Are Your CHICKENS Resilient? (Feeding Chickens in Hard Times)

In the homesteading world, there's a bit of a misconception that if the world goes sideways, we'll be just fine as long as we have chickens in the backyard.
But many of us fail to ask if our chickens are sustainable. What if we no longer had access to chicken feed? Would you know what to feed chickens then?
Join me with Dalia from @WelcometoChickenlandia for today's Pantry Chat Podcast as we discuss how to feed chickens without chicken feed.
For more information, check out the blog post here: homesteadingfa...
Be sure to check out Dalia on the following platforms:
- Website: welcometochick...
- FB: / welcometochickenlandia
- IG: / welcometochickenlandia
- KZbin: / @welcometochickenlandia
- Podcast: welcometochick...
- Book - Let’s All Keep Chickens: www.storey.com...
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MORE ABOUT US!
WELCOME! We're so glad you're here! We are Josh and Carolyn Thomas. Together with our eleven children, we are The Homesteading Family where we’re living a self-sustainable life in beautiful North Idaho. Let us welcome you and show you a bit about us here: bit.ly/HFWelcom...
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Healthy Healing at Home - Learn how to confidently use herbal medicine in your home with this FREE 4 video workshop: homesteadingfa...
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FREE PDF DOWNLOADS:
- Homesteading Family's Favorite Holiday Recipes - Grab all of our family’s favorite holiday recipes. homesteadingfa...
- 5 Steps to a More Self-Sufficient Life - Simple steps anyone can take wherever they are to start a more self-sufficient lifestyle. homesteadingfa...
- Thrive Wellness Checklist - A simple guide for healthy living: homesteadingfa...
- Permaculture for Your Homestead- An introduction to permaculture with some strategies for applying it to one’s homestead and garden.
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- Carolyn’s Cottage Garden herb list - Carolyn’s favorite herbs for growing at home.
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- Carolyn’s Make-Ahead Breakfast Casseroles - These easy casseroles are a life-saver for busy weeks! homesteadingfa...
- Your FREE Guide to Preserving Eggs - Grab your guide to preserving eggs with multiple methods. homesteadingfa...
- 5 Steps to a Healthy Garden - Get an explanation of what makes healthy soil and 5 steps you can take to improve your garden. homesteadingfa...
- Save the Crumbs- Several Recipes for using bread leftovers, a less committal entry to bread than the workshop. homesteadingfa...
- Fearless Fermenting- A simple guide on basic lacto-ferments. homesteadingfa...
- Fermenting Tomatoes - Easiest and fastest tomato preservation: homesteadingfa...
- Preserving Culinary Herbs - Downloadable, step-by-step directions to drying, freezing, and salting culinary herbs. homesteadingfa...
- Render Your Own Lard - Grab these easy instructions on how to render your own lard. homesteadingfa...
- Grandma Lynn's Blueberry Buckle - A delicious dessert anytime of year: homesteadingfa...
#feedingchickens #whattofeedchickens #raisingchickens

[@MarciPrice-cl6eq]

My husband suffered a brain injury in September of 2018, he became very depressed, I had bought some chickens. Every morning he goes out to let them out, he has a bench, he sits down & all 13 hens get up there & coos to him. I have 4 chicks in a brooder, my 2 yr old granddaughter is obsessed! Lol

[@jenniferrescott1149]

I love listening and watching my chickens on a warm summer day

[@rubychurch3466]

They’re very good for mental health, glad they help your husband

[@christysmith5211]

Love this

[@sbarrett1020]

So glad the chickens help your husband. If you’re able to keep a couple goats they have been extremely therapeutic for my kids and myself as well just listening to them eat grass and walk about.

[@WelcometoChickenlandia]

This was a great chat and I’m so glad we had it! ❤❤❤

[@trinityriverhomestead]

This was super exciting to see you on this channel!! I'm so glad your message is reaching far and wide. Let's get chickens out there Oprah style... You get a chicken, and you get a chicken, check under your seat...yep it's a brooder full of chicks for everyone!

[@TheLifeProvided]

Im glad you had it as well. I laughed out loud and cried real tears both before 10 mins in. 💙🙏💙 Thank you.

[@cluckieschickens]

I put 5 chicks (I bought) under my broody hen, she loves being a mom. It is so fun to watch her teaching and interacting with them.

[@Wellnessuntamed]

Chickenlandia has been an inspiration in getting my own chickens! I grew up on a farm and gathered a ton of eggs in my childhood but I didn’t have the actual responsibility of keeping them healthy and alive. My parents did that. So she has been so helpful in my learning process!

[@tarayoakum9393]

Yay, Dalia and Carolyn together! Two joyful people who make my day.❤

[@kerryquattlebaum4323]

Right! I was so happy to see Dahlia!!! These 2 ladies ALWAYS encourage and make me smile.

[@joescott3393]

Loved this show. We on the ranch keep thousands of chickens, but there is no such thing as a KFO or a caged chicken. Each chicken house has about 1000 chickens and the house is a minimum of 2000 square feet complete with nest boxes and roosts. Plus each chicken house has at least 2 chicken yards. The chickens use one yard while the other is resting and regrowing. Each yard is at least 100x100 feet. So that is a minimum of 2 sqft per bird in the house with a minimum of one lineal foot of roost space per bird. Each yard is a minimum of 5sqft per bird. What do I feed them? Well they have free access to home grown grains. Each yard is a huge compost pile. So they have free access to greens, bugs, worms, spent shredded leaves from the fall. Plus silage that we make by the thousands of tons mostly for the cattle. Most of our eggs are used in our restaurants as with the rest of our produce that we grow and of course the shells never go to waste. They go back to the land somewhere along with tons of calcium carbonate powder that is spread on the land. Along with iron ore rock, phosphate rock, granite dust and we are now about to import kelp weed from the gulf coast which to them is a waste and very difficult to get rid of. All of this is spread on the land and of course a bit goes to the chickens. If any animal dies on the ranch it is processed into cat and dog food for our animals. We have 10 pairs of guard dogs and probably 100 spayed and neutered cats that take care of our mouse and rat problem. All bones are boiled and grown and spread on the land and chicken yards. Oh yes I guess you are wondering we have over 100,000 acres here in Canada. Farming is a wonderful life. God bless one and all Joe Scott Muddy Dog Ranch

[@loriirons9503]

We live in the country but when you drive into town, in the backyards of street after street, are chicken coops, obviously once used for chicken keeping and sustainability, and it truly makes me sad to see how so many people truly do miss out on being close to nature and their food supply! I so agree, their antics are priceless. My girls come right up to me, they each have names, and they started out in our dining room for several months when it was finally warm enough to put them out in their coop. I love my chickens and I cannot imagine life without them!

[@reneecasey5719]

Excellent information!!!!!! Thank you for sharing Chicken Landia-- ROCKS This was my question to our feed farm in middle TN -- MPS Farms - Centerville TN

[@Willi-g9o]

Only 8 minutes into this video and I love the subject matter and I love her “testimony” of how this lady got to chickens. The $100 egg comment hit home with me! Lol

[@domesticgoddess5584]

Kind of like the $100 tomato, eh? 🥰❤🍅

[@davidgarland949]

My girls are entertaining as heck . They are so smart and full of personality.

[@debbieschaffner2581]

Great chat! Very inspiring! I live in Hawaii. Chickens are everywhere with baby chicks around their moms, pecking at the ground. So cute and thriving. In backyard flocks here the chickens come into the coop at night for safety, they are kept in until late morning or early afternoon after they have laid their eggs then let out to scratch and forage. They eat kitchen scraps and very few people feed them chicken feed. It's way too expensive here. Currently, eggs are about $9.00 in the store and $7.00 from the farm where they free range. Thanks for teaming up for this discussion!

[@donnastafford9799]

They were my entertainment growing up on the farm in the 50s &60s. Chickens and KZbin blogs are much better than TV!

[@gailsgardenherbsmore1605]

"How did they use to do it". I've been asking that since the 70s. Also, it's the question I asked concerning health and is one of the reasons I do herbs instead of pharmaceuticals. I've had chickens most of my life. Funny creatures that give entertainment, food for me and my garden!

[@christinachiew3156]

I so appreciated this episode. We have her book and love her common sense, natural & practical advice! Dahlia is wonderful chicken care expert so much that we named one of our birds after her!

[@bethsands7665]

You are both awesome people and really have the same positive and real smile !!! I grew up in the country and have always enjoyed the circular sounds of the roosters crowing. Hens are awesome in laying eggs and caring for young... which is the meaning of country living . You go girls !!!, thanks for the important, back-to-nature information.

[@janiceaaronson3677]

I feed their egg shells back to them for grit and calcium. They LOVE it! After I bake something I throw a tray of shells in the cooling oven. Makes them crispy and easy to crush for them.

[@patricialynveal4017]

No, folks will forget bake, the corps did, that's how east cost chickens became filled with seminella eating their own shells (unclean, not baked) other calcium sources safer

[@avnhealth]

@@patricialynveal4017 I don't agree with that. Salmonella is encouraged by the way in which battery hens are raised in dirty, disgusting and inhumane circumstances and also by the horrendous food they get to eat in their short, miserable lives. Chickens that are allowed to free range and fed a natural, clean diet can definitely eat their own eggshells for the added nutrition without any problems.

[@TheBachBabe]

I loved this!!! We are on our 2nd year of in town chickens. It has been an adventure. And we have so much more we can do.

[@saundrawaugh1979]

I love following KZbin Chickenlandia and dahlias book is a valuable resource!!!!

[@tillisross2246]

Exactly!! How did they do it before? That’s how I like to think.

[@barbgardiner5719]

My grandpa ALWAYS cooked his mash for his flock. When I was little, I had no idea he kept them in his basement! Never knew they were there until we moved my grandparents up to our farm! 💕💕💕

[@nativeceltbirdog1527]

Wow!! Thanks for sharing ❤

[@mannersmatter6773]

Thank you so much. Two of my favorite people to watch. More people have chickens than I’ve ever seen in my 60 years

[@judyluchies2492]

Yup, I hear you, l love my chickens , thank you 😇♥️♥️🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@zombiemom5088]

I got a little overzealous and picked a watermelon a tad too early … so I quartered it long ways … I have 2 coops/ runs 1 for adults 1 for babies … I gave the babies a 1/4 and they were so happy and adorable to watch .. of course the big girls loved it too … it’s also so good for them in the heat

[@alanlvr36]

Looking through a "factory farm lense" ... What a great comment! We have been SO conditioned. On so many levels! Thank you for this content!! As always I absolutely love the topics of discussion!! 🐤🐔🐥❤ I also loved the personalized songs!! That spoke to me in a big way too! 😅

[@LorrayneHam]

I love hearing my rooster. Thank you ladies for this wonderful talk and information. I have often wondered how I can feed my chickens differently and the thought of what did our ancestors feed came to me recently and here you are discussing it.

[@benmoffitt7524]

Hey! Two of my favorite channels together! Totally agree about the entertainment aspect of chickens. They are much funnier that anything on television!

[@7owlfthr]

Absolutely!

[@GrandmaGingersFarm]

For years and years, as farm kids, there was always a chore of collecting road kill and/or trapping or hunting small critters for poultry feed.

[@dhansonranch]

Good interview! Some great thoughts and information. I watch so many educators feeding their chickens food from the house that is still useable (in my books) and think that they must not realize they are simply moving the expense from the feed store to the grocery store. What I don't think people realize is that it is the "scraps" of bread, the spoiled milk, the pieces of fried eggs, the guts from filleting a fish, the fat from the cooked steak, the spent apples from making juice, raw trimmings from a roast, rotting fruit and veg, etc. can all be fed as supplemental feed. And during the summer months, you can bring the greens to them - I daily pick grass, weeds, thistles, stinging nettle, etc and throw it to my birds. However, during the cold winters, one needs to get more innovative in their solutions to feed but it can certainly be done with the dried grains or growing some greens indoors, even on your window sill. If one looks at nature, animals will often loose condition during winter only to recover in summer.

[@munkeespeaks9660]

I just got started last summer. I've lost 2 flocks bc of my dogs and cats. Live n learn...but what I wanna say is I live down town in my small town. I have 21 birds. 19 hens, 2 roos. The roos protect my girls from the dogs and cats. So far so good. I dont use feed at all. I made a mobile chunnel from dogwire that's easily moved. My local town council gave me permission to allow my birds to chunnel range a few empty lots, at the old sheriff's office, and by the local church. Im growing a lot of sunflowers, sorghum, corn, and amaranth to try to grow my own feed. The kids and I also go around raking leaves and picking up anything the chickens can be entertained with. Its creating awesome compost and it doesn't take long. Its work and I happen to love it. Its teaching my kids so much about work ethic and hard work. I never knew I loved chickens, I had never paid much attention before. Now, I'm the crazy chicken lady with no shame at all lol. I realize now that I was driving myself crazy trying to keep up with making my home look like a Pinterest board. It was never gonna happen, I have 3 kids lol so I embraced what I couldn't change and leaped into downtown homesteading. I'm much more fulfilled and my husband brags about us at work. Its been an awesome change. I'm loving it so much. Nothing is easy. Learning yo survive without the beast ain't easy. Ya gotta start somewhere, and chickens are a perfect place to start. I love the tube channels. KZbin chicken university baby lol. Y'all are awesome. Thanks for the education!

[@munkeespeaks9660]

I realize I didn't say what I feed them. Rite now I'm experimenting with fermenting the corn. I also make a pasta, pinto, and rice mix if I feel like they need more to eat. I also feed them bird seed. Sometimes I'll even scramble them up a few eggs as a treat.

[@Marilou-g5t]

I always had a spade of fresh sod in the brooder for chicks to learn to peck for food. My dual purpose flock loved bugs and natural proteins. I did feed corn at night if it was very cold winter for extra energy to maintain body condition.

[@debrahaley1235]

Thank you so much for introducing us to Dahlia!! This is just the way I am looking to adjust the way I raise my Chickens. Thank you Caroline!

[@HomesteadingFamily]

Glad it was helpful!

[@nancybrooks-hartz8807]

Don’t forget to put a maggot bucket out with chickens for a good source of protein ! Drill holes in a 5 gallon bucket and put in scraps and flys come in and lay eggs and maggots go to the light(holes ) and drop out and feeds chickens high protein !!

[@Teri6419]

Very important information! My girls are my queens and deserve the best! Thanks, Carolyn.

[@belieftransformation]

Great conversation; thanks for sharing! Blessings to all & continue learning about natural ways 🤗💗🇨🇦

[@jenniferrescott1149]

My chickens barely touch there feed in warm months.. They are busy ladies. I also give all our chicken scraps too. Thier yolks are nice and orange in summer too

[@sandralafond3818]

Two of my favorite podcasters - such a treat!

[@scubahealer]

Love the president of chickenlandia!

[@clydesdalehomestead3807]

Great conversation! I just recently discovered Dahlia’s videos and it was fun to see you together. I’m working on becoming a lazy homesteader and producing my own chicken food is one of the key components. I like to do some mental “what if” exercises to make sure my homestead practices are sustainable. What if I could no longer buy chicken feed? If it’s winter, I need to have enough food stored to make it through. The same grains and other food I store for my family can feed the chickens, plus I can sprout whole grains and beans. If it’s summer, I can let the chickens free range for longer periods plus start growing food for them for the upcoming winter such as winter squash, sunflowers, amaranth, sorghum, corn, and dried greens. Then there are live proteins like black soldier flies, meal worms, earth worms, maggots, etc that can be “farmed” and incorporated. Fascinating topic! Why do we make things so hard for ourselves with our Pinterest worthy homesteading? It’s just chickens!

[@elizabethlink3993]

💚 Great conversation, Ladies. Thank you! 💚

[@nativeceltbirdog1527]

I finally got my 6 hens set up in my front yard!! We have wild chickens here in Zephyrhills all around me! So the noise factor isn't a problem..plus they're quiet til an egg is laid!! Lol...and i keep down the smell with first saturday lime! It's super good for that! It makes me so happy to be out there with them... and now im planting herbs and gardening more!! I have 3 raised beds now. !! Im a happy girl! Oh, and btw... I buy all organic chicken food with whole grains, and i feed my chicken scraps, and i cook beans and sweet potato 2-3 times a week!! I also ferment the feed a few times a week... They LOVE it!

[@avermontlife]

I have plenty of pasture for my chickens to free range in summer, but what I was hoping to learn more about might be a ratio of homegrown grains to replace commercial feed, and any additions to make up for nutritional deficits to supplement in winter. What can we grow, sustainably at home, what supplements can we provide, and not have to purchase, besides the beginner suggestion of kitchen scraps? I have been raising birds for decades, and have found that fermenting grain does not lessen the serving size the birds eat, and it is often a great mess. From my trials, they dislike whole barley and oats. I have thought about getting a grinder, but wonder if it's strictly necessary. How do we adjust for a mix of waterfowl and poultry? These are the issues I had hoped you would touch upon in this video. Perhaps a future video? I discourage breeding in a brooder. Birds have developed a system very similar to our limbic system, and when they are raised by their siblings and not their mother, well, they suffer in similar ways to when we are not raised by our mothers. They develop personality and behavioral disorders, and I've seen the difference quite sharply between birds that were purchased as chicks, and birds that were raised by their mothers. So unless those chicks are imprinted on you, sleeping in your bed with you and following you around everywhere, they need their mothers.

[@breezybre2670]

Yes...a mess!! We have below zero temps 7 months a year so feeding and watering chickens is enough work as it is!!! No soaking here.

[@hillarywright7965]

Try growing your own meal worms.

[@ldpetchell]

Would love to see Dalia at the next Homesteaders conference in Idaho!

[@KR8Z]

Yeah 🎉 I let mine free range so they have to go out forage first then later in the day they get some scratch. I give them treat of what I'm getting rid if from the refrigerator weekly fruit or veggies ect

[@itsno1duh]

I accidently get maggots when I forget bags of trimmings and meal waste that are heading to the compost pile... maggots are very attractive to chickens and can be made in a more purposeful way with roadkill or rats/mice that are caught. Just a bit of creativity and get over the "ick" factor to keep disposal hygeine moving along and feeding your flock!

[@elisaturse4777]

The powers that be say one thing but mean another. We are fighting to have backyard chickens. They don’t want us to be self sufficient or to have a smaller footprint on our terms, they want it on their terms. We will continue to fight back.

[@thecampfirechef8531]

I feed my birds a mix of fermented grain, layer feed, and a handful of meal worms for extra protein.

[@carriejones9890]

Great guest! Dahlia is my go to expert to recommend when people want to start chickens. Love you both, thanks

[@jennybrown2998]

I saw on a video a guy with a chicken egg farm and also compost producer. He fed no grain, the chooks had access to the compost heaps, I don't think they actally ate the compost but the insects in it. Neat idea though so trying it on my guys as a side dish.

[@bethsands7665]

Nice to learn from history of chicken keeping and knowing this is in all our history. Bagok !! Chickens rule !!!

[@kate739]

Love the video, thank you. But the title makes me wonder, what are we doing to teach our children to be resilient? Your are one smart momma married to one smart poppa and while all of us appreciate all that you both are teaching us - what is far more important is tell us is you fell comfortable doing so, what we should be doing to teach our children to be resilient in these coming hard times?

[@heatherk8931]

This is about chickens though. But excellent topic for another time❤

[@kate739]

@@heatherk8931 I know its about chickens that's why i asked the q with the implication for a future video

[@MarciPrice-cl6eq]

I only use feed in colder months, when there's no bugs, greens. I do grow squash and pumpkin for them. I also do fodder in colder months.

[@Sheepdog1314]

my chickens eat everything I hand them. I give them no choice, just in case SHTF and I have no frilly food for them.

[@MsCindyh]

I avoid anything moldy when throwing out scraps. Anything gone bad in canning is not given to my chickens.

[@mannersmatter6773]

I have tunnels all around the perimeter of my yard connected to three different areas one is the main run the second is under bushes and pine trees the third is an area that has bird netting over it and for approximately two hours a day I sit out with them while they peck and scratch in the yard before going in for the night

[@elizabethnegrete9325]

I have 4 chickens and I love it. Unfortunately i have an older neighbor that is always compleining about it. She doesn't like the noise my chickens make when they lay eggs. She even called animal control on me. I'm been trying really hard to grow my own food vegetables, fruit, I'm trying to can food and also dehidrate but is only me and it is a little overwelming. My family thinks im going crazy.😮

[@FlagPony]

Don’t give up! Your doing great❤

[@melodythomas3770]

This iz how I grew up due to the culture I waz raised in, and I'm now 47 and have lived another life then that altogether over the yearz but am getting back into ...and I am so happy to find you... the biggest thing, iz your love for Jesus.... thatz when you know the source haz led you to a source...😊

[@SuziesCornerInLove]

I WONDER How valuable might moringa be in their diets.

[@zombiemom5088]

So when I go outside with scraps and yell “girrrrrls” they know “treats” (kitchen and/ or garden scraps) are inbound 🤣😂🤣 even the rooster cries a special crow to let the ones in coop know to come get some 🤣😂🤣😂🤣

[@patricialynveal4017]

Bought feed maybe twice a year (usually winter) when we raised up to 180 chickens for many years on 2 hectares

[@hereigns7221]

What did you feed them in the other months? Were you in an area where it’s somewhat warm year round?

[@mattspencer9538]

Great video! We just got chickens recently and this is something that has been on my mind. Thank you!

[@zombiemom5088]

The whole time I’m outside I’m having “conversations” with my chickens … I also talk to my rabbits 🤣😂🤣😂🤣 … chickens have quite a variety of sounds … I literally swear when Jurassic park was being filmed someone recorded chicken sounds and used those for the dinosaurs 🤣😂🤣 … I recently started raising dual purpose birds so I can harvest my own meat and meat rabbits .. I want an even closer connection to my food

[@JK-jf7xq]

Start slowly decreasing how much store feed you feed your chickens until it affects egg production. Adjust based on seasonal foraging. You can ferment feed by covering with water in a food grade bucket/jar, let it sit about 2 days (not long enough to grow mold), strain and feed, add more water and feed to the excess liquid for the next day. If you don't want to strain, soak the feed by adding just enough water to be absorbed by the feed. After feeding the chickens the first day, leave the wet feed remnants in the container and add more feed and water. The fermented remnants will act as a starter for the next batch.

[@soniaschemel3436]

I feed my chickens whole grains and seeds but at night only after I have locked them in the coop and when I let them out in the morning I take the feed and they forage the rest of the day. I provide them with fresh fruit and veg and so far so good. The one thing that I would say/question about rice is that if chickens, birds, etc are eating rice or a swelling grain they are eating it in a whole state whereas feeding them rice, etc that has been processed-stripped of its outer casing, etc. that rice is no longer safe uncooked.

[@zombiemom5088]

Rice needs to be cooked before given to them, beans too

[@yvettesaxon8572]

Great vid. Thank you ❤

[@jolenemaser3112]

What a great interview

[@seenikgardens]

This is awesome!! Love both of your channels!

[@robertfiorito9888]

Here in Thailand uncooked rice is a staple of what chickens get fed. The rice does have the hull still on it though

[@zoeshorthouse7913]

I always thought uncooked rice would be bad for chickens. But we are in Cambodia for a time. And that is the main thing that people give their chickens here. But these chickens are also the smaller chickens that are excellent foragers.

[@jenniferrescott1149]

Try keeping older more heritage breeds of chicken that wouldn't be so dependent on the processed fortified feeds that are so" necessary" today

[@laurenandreas5950]

The old saying, “Birds of a feather flock together” is so true for humans but the saying must have come from bird behavior. Never buy one of each, they do love their own kind. I will purchase no less than 3 when trying new breeds. They have best friends! If you hatch your own in an incubator and have different breeds, you will notice they will gravitate to their own breed. If you rescue just 2 eggs from the nest and incubate them, they will be best friends for life. I’ve only seen it with pullets so I’m not sure about a rooster & hen…. We Love our Bird Friends! 🐓

[@cindymichaud7111]

I love my chickens. Throughout life we have always provided them with table scraps and the ability to forage. Does production suffer? Somewhat. However, today's rules are designed to create the highest production, ie., factory farming. If your goal isn't the highest possible production, then take care of them and do the best you can. Do away with factory farms? No. Make them more hospitable, yes. These farms feed millions of people. The US population is approximately 327 million. Do realize the potential waste and disease problems if we had 150 million backyard flocks? That's a far worse scenario. Chickens are unique and interesting birds, a joy to experience. God bless, ✝

[@heatherk8931]

❤ two great ladies, you know it's going to be awesome ❤ I did just buy the book, started my chicken journey 4/2022 with 7 (2 roos😮 living right downtown 😅), and to date hatched 8 successfully, making my count 18😂❤, the math? Bought 6 more this year.... of those 2 more roos, and at least 2 in the hatch so far...

[@LizGP]

Can you make a video on what medicinal herbs you use most during pregnancy/nursing and which ones to avoid?

[@domesticgoddess5584]

What did they do before....? I don't yet have poultry but I'm already growing feed and making plans for the birds to do my composting. Found a Mulberry tree growing next to the curb in my front lawn, dug it up, placed in a pot, and plan to plant it in the chicken yard. My question right now is "how did our predecessors make yogurt without purchasing store bought yogurt or yogurt culture as a starter?" Please comment if y'all know. Also, is there a problem with planting a tree in the chicken yard?

[@seanaames6855]

I read somewhere that yogurt started out when people (I think they were people from the Middle East maybe Bedouins) carried camel, horse, or goat milk in leather bags on their horse, camel or even on their belt or in a cart. Over the course of the day, the milk got warm and was jostled around in the leather bag. By the end of the day or the next morning, the milk had soured and fermeted. I'm sure they rinsed and reused the same leather bag ( if they had water to spare) for the next batch, which helped get the fermentation started sooner. At some point, they discovered the health benefits of consuming this soured, fermented liquid. I'm sure in that dry, harsh environment, wasting food was frowned upon . . .

[@heatherk8931]

Shade is definitely a necessity, as well it provides cover from air pressure, but also hiding places for them. I've got 😂18 chickens, they look for shade in our 100+ heat.

[@melissaingle1746]

I was in the Middle East in 2008, in a Bedouin tent . The eldest wife showed us her yogurt she was making and it was in a goat skin.

[@seanaames6855]

On the mulberry tree, one of my concerns might be that if you don't pick the fruit and it falls on the ground in hot weather, you may end up with some inebriated chickens which will most certainly, affect laying. We had a Mountain Ash Tree in our yard, when I was growing up. Every Spring, it would bloom and by Summer, it had large, clusters of bright red fruit. At some point, the fruit would fall to the ground. The Robins would eat this fruit, which had fermented and turned to alcohol by this time, and you'd see them staggering around the yard, drunk and hardly able to fly. I would guess the same kind of thing could? happen with mulberries. Maybe not though. The fruit might not ferment as fast. The chickens might eat every bit of the mulberries as they fall. However, feeding chickens a lot of fruit can delay/affect laying, so that may be a concern, too. On the plus side the tree will provide shade for the chickens, which is necessary to keep them from overheating during hot weather in my part of the country. May God bless you, your family and your chicken keeping journey.

[@MsGyzy]

​@seanaames6855 Mi van akkor ha a kefir/ joghurt Kaukázusi? Also, the cumis/ kumisz is from Mongolsia, it is made of horse milk and somehow they could managed to ferment and its contains some alcohol. 😊 I think they still make it. 😊

[@zombiemom5088]

Chickens will do that to a person … I always tell people who are just getting started ..”be careful, chickens become an addiction, quickly” 🤣😂🤣😂🤣

[@conniemartin3602]

I have used 4 different brands all of it caused them to stop laying and the few I got were bloody! I had no choice but to feed them something else.

[@marilynmiller9864]

Watching from Wickersham, Wa. Hi neighbor!

[@ka6148]

Our chickens eat a lot of avocado The seeds inside apples, pears, apricots, etc. our family eats them all.....

[@davidgarland949]

My girls have gotten a mix of everything once they were old enough.

[@phoebedigs1356]

I had the same thing happen to me. My neighbor gave my chickens their kitchen scraps and I had a dead chicken the next day. I found a avocado shell in the yard.

[@user-dm1tv6nl2e]

That's rough, sorry to hear that. Our neighbor's dog killed 6 this year, that was tough as it was just after they'd started laying eggs

[@ladyryan902]

Oh I'm sorry I love my birds n would be very sad. I have to add I feed a little avacado to them every now n then BUT I forage the avacados from a neighbors tree..no sprays pesticide etc. Hurricane took it down I cried n I haven't bought any since..

[@iartistdotme]

Really great video! I love the words - don't be looking through the eyes of a factory farm to apply for small family chicken yards.

[@anncramphorn2259]

I'm going to call this how I see this video. At first, I was pleasantly pleased to see the guest speaker's cheerfulness & enthusiasm with regards to chickens. The information she provided was not more than I already know. As I checked her out from other videos, this is what 'turned me off' which was her comments stating she is, "The president of Chickenlanadia". Anyone who needs to announce their title on a YT probably has some issues. Lets just leave it at that.

[@camicri4263]

Great video, thanks!💕🤗💕

[@HomesteadingFamily]

Thanks for watching!

[@jenniferturow1135]

I am kind of confused.. my chickens are fed a little grain in the AM but then turned loose to free range. What I notice is my ch8ckens are turning their nose up to the grains and stand at the gate to be let out. I have found my chickens eating frogs snakes, lizards, picking at dead animal carcasses. They eat grass and plants. They spend time following my goats. I am offering even less feed because they leave it which attracts opossum into their area. I get an egg a day from my girls. Winter time they love the fermented feed, so to say they can't meet their needs anymore on their own is weird to me.

[@loriirons9503]

Pinterest chickens and chandeliers and wallpaper??? LOL I am never on Pinterest so no idea that those chicken dreams existed 😆

[@mannersmatter6773]

My chickens in spring summer and fall eat very little poultry feed

[@lisawdb1]

my chicken exp was in haiti the chickens sleep in trees dig for bugs and at end of day whatever family had left over mostly rice they thrived i fed my babies grass and starter and crushed bugs and once my hens did the work she did the work and i daily provided a feed source berries whatever doing good i do avoid avacado

[@reneecasey5719]

Love this!

[@kingdommindedinspirationsw1356]

Sincere question, why would you assume that chickens are eating rice raw in other parts of the world if they also know to stay away from things that are not good for them. If raw rice is not good for birds to eat wouldn't they know instinctively to stay away from it?

[@ellen5155]

Can totally relate to her commit that every egg is $100!!

[@mkinder9557]

Beefy hens! 🤣🤣🤣 Love it! 🐄🐄🐄🐓🐓🐓

[@robingirven4570]

I love the sound of a rooster crowing. End of story, 🐔

[@kate739]

PS please let me clarify what I mean. I know from watching you from almost the beginning of your yt journey that you involve your children in many aspects of your life, you teach them how to do things, they are involved in the seeding, harvesting, preserving of your gardens, they care for the animals...... and all those things are so important to a certain part of resiliency but what about the rest? How are you and Josh preparing your children to live in a very quickly changing world of changing morality and long standing believes of the country? What are some things parents can do to prepare their family for a world that apparently will no longer accept their faith believes? does that make sense?

[@mannersmatter6773]

You teach your children morality and you trust them to be good people. The world is so much more accepting of you live your best life and I’ll live mine. That’s why we all enjoy these kitchen table talks so much. And they have you and their siblings as support throughout their journey

[@mannersmatter6773]

Kiefer is great especially in the winter

[@mannersmatter6773]

When I first got my chickens and was watching videos to try and figure out what I was supposed to do, I learned quickly that everybody has a different way, but ultimately keeping their best interest at heart and watching them carefully you’ll know that what you’re doing is right and it doesn’t need to cost a lot

[@HeatherNaturaly]

I watch a lot of Vietnam Village life content. They all feed their baby chicks rice. They never cook it first. That being said, now you've got me worried because I just fed my 4 chicks and 4 ducklings uncooked rice for the first time...

[@thesmiths629]

Correlation isn't causation, sure... but I avoid onions in my chicken's scrapbucket due to too many time having a dead chicken the next day afterthem having onions.

[@Ozarkmountainoutback1]

Question?? I know wild turkeys eat tons of acorns. Is this an issue for chickens? I'm looking it up and find such conflicting information. Obviously if you free range then chickens would most likely eat it. Any thoughts?

[@kathygarner419]

Carolyn: Sounds like the gardeners joke that talks about the $500.00 tomato. Seriously there are breeds of chickens that are good little foragers and are scrappy. Two of those breeds are bantams and game hens. It is true they are small, but they do great foraging for their own food and keeping larger predators at bay. Negative they do lay small eggs, but they don't eat much food.

[@larindamoore4547]

I have rediscoverd ducks .

[@kareneweiner3712]

What %protein for layers?

[@heidirutherford3826]

I have chicken but I keep loosing them. Like they literally disappear. No body found , just gone! I have them contained because of my dogs but they still disappear. Seriously frustrated!

[@deefay2998]

Do you have your run covered? Owls and hawks will take chickens, and weasels can fit into very small spaces. I had a 8' 2" bull snake eating my turkey poults last year he climbed through the chicken wire then couldn't get out because the turkey he ate made him to big to get back through the chicken wire.

[@heatherk8931]

🎯🐓 question re cheese making, do you have to use rennet? I bought a book and many recipes required rennet. Thanks

[@clydesdalehomestead3807]

Depends on the kind of cheese. Some cheeses just use a culture not rennet.