Feed is the largest ongoing cost faced by any poultry keeper, but it also offers the biggest opportunity to save. Although it may not be possible to become totally self-sufficient, there are a number of crops you can grow to reduce the feed bill.
The natural foods you can produce are what Gallus gallus (the oldest ancestor of our domestic fowl) would have eaten in the wild some 5000 years ago: leafy plants, fruits, wild seeds and animal foods such as earthworms and bugs – all fresh and naturally nutritious straight from the garden. Growing foods that chickens like is not only easy, it’s good for their health and the environment too.