found supplement the feed with corn and soy and one farmer said it is because they need protein (bugs are protein, yes?) and until they can find a substitute for the soy they will use it. Are you aware of any farmers in my area who don't feed their chickens soy?

Thanks, Carol

I raise chickens here in northern WI our chicken house is set up to over winter our fully feathered out friends quite nicely (we live in Zone 3 it gets very cold here)

Our chicken house in insulated I cover the inside window with some painters plastic to let the light in but still keep them covered over thier door I stack bales of straw to keep any drafts out I have vents toward the ceiling of thier house and I cover the floor of the coop with a deep layer of straw this allows the waste to fall through (in summer we use woodsavings) and is easier to clean up after them and lasts longer between cleanings

we also put a light bulb on a timer so they get plenty of light and still lay eggs we also use a heater for thier waterer (it just raises the temp to just above freezing) so thier water wont freeze

Birds can survive fine and stay warm so long as they are in a place that is draft free and dry

http://goinggreenish.blogspot.com/

We became interested in keeping hens in March of this year, and have three very happy, healthy young hens now. My husband constructed a very nice 8'x4' run to go with their coop, which is a re-purposed rabbit coop. The first eggs should be laid around the beginning of September, and we can't wait!

Our area gets somewhat wintry, so we're also a little concerned about how they'll fare. We did make sure to buy our chicks locally, so that we know the breeds are right for our climate. There are several farm supply stores to choose from within 10 miles from home, so we should have no problem finding good feed for them for the winter. We've heard that pellets are the way to go after the birds start laying.

hello i'm 16 and do alot of weight training i love eggs and know
they are a good sorce of protien. However my mother tells me not to
eat them as often and to put long time periods before i eat eggs
again because she is afraid of the cholesterol. I respect her
concern and this is why i wanted to know how much is to much when
it comes to eating eggs? could i atleast have one per
day?

Okay, I know it's great to let animals free range but what about
in the winter, especially up north here? What supplemental feed do
you recommend? Commercial or mixed. thanks M

Most of the first half of my life my family raised chickens for
eggs. We generally had two dozen. We had a good sized chicken house
connected to a rather large outside chicken-pen. beyond the
standard chicken feed my dad bought, and the clam shell, whenever
we mowed our lawn my dad dumped the mower's basket of cur grass
into the chicken pen. The chickens seems to love it and I soon
realized our eggs tasted much better then anyone else's I knew. the
yolks were such a beautiful deep yellow that it made our home baked
white and wheat bread look like banana-bread in color.