not to brag, but I have a gold mine in my back yard...
(media.communities.win)
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we live in central Florida so the cold is usually not an issue. The problem we have is predators, so we can't "free-range" them. We have 3 separate chicken runs linked together that are about 30x14 each. We let them eat the grass and weeds off 1 while we reseed the other 2. We still have to supplement with grain, but I make fodder with wheat and sunflower seeds. I ferment the seeds as well... really cuts the cost. Also, I buy meal-worms for a treat - about $50 a month. The rest of the grain runs about $55 for a 3 month supply of wheat (Tho that price is going up) and $35 for the sunflower seeds (black oil sunflower) which lasts about 3 months as well. I use cheap fast-growing grass seed to re-seed the runs - it costs maybe $2 for each re-seeding.
we also feed them veggie scraps (from our garden) and I grow a shitton of bananas and papaya. Chickens can eat every part of the banana plants and they go ape over papaya.
Do you know if they eat the papaya seeds? The papaya seed (if chewed) will kill intestinal parasites in humans. I'm wondering if you couldn't grind up the seeds and put them out there for them to eat, thus keeping them parasite free?
Chickens have their own built-in grinders--the gizzard! https://ask.usda.gov/s/article/What-is-the-function-of-the-gizzard-in-poultry
They do eat the papaya seeds... but they probably won't eat them ground up since the seeds taste peppery that way - and that's a flavor chickens don't seem to like (mine anyways).
Makes sense. I hate the taste of them chewed up also, (makes me want to hurl) but you have to do it if you want them to get rid of some of the intestinal invaders.
Maybe they know they taste good with pepper so they don't want you to know.