Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>]

http://www.themodernhomestead.us/poultry/feeds_protein.html


Feeding the Homestead Flock Alternative Sources of Protein

As said earlier, I try to reduce reliance on outside inputs, feeding the
flock as much as I can on the homestead's own resources. One nutrient in
particular I want to generate more from homestead resources is protein. I
currently rely a good deal on fishmeal to help ensure adequate protein. I
do wonder, however, how sustainable is the practice of converting countless
tons of fish stocks into animal feeds. I would like to find viable on-farm
alternatives.

Earthworms
    I strongly encourage any homesteader to practice the art of
vermiculture—growing earthworms in a pit or bin of some sort. Earthworms
thrive on many things that might otherwise be wasted—coffee grounds, tea
leaves, banana peels, and other kitchen refuse that cannot be fed to the
chickens; animal manures; etc.—to produce the best garden fertilizer
(castings, or earthworm poop) on the planet. I currently have a thriving
population of composting worms in a bin in the greenhouse. My goal is to
increase bin capacity to the point where I can start making small but
regular``harvests'' of worms to feed my birds. I have a friend who
cultivates worms to feed to her flock, especially the growing birds, and
reports noticeable improvements in earliness of feathering, vigor, and
viability.

Mealworms
    Mealworms are the larval stage of a couple of different species of
beetle, the most common one raised being Tenebrio molitor. Usually they are
raised as food for pet lizards, but one of my correspondents feeds them to
her chickens when she has a surplus. I am currently exploring the question
of whether I can efficiently grow enough mealworms to supplement the other
foods I give my birds. With a nutrient-dense food such as a live insect,
even a small portion daily should be of tremendous benefit.

Fly maggots
    Did I hear someone shudder? Actually, fly maggots are another
extroardinarily potent live food that were deliberately raised for
fattening fowl in an earlier era. Note that the maggots are fed before they
pupate into flies, so the process does not lead to an explosion in the fly
population—indeed, I've read more than one report that raising fly
maggots for fowl actually results in a decrease in the ambient fly
population.

    The basic process is to set aside any sort of kitchen or other wet
organic refuse in a closed bucket until it gets ``funky,'' sprinkle that
mixture onto any sort of organic material you'd use in a compost heap (you
can use compost itself, or deep litter from the poultry house), and let it
sit in the open until well ``blown'' by flies (i.e., until it is densely
clustered with fly eggs). Now scoop the fly-blown mass into plastic garbage
bags and set aside in a suitable, out of the way place for about a week.
When the mass is teaming with wriggling maggots (but before they have time
to complete the cycle and hatch into flies) feed them to your birds.

    I have not grown maggots for my flock in the past, but plan a major
experimental effort in the coming warm season, sufficient to feeding all my
birds—especially the growing ones—a significant boost in high-quality
protein every day. I have noticed, for example, that the pile of wet
feathers left over from butchering chickens gets ``blown'' with masses of
yellow fly eggs within a few hours. The local flies seem to be telling me
that the spent feathers would be an excellent medium for growing maggots.
Indeed, I want to mix in the entrails with the feathers as well. If these
residues from slaughtering can be successfully converted into live protein
food, that will be a much better alternative than burying or composting
them. I will report my results in this space sometime in the fall.

    In the meantime, if you are interested in experimenting with growing
maggots as well, get more information at High-protein poultry feed from
thin air and at Putting the Bluebottle Fly to Work.

    If you do try it, please share your experience with me and with others,
via this web site.

Meat scraps
    Any meat scraps from kitchen or table can be fed to the flock. At our
house, Ellen makes a lot of chicken broth. The residue from the drained pot
contains quite a bit of meat scraps she was unable to get off the bones.
That goes to the flock, who think it's Sunday dinner. Ain't nothing they
like better than—chicken!

Japanese beetles
    People in many parts of the country have to contend with plagues of
Japanese beetles. Some resort to setting up traps for the beetles. Trapping
may be undesirable on two grounds: Typically one of the lures used is a
sexual attractant hormone, and as such can add to the load of hormones
released into the environment, a questionable practice. Many people argue
that the lures actually attract more beetles onto one's property than the
traps get rid of.

    It is always possible to ``harvest'' a heavy infestation by hand,
however. Collect the beetles in the cool of early morning or early evening,
when they are less active, less likely to fly away. Hold a bucket with a
little water in the bottom under a cluster of beetles—they especially
love grape vines, plum leaves, roses—and shake them into the water. Once
wet, they will be unable to fly. Dump the beetles onto your flock's pasture
and step back, out of the feeding frenzy!

Eggs
    Most people with a laying flock at some time have either an excess of
eggs, or have eggs that are cracked or ``just too gross''
(chicken-with-diarrhea syndrome) to use. Such eggs can be fed to the flock
for a protein boost. I hard-boil the eggs, then crush coarsely by hand as I
throw them to the birds. Even when I do not have excess eggs to feed
routinely to the flock, I set some aside for just-hatched chicks to give
them a good start. Feeding a little egg is especially beneficial for
hatchlings that have come through the mail, always a somewhat stressful
experience.

Fresh carrion
    Chickens are carnivores, make no mistake about it. Freshly killed meat
that is not going to be used for ``people food'' can be fed to chickens. I
have often thought of picking up one of the dozens of deer I see killed on
the country roads where I live and feeding that bounty to my flock—but
confess I haven't yet gotten up the nerve to do so. I have a friend who is
permitted to do ``nuisance shooting'' of deer on farms with an
overpopulation, and have requested that he bring me a carcass rather than
leaving it to the buzzards. The same friend is a trapper, and I have
received from him, and fed to the flock, numerous beaver carcasses after he
has taken the pelts. And finally, the occasional groundhog, having failed
to understand the intensity of my feelings about my garden, gets offered to
the flock.

Working the garden
    Fertile garden soil that has been under an overwinter mulch or cover
crop is especially rich in animal food—beetles, earthworms, slugs and
slug eggs, etc. If you use the flock to help prepare garden beds for spring
planting, they will ``harvest'' as much or more high-protein food as they
will on pasture.

Milk
    Milk is an excellent food for poultry. I have seen some recipes for
adding powdered milk to feeds, but do not favor such use myself. (I think
the use of powdered milk for anybody, people or animal, is questionable,
since any residual fat in the milk is oxidized in the drying process; and
oxidized fats should be avoided.) Pasteurized milk I would also avoid.
(Again, I avoid pasteurized milk for my own use.) When pasteurized milk
spoils, it rots, becomes putrid, and is host to any number of pathogens.
Raw, high-quality farm milk is another matter. If you milk a cow or goat
and have excess milk, it can be given as is to your flock. Whey from
cheese-making can also be fed. And finally, raw milk which has been around
some time will naturally sour or culture from the growth of beneficial
bacteria in it. Such cultured milk is an excellent food for the birds, and
indeed the live cultures in the soured milk will be especially beneficial.
I know someone who milks her own cow, and cultures three gallons of milk a
day with kefir culture. She soaks rolled oats in the kefir and feeds it to
her flock. Poultry feed doesn't get any better than that!