A decade ago I started getting into the keto/paleo diet stuff and ate a lot of eggs. I got to the point where I wanted to make a better egg and have more control into what’s going into their bodies. Cost wasn’t a huge factor.
I started them out with soy free feed, but within a couple years transitioned to soy and corn free. I’m not anti corn per se, but I’m not a fan of making it a base of their diet…it’s not very nutrient dense.
So I give them a mix of a lot of real food. I grow them their own garden of kale (the dino kale is their fave). They get a lot of meal worms. I don’t worry much about protein percentage like some do. If they had the option I swear 75% of what they consume would be worms and insects. I give them whole small sardines about once per week. They get shelled sunflower seeds, a pear or apple usually once per day, and a sweet potato here and there (unlike corn, very nutrient dense…and cheap!) Then they get scraps from a bunch of other things we eat. I provide oyster shell on the side for those that feel like they need more calcium. I’ve never really had a problem with thin shells.
The lawn and fields here are all organic and they have plenty of “weeds” to choose from while free ranging. They’ll eat clover and dandelion leaves, but plaintain (the weed) leaves are their favorite. Another one they like is either medic or sweet clover…not sure which of the two I have growing here. They love my tart cherries and figs too.
It’s a fun and rewarding hobby that integrates well with the homesteading type lifestyle. The big issue is protecting them from predators. It doesn’t take long for them to realize you have chickens there. Roosters will give their lives to protect, but many people don’t want to deal with that hassle. Hawks will find uncovered runs and free rangers. Digging predators will dig, climbing predators will climb, and bears will bust through pretty much anything. So be prepared to protect them like a fruit tree. The less protection, the more “fruit” you lose. And it only takes one pred to wipe them all out. Our coop is elevated 30” off the ground so that helps with the digging preds at night.
We have barred rocks, NH reds, and australorps. The barreds have been some of our sweetest and most fun chickens, but we have not had much luck with their lifespan for whatever reason. Our 2 australorps are still alive and will be 8 y/o in May. The NH reds are good birds and sweet, but they tend to be bred for production so they are prone to egg laying issues as they get older. I mean, most of the breeds from hatcheries are bred that way, but I find some breeds are worse than others. White production leghorns are like that as well. One of our original NHs died last year just before turning 8. The easter eggers tend to have good genetics and are strong healthy birds. We have 4 now…2 are our last remaining birds from the original 2016 flock and 2 younger ones from 2023. Our cream legbars are good little birds too. One is almost 8 and still lays blue eggs here and there.
The breeds we’ve had are NH reds, orpingtons (buffs, lavenders, and jubilee), barred rocks (production and heritage), white leghorns, australorps, easter/olive eggers, marans (black, blue, and white), salmon faverolles, silver laced wyandottes, and cream legbars. The only two breeds I’d really like to try someday are blue isbars and ayam cemanis (or swedish black hens).
