Saturday was a bad day to be a rooster. With snow in the forecast and freezing nights, it was time to get the gang of teenage roosters ready for my freezer. Saturday was that day. Thank you little roos for feeding my family.
Every fall I have to prepare for my "winter flock", the ones who will be productive for the next spring. Top of the list for elimination is the young roosters that are a result of the previous springs hatch. You simply cannot keep them all. I had about 20 running around the yard! Young roosters are like teenage boys, they chase my hens around, wander too far, make too much noise, eat ALL the food, and they fight. They are, on the bright side, delicious. And grain free!
After I get the flock narrowed down to my winter number, winter feeding program begins. I supplement the produce and kitchen scraps they already receive with black sunflower seeds. The kind you buy for wild birds. Black sunflower seeds have extra protein and fat that my hens need to stay warm and lay eggs. They usually get this from bugs but below freezing, bugs are pretty scarce. I did go one winter without sunflower seeds. It was a disaster. No eggs and the older hens died. Sub zero winters require supplemental feed. Even for my hardy old girls.
Feeding looks a little different as well. Instead of just dumping all my produce on the compost pile I have to put out only what they will eat in a short time twice a day. Otherwise it freezes, gets covered with snow or isnt eaten. Then at night before lockup I give them their seeds. About one gallon to 25 hens. When it is below zero, the produce goes right in the coop with them. They are always really happy to get fresh food! Especially greens. As you can imagine, salad is pretty scarce in a snow covered landscape for a chicken. It is a bit more labor intensive than filling a feeder with grain and walking away but I feel like the egg and meat quality is worth it. We will see how this winter goes! See you next time-joy
