by Texas Homesteader ~ 

Did you know you could get chicken food for FREE??! Over the years I’ve learned a thing or two about feeding our hens. I’m always looking for ways to get chicken food for FREE! Thankfully it’s pretty easy to do.

(Note: Some links in this post will take you to other related articles for further information. But links preceded with * are affiliate links. If you click and buy something I could receive a tiny commission.)

Raising A Small Flock Of Backyard Hens

I found I really enjoy raising chickens. But we don’t like to over-winter them because like my dad says of predator pressures: “You can’t blame them. Heck, everyone loves a chicken dinner!”.  LOL. True words, dad.

So we buy a few pullets in the spring and keep them through fall, then we sell them as young layers. We repeat the process again in the spring. This has worked really well for us.

Eliminating Wasted Feed In The Chicken Yard

I’ve always been amazed at how expensive it was to keep our chickens fed.  Heck when you factor in the feed cost, these are the most expensive eggs I’ve ever eaten!

But MAN, chickens can be wasteful, can’t they?? They’re fond of raking their food from the feeder and onto the ground where it’s trampled and wasted. A LOT! 

“C’mon girls, there are hens starving in other countries – eat your food!”

So RancherMan made this cheap PVC Chicken Feeder for me and we’ve reduced our purchased layer-feed waste to ZERO! Can you believe it??

That’s a huge savings y’all for wasted food alone. But I’ve also learned how to make them work for their food. Plus I found easy ways to get much of that food for FREE!

If you too are shocked at how expensive it is to keep your chickens fed, you’re not gonna want to miss this. I’ve found some very easy everyday ways to get my chickens some eats for FREE! Check it out.

1. Free Ranging: Good For The Chickens & Good For US!

About mid-day I go to the coop to collect the eggs. While I’m in the chicken yard I’ll close the free-choice feeder so the girls will work up a hearty appetite.

Then I let them out to free-range about two o’clock in the afternoon. There’s a method to my madness, y’all. 

By letting the chickens out mid afternoon there’s a shorter time for them to be away from the safety of their coop. And since they’re not out all day, they stay closer to the house too.

Although a predator will certainly come closer to the house if hungry enough, it’s typically more more of a problem in the winter months when a predator’s food source is more scarce. (and again, we don’t overwinter our hens for that reason!)

While the hens are out free ranging they’re enjoying a fresh sampling of grass, weed seeds, grasshoppers & other bugs.

Fresh protein for them,

Reduced bug pressure for our yard and garden,

Chicken food for free.

Now THAT’S what I call a win/win!

2. Chickens Love To Eat Melons

Recently RancherMan & I got a seedless watermelon. We wanted to cube it and toss the watermelon cubes into the freezer. Then after a hot sticky day working in the pastures we could enjoy a delicious and refreshing frozen Watermelon Daiquiri on the back porch. 

But the chickens were all too happy to scarf up the scraps remaining on the rind. When they had eaten all the residual watermelon I simply tossed the pecked-clean rind into my *tumbling composter when they were done!

3. Chicken Feed: Spoils From The Garden Need Not Be Wasted

And of course now that the coop is adjacent to the garden, I’m close enough to toss over any garden mishaps. 

I was disappointed that a garden cantaloupe split & suffered a soggy demise after a particularly rainy period. But the chickens didn’t mind at all!

I have a wide-base metal bowl in their coop and I often place things from the garden into that bowl for them. Whether a blossom-end rot on a tomato or overgrown squash or cucumber, they scarf it all down.

Any remnants, peels or rinds they leave are tossed into the tumbling composter.

4. Squash Peels & Seeds To Feed To Chickens

And it’s not just garden mishaps they love. Recently I pulled some purposely overgrown summer squash from the garden to make RancherMan’s favorite garden snack Cherry-Flavored Gummy Chews 

(Yep, you read that right – a chewy, sweet, cherry-flavored snack from SQUASH!)

The chickens thoroughly enjoyed the peels & seeds.  When they’d had their fill I simply tossed the rest of it into my *tumbling composter.

5. Chickens Like Yogurt Too

As I was digging through the fridge I was dismayed to see a jar of my homemade yogurt had been pushed to the back for way too long. Hummm… I wonder if the chickens like yogurt?

Why yes, yes they do! (although I’m reading to only feed this to them in moderation…)

This was a nice cool high-protein snack for them. And it kept the yogurt from being wasted. They face-planted right into it!

Hey girl, you need a napkin?  You’ve got a little somethin’ on your face.  🙂

6. Bring Grass To Chickens For Feed!

And finally, I’ve asked RancherMan to bag the clippings when he mows the grass. Since we don’t use poisons on our lawn it’s an awesome way to get free organic mulch for our veggie garden. 

Not only does it keep the soil cooler & increase the earthworm presence, but it also preserves the moisture in the soil around our veggie garden plants during those hot Texas summers. And it adds nutrients to boot.

But I’ve also asked him to toss a bag of those fresh grass clippings into the chicken pen for their munching enjoyment. They love it and it’s fun for them to scratch through as well.

No more chickens whining “I’m BOOOOORED…”  (snicker)

Our Chicken Feed Options

So our chicken’s diet is well-rounded and healthy but we’ve saved money on their feed too.

1. 1. Our chicken’s  fortified layer pellets still comprise most of their feed.

   2. Free-ranging allows them to hunt for bugs & small rodents, frogs, etc. for high protein food for free.

   3. I offer them produce we’re not going to eat such as overgrown cucumbers or leftover watermelon. (there are certain things you should and shouldn’t feed chickens such as onions, green potato peels, uncooked rice or beans, tomato leaves or green tomatoes, etc.) I don’t feed the chickens actual spoiled or moldy produce. 

   4. Untreated grass clippings tossed into the chicken yard for seeds/grass for free.

This all keeps our hen’s diet variable and healthy. And a healthier diet for them means healthier eggs offered to RancherMan & me.

What are your favorite ways to feed your hens for FREE?

~TxH~

Tagged in    

Links In This Post:

• Preserve The Bounty By Freezing Fresh Eggs
• Low-Waste PVC Chicken Feeder
• Watermelon Daiquiri for Cool Refreshment
• *Tumbling Composter
• Cherry-Flavored Gummy Chews From Overgrown Squash!
• Low-Cost Veggie Gardening Tips

Chicken-Care Posts

• How To Teach Free-Range Chickens To Come HOME
• Keeping Chickens Safe From Predators: Automatic Coop Door
• How Much Does It Cost To Raise Your Own Chickens?
• Cheaper Ways To Raise Chickens Using What You Have
• Breaking The Broody Hen
• What Color Eggs Will My Chickens Lay?
• MYO Low-Waste Chicken Feeder
• Repurposed Coffee Can Chicken Feeder
• Keeping Wild Birds Away From Your Chicken Feeder
• Nutritional Difference Of Free-Range Eggs
• How To Protect Seedlings From Free-Range Hens
• Keeping Our Chickens Mite Free
• How To Get Free Chicken Food

All Posts About Chickens

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