Jan's Foraging Facts from Oklahoma
Foraging ~ collecting wild plants and hunting wild animals for subsistence~
To wander or rove in search of food; to collect food, esp. forage, for horses and cattle by feeding on or stripping the country.
Poultry Feed Foraging
This information
was thoughtfully furnished by Jackie Dill who has given permission for us to use
it on our website. She is currently putting together a group called Oklahoma
Forage Ahead that is in conjunction with but not a part of the national Forage
Ahead group. Once her website is up and running she has also given permission
for us to put a link to her website for further info. Now the info:
Foraging for poultry feed as a way to extend your feed, just makes good sense if
you have the time. One of my favorite seeds to add to poultry feed is dock seed.
The dock seed will add vitamins A and C to your feed. The poultry seem to enjoy
having this added to their feed. In Oklahoma we have an abundance of this seed
in mid and late summer months. Many native wild grass seed such as side oats,
rye and even vetch seed help extend the feed. These grasses need to be dried
then hand thrashed. Wild pecan, black walnut and hickory nuts added to your
poultry feed help your birds feathers by providing oil. Black walnut husks,
foraged while green, dried and ground then added to your poultry feed provide a
good natural wormer. Many of the wild fruits dried and added to the feed will
provide added vitamins. all of these wild foraged additives while extending your
feed and providing added vitamins and more, are not meant to be a substitute for
a well balanced poultry feed. Protein levels in poultry feed is very important.
We raise our level to 16 to 18% during molt to help feather growth. Layers are
good at 16% and those destined for the table we
keep at 8 to 10%.
The following is a list of
suggested forage seeds for your poultry with a website where you can view photos
of them.
tall dropseed-Sporobolus asper
http://www.noble.org/imagegallery/grasshtml/TallDropseed.html
Prairie Sand Reed-Calamovilfa longifolia
http://forage.okstate.edu/images/nativews/prsandreed/prairiesandreed.htm