Natural forages for poultry

To: permaculture-mg@amani.ces.ncsu.edu
Subject: Natural forages for poultry
From: Greg Jarrett <gregj9@intellinet.com>
Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 17:02:24 -0600 (CST)

Greetings:

I would be very interested in others' experiences with feeding nuts and
other tree crops to poultry.  I want to integrate a small flock of chickens
into our market garden area, so they will generally not be free-ranging, but
I would like to reduce our dependence on corn & soybeans for feed.  We are
in the Ozarks, and so have a lot of black walnut, hickory, honey locust,
mulberry and persimmon trees.  

How much of a layer ration can you build out of mast?  How about for
broilers?  Is it a reasonable outlay of time and energy to gather and grind
(hammer mill?) enough nuts to make a dent in your feed bill?  Any experience
you might share with me on this would be helpful.  I have read some of the
permaculture literature on this, but don't know any of the practical facts
about it other than that hens do love a black walnut if you crack it for them.

Any other feed alternatives to corn/soy would also be of interest.

This is my first post, so tell me if I screwed up somehow.

Greg Jarrett
Meadowcreek
Fox, Arkansas  USA
gregj9@intellinet.com